LED Lights in a Workshop

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Inspector
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Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by Inspector »

Dang I thought I had this stuff understood. Looks like I was calculating to get 1000 lumens per square metre. Well I still have 16, 40w fixtures lighting an area of almost 640 square feet. My phone app reads about 100 foot candles when reading off the white double doors from 10 feet away so I'm in the 100 foot candles per square foot I was looking for. Might not be right for everyone but I'm happy with my purchase especially since it would have cost me triple or more to get locally. Since the bulk of LED lights are made in China I'd rather put the profit difference the Borg would have made towards other tools or food.

As a side note to this. When an electrician was installing the under cabinet LED's in the kitchen and I showed up he hustled me into the shop and asked where I got the lights from. When I told him through Alibaba and which company he was relieved because he was worried someone else was selling them in town and he had competition. He has been buying from them for over 5 years.

Pete
jcbrock
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by jcbrock »

I used the same Costco FEIT lights as NP317, I bought some at $30 but by the end of the year they were down to $20. I've got 25 in a 36x40 area with them hung around 12' from the floor, and it is plenty bright. An even better was the fact it only took a single 20a 120v circuit. I also liked that they were fully assembled which made for quick installation. Although they are not able to be serviced in any way, at 20 bucks I'll just replace them.
John Brock
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BadDog
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by BadDog »

I have found that the 5000-5500 K (called "daylight") lights provide the best light for general work. I've got them in my garage, office, kitchen, and bathrooms.

I just installed two pretty strong emitters with diffusers at 5000 K in my living room. Way too bright right now, but sure nice for reading and my wife likes it for her knitting and such, but when I finish the trim in that room there will be a reflective bulkhead with diffuser to utilize the white vaulted ceiling for full room indirect lighting somewhat like the studio indirect lighting, which I hope will be both well lit and clear without any harsh lighting. And 4 5500K emitters with diffusers (2 banks) in my office yesterday. I love the modern LED lights, and liking them better all the time.
Russ
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gwrdriver
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by gwrdriver »

I thought I should post a follow-up report on what I ended up doing on my my LED re-lamping.

After looking at a number of LED-lit environments I found that most of them were much too hot (too much Kelvin), so I decided on a maximum of 5000K but a minimum of 4000. I also began to rewire my 4-bulb T12 fixtures for direct wire LEDs, as their ballasts died. I soon discovered that only one of the electrical distributors in my area carried any direct-wire bulbs, a single 5000K, so I bought one bulb as a test. The 5000K was a bit too bright, so I made the decision to go with 4000K and soon a reasonably priced, 2350Lumen/4000k T8 LED, bulb was found. TopStar brand, #L48T8-840-18P-G4-BP.

The two converted fixtures (so far) were lamped and Wow! what an improvement! The light color isn't far above that of a conventional "daylight" fluorescent tube, just more of it, and it's easy on the eyes. In hindsight I probably could have used a 5000K bulb and not been blinded, but if I had, the Lumen count would have been less so I'm happy with what I have.

In the near future I'll probably install two additional 2-bulb fixtures for infill light, bringing the total light to about 145 Lumen/F². I can add to or subtract from that to balance the light as needed.
GWRdriver
Nashville TN
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warmstrong1955
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I couldn't find this thread, so I posted here a new one here: http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... 4&t=106276
I went with 5000K. All my fluorescent lights are 2 tube T12's, and I have both 4' and 8' fixtures, and the 8-footers are/were the high output industrial type.
I'm converting as ballasts die....and I too, am very impressed with the LED's. The numbers also bear that out.

The local guys we have in town who have LED's....are wildly expensive, so I bought mine from the Amazonians. As ballasts & fluorescent tubes die....I'll keep rewiring & replacing the old T12's with LED's.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
spro
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by spro »

Makes sense as the old fixtures are so much more substantial. They are likely tubed/piped together as a framework. Much of my old stuff has those reflector hoods. I had case of the thinner tubes and when they don't work, the old ballast is the culprit and I have some of both.
Another thing is having a physical. I didn't know my hands looked so ancient. This is overhead recessed lighting with different wave lengths or what I would call it. Hands looked purple pink and you could find a gnats toe in that light.
earlgo
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by earlgo »

I have an update on the LED story. I bought a pair of bulbs at COSTCO as I mentioned and put them in a fixture designed for T-12 fluorescents. The bulbs were dim, so I removed the ballast and rewired the fixture to put the bulbs in parallel with the 110V. Fortunately I only tried 1 bulb as it flashed really bright and went dead. Called FEIT and they said that the item 1063293 bulbs were NOT designed to be wired direct but were intended for use with a ballast. Found another identical fixture that had not been modified. If the LED tubes are installed with the internal reflector facing the fixture reflector the bulbs are dim. This is the way the instructions say to install them. If they are turned so the internal reflector is facing away from the fixture reflector the bulbs are bright. Any plausible explanation for this?
Now I am tasked to reinstalling and rewiring the ballast back into the fixture. Should be a fun time for an EI.
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
earlgo
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by earlgo »

Couple more hits on the deceased equine. Put the ballast back in the fixture and took the fixture back out to the garage where it was left overnight. Next day when I installed the LEDs, the temp was 38°. The LED bulbs were so dim I was surprised as the same bulbs were nice and bright in an identical fixture, but in a warm environment.
The take away here, if you will pardon the industry speak, is that apparently the ballast needs to be up to temp before the COSTCO bulbs will work as advertised. I'll hit this again when the temp gets above 50° in the garage.
I put the Fluorescent tubes back in the fixture and rehung it. The flickering stops after a bit, (and probably the LEDs would brighten up), but I am riding on to another windmill.
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by warmstrong1955 »

One of the reasons I started converting to LED’s, was to get rid of ballasts. The other reason I chose the bulbs I did, is they are replaceable just like a regular fluorescent tube. I don’t care for the non-serviceable fixtures. I know....they are supposed to last 10 kazillion years, but man made ‘em, and therefore they will fail. (Ref. Murphy)

FYI, I have one 8-footer in the unheated garage, and can’t tell the difference in performance compared to the ones in my heated shop. That’s comparing 10f to 65f.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
John Hasler
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by John Hasler »

Bill writes:
> I don’t care for the non-serviceable fixtures. I know....they are supposed to last 10 kazillion years, but man made ‘em, and therefore they will fail.

Everything will fail, including the sockets for your replaceable lamps. If the MTBF of the lamps is long enough adding sockets with their own MTBF can reduce the system MBTF and increase average repair time.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I can replace the tombstones on the lights as well. If one fails, I can get another. I had to, to convert my 8-footers to LED, and they are quite inexpensive. 12 pairs were 25 bucks, with clips to support the center of the tube.
The double contacts are 50 each for 20 bucks. I installed most of my fluorescent lights in 1999, and have replaced no tombstones, other than those required to convert to LED, just ballasts & fluorescent tubes.

Do the math.
If a tube fails, I replace a tube. 10 bucks.
If a tombstone fails in my converted LED light, I can replace all 4 of 'em for a couple bucks.
I don't have ballasts anymore.
I don't think the sheet metal brackets will fail, unless I wack 'em with a scaling bar.....unlikely.

I just do not like un-serviceable anything, and that is the design direction all too many things are going in our growing disposable era.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: LED Lights in a Workshop

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Here's an example.
$3.00 Walmart scissors. Not just any Walmart scissors, but Acme Elite scissors....like that means something.
Plastic hub broke for the hinge. Normal mortals pick up a new pair at Walmart.
This proves I'm not normal....but I think a lot of us on this board aren't either.
Scissors.jpg
A trip to Walmart would have been quicker than a Wally world run....but...where is the fun in that, when a guy has a lathe & taps & things...

:)
Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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