LED shop lights?

[Patio]

With LED lights, there are two numbers. One is Lumens = brightness, and Kelvin = temperature or color of light. 5000K is a good choice IMHO for the color of light useful in shops. Any higher and the light takes on a blue hue and feels cold. Incandescent lamps are in the 3000 to 3500k. For office space 4000 seem so be what people like.

[Greg_Lewis]

So far it looks like the best deals are:
GE from Lowes, 20-pack, $100, 1800 lumens, 4000K
Euri from Home Depot, 25 pack, $120, 1800 lumens, 4000K

I've never heard of Euri but their website lists offices in Calif, and Korea. Somehow I gravitate to the GE.

[Bill Shields]

I am using the GE..but have no data point against the others

I can warn that the pins on the end are fragile.

When you pull them out of the box..if you bang the pins into anything you can kiss the bulb goodby

[gwrdriver]

Greg,
Here's your follow -up:
I knew at some point I posted the information on my LED re-lamping a few years ago (2018), and I found it in the Junk Drawer. Synopsized here.

"After looking at a number of LED-lit environments I found many of them were too hot (too much Kelvin), so I decided on a maximum of 5000K but a minimum of 4000K. I also began to rewire the four existing 4-bulb T12 fixtures for direct wire LEDs, because their surviving ballasts were on their last legs.

Tests showed that 5000K was too white, hospital white, so I made the decision to go with 4000K and soon found a reasonably priced, 2350 Lumen/4000k T8 direct wire LED bulb online - TopStar brand, #L48T8-840-18P-G4-BP. At this point I added two more 2x4 x 4-bulb lay-in fixtures to the existing four, giving a total of six fixtures, 24 bulbs, in a 14'x24' workshop room at a height of 8'-4". That gives me approx 160Lumens/sq.ft. at workbench level.

This made a great improvement. The light color isn't much different than a conventional "daylight" fluorescent tube, just more of it, and it's easy on the eyes. In hindsight I probably could have used maybe half-5000K bulbs, and not been blinded, but oddly the Lumen count would have been less so I'm happy with what I have."

[Greg_Lewis]

THANKS, GWR. Having been a professional photographer, I also think of color temperature when working with lighting. I think I'm a little more sensitive than the average person, and I find it annoying when the MR16 bulbs that light the photos on my walls aren't all the same temp. 4000K works for me in a workshop. I'll check out the TopStar ones. The project remains down the priority list as the truck repair, the shop air compressor repair, and the kitchen sink faucet are at the top.

[gwrdriver]

Greg,
For several reasons, including age-related decline in vision, this had become a priority and there were financial considerations also. Considering what I'd have to pay for conventional ballasts and bulbs I saved money and got state of the science light to boot.

I once worked with an electrical engineer (Frank) who was quite old and still working. Over time our projects began to come in inexplicably over-estimate and over-budget and we couldn't figure out why. So we decided to sit down with the Gen'l Contractor and examine a couple of projects in detail and he pointed to unusually high cost of the electrical packages, and in particular the lighting costs. It was determined that the lighting designs produced nearly 200 ft/candles at desktop height which was at least 400% over the specified minimum! The reason, we ultimately found, was that Frank's vision was failing and he needed that level of light, so that's what he plugged into his designs!

[Greg_Lewis]

Interesting story. My memory takes me back to grammar school in the early 1950s. Our classroom was lit by large pendant lamps containing incandescent bulbs that were probably original to the building which was built in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Then one fall we came back to find fluorescent strips in all the classrooms. What a difference. I think most folks don't know there are specifications for lighting levels, just as there are for desktop height, chair height and lots of other things.

Anyway, today's projects are to get the bearings for the shop air compressor motor and get that running, fix the kitchen faucet and check for a leak in the bathroom toilet. Oh the joys of home ownership.

[Bill Shields]

Do not forget to look for water leaks under all the sinks if they are areas where you do not frequently look for stuff

[Greg_Lewis]

Thanks, Bill. Been there, done that. It's the kitchen faucet. It's a single-post swing spout and the body has corroded so that it was hard to swing. It's got a lifetime warranty and they sent me a whole new unit. Now I'm off to get a new battery for the riding mower. It never ends!

[Bill Shields]

push mowers do not require external (electrical) power...

[Greg_Lewis]

push mowers do not require external (electrical) power...

Push mowers are not a good choice for 2 1/2 acres.....

[Bill Shields]

pea patch.....do my edge trimming with a recoil start weed whacker

but then you couldn't get my Oliver 1800 with 72" bush hog onto your lot....and yes it is a diesel and requires lots of battery to get it started...but then i have been accused of being ignorant..but rarely stupid.