mad_machine wrote: good thing it is only LED.. I do not like the 18/3 guage cord
That is kind of the point... they draw very little current because LEDs convert something like 99% of the electricity to light, very little juice wasted on heat.
And they light up instantly when it's 20 degrees in the garage, and they don't make any more heat when it's 95 degrees!
Whether you actually feel like doing anything when it is 20 degrees or 95 degrees in the garage is therefore YOUR problem 
This thread got me thinking about adding some proper lighting in my garage. Because I lack the patience to order stuff from the internet and wait for it I went to home depot this morning to see what they had. The cheapest 4' LED shop light was $39 and was only 3100 lumens and 4200K.
I ended up buying the cheapest T8 4' shop light which was $14 and has an electronic ballast which allowed me to use the Phillips Instafit T8 LED bulbs which were $7 a piece. These are 5000K, which I wanted and are 2100 lumens each so with both it'll throw more light and a brighter color for ten bucks less than the cheapest LED lights in the store.
Eventually I will add two more.
wae wrote: This one? http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-4-ft-1-Lamp-30-Watt-White-LED-Shop-Light-with-Pull-Chain-74104-HD/206665638
I got 4 of these on Saturday. I'm impressed so far. They're way better than the single 4' fluorescent and CFL that was there previously. Instant bright light with no buzz or flicker.
Order was delivered this morning, six went up in about 2 beers worth time. Just replacing the old 4' fluorescent lights, cords and hangers were already there. What a difference, prolly buy more later.
Did yours come with a pack of popcorn too? It was in with the packing slip
Yup, popcorn ftw
Contents were neatly packed like the shipping box was made for it, not beat up either. The local RK store kinda pissed me off before so I don't look there much but I may keep shoppin' these specials.
Ordered my 6 today.
Yesterday, seeing as how the RAV was moving under it's own power, I backed it up some and had Shop Light Day. Big step ladder (like 20'), soldering iron, wire nuts, shrink wrap, the works. I put the T8 LED replacements in the 4' florescent fixture, didn't work, experimented with bypassing the ballast and running 110V to them direct, dim. Put the new (Amazon) ballast in, wired it up per the directions on the ballast, which was different than the old ballast, put the LED T8's in, Lights. They are next to a standard flourescent 4' fixture and they put out more light.
Next up was the 2 16' LEDMO LED strips. I used the glue tape on them and stuck them to the roof of the shop on the dark half. Then I took some Cat5E cable, separated the wires into 2 bundles, soldered them to the middle of the power cord and created a 20' extension for them, basically. A short (OK, half hour or better) search of the shop turned up enough junk to add an additional outlet to the shop light circuit controlled by the light switch. I now have a reasonably well lit back half of the shop. Win.
Well got my order on Saturday (not sure how as UPS doesn't normally deliver on Sat...) but out of three opened one had only half the strip working and another had a broken pull cord. At least the third worked. Will unpack the rest tonight and check them. Then I will test the returns/exchange program they have.
Thanks Pete. I ordered 5 and got the free shipping. All of them worked, and are nice and bright. I can actually see the Challenge car now when I work on it. (I think we paid too much for the car. :-)
I've only installed two, but the first one I installed had half the strip go out. I just got off the phone with RK, and they're going to replace it, but I'm waiting for a call-back to confirm whether I'll need to send the bad one back.
Update: I just received several emails stating the replacement light has been shipped, and no return is required for the defective unit. Talk about quick and efficient customer service!
I've seen these lights in some of the discount stores recently for $19.99. I was going to buy one, but decided to try out the LED bulb retrofit replacements for a few bucks cheaper. I'll report back once I toss them in.
I went with LED strips. I need to make some tweaks to the system I built as right now they are only getting 9.5v and should be getting 12v. They should brighten up even more.
In case anyone is wondering how they look...
This is ONE light. Do NOT look directly at them when they are on.
So far i'm 3 for 3 in them working perfectly. My garage is a much brighter place now, can't wait until i get the other 3 up
6/8 inop, returning the bunch. Maybe mine are late Friday PM production.
Going to cross shop alternatives, rather have flush mount anyway.
FWIW, I just ordered some 4' LED shoplights made by a company called MaxLite. ~40W and 4000 lumens. Pull chain or direct wire. I paid $25.99 per light fixture at my local electrical supply (Pepco) and they should be in by the end of the week. I was in to buy some Cat6 spools and got to talking to the MaxLite rep about them. I'll probably end up with 2 more.
They are a new product and they are having a hard time keeping them in stock.
AWSX1686 wrote: I went with LED strips. I need to make some tweaks to the system I built as right now they are only getting 9.5v and should be getting 12v. They should brighten up even more.
I finally swapped the power supply running my LED strips and now they are getting a proper 12v, I'm quite happy with them now!
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