Bench work light

[NapalmMan67]

I bought a couple Lithonia 4' 4500 lumen dual strip lights a couple years ago. They were on sale for $20 each, they only rang up one but didn't realize until after I was home. So $20 for 9000 lumen of light in a 8 x 12 room. Needless to say, I can see quite well in there. I rarely turn the UFO lights on on the presses any more.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I remember as a kid being marveled by the new LED bulbs that have a dome shape and could throw light like a flashlight.

“These things are going to be the future of lights” I thought, and hoarded all the removed little lights from various electric things. I made my own lighting devices with them.

My how far we’ve come!

Think of the electricity and maintenance we’ve saved alone. There’s not a single filament bulb in my house, but not to save money. More light! My eyes don’t work in the dark! The headlights I wear in the beginning and end of my day last forever now. The Olight I use for biking is brighter than any mag light was.
The very same Light hangs above my loading bench too. Light to spare! I almost feel blind leaving the room. (Although mine came from Menards, I’m sure it was the same mega-factory.)
No more will stray primers hide from searching eyes! Every kernel will be accounted for. Every number read will be exact. No more fumbling in dark corners.
The down side is, you may need to tidy up a bit more. Now that I can see, I vacuum more!

And today’s new high powered chipped LED lights even blink to let you know to change them!

Soon, they won’t wear out and will be embedded from the surface into the walls and ceilings architecturally.
Everything will power from the switch, through gold wires. No, Nano-Plasma ray energy.
(My ode to LEDs.)

I remember as a kid being marveled by these new things called light bulbs.

 

[rfwobbly]

Some people don't realize you can buy LED bulbs to fit your standard 4ft and 8ft fixtures. This is an especially good upgrade if your ballast is buzzing or humming since the LED replacement bulbs run directly off 120VAC and don't even use the ballast. For workbench lighting use the bulbs with light color between 4000K and 5000K. These are available in sets of 4 or more on Amazon, basically just to make shipping possible. Look for the term "Ballast Bypass" in the title. CLICK HERE

 

[Walkalong]

For workbench lighting use the bulbs with light color between 4000K and 5000K

Yep

 

[westernrover]

More direct light = more glare

I have a pair of those 5000 lumen LED strip/tube lights in my shop as well as some 2500 lumen Snap-On branded LED worklamps. They're really bright but they can create problems with glare. One good thing about using the long tubes is that it avoids some problems with shadows. Another important thing for overall light level and avoiding problems with shadows is to have white or lightly colored walls rather than dark ones. The resulting indirect light can brighten things without adding as much glare as direct lighting. I've had garage/shop spaces before where there were unfinished walls and black tar paper on the other side of the studs. Where I am now has sheetrock with gray recycled newsback or white primer -- better.

 

[Reloadron]

Also replaced our cars and my motorcycles stoplight bulbs with LED's that rapidly flash a few times before going steady on.

That's what mine do. I forget if it's three or five flashes on my brakes before the steady On state. You can never have too much visibility on a bike. LED Daymaker headlight and spots with bright LED brake lights that flash before going steady on. They are street legal in the US but I read where that is not the case in some countries.

Ron

 

[westernrover]

The color temperature to use depends on the overall light level. You don't want to use 5000K at only 1000 lumens in a dark (non-reflective room). The brighter the light and the room, the higher the color temperature you want, up to 6500K. A dark room with wood paneling, dark flooring and black tool boxes, and only a couple of E26 bulbs? I wouldn't go above 2700K. A room with white paint walls and ceiling with light concrete floor, and several 5000 lumen fixtures? 6500K is fine. The color temperatures in-between might work well for any situation that's not on either extreme. The worst is going too high a color temperature at low level though.

 

[deadeye dick]

I liked the strip I started the thread with so much I went to Lowe's today and bought 2 8ft conversion LED bulbs for the ballast run fixture. Just cut out the ballast and wire 110volts.

 

[P89DCSS]

The new LED light looks great when you replace a florescent fixture with decades old bulbs that produce 20% of the light they did when new. LED lights last a long time but their output degrades like florescent bulbs do. Better to upgrade old fixtures to LED bulbs so the fixture doesn't get tossed when the LEDs get old and degraded.

 

[Buzznrose]

Just to add, if you're going to upgrade to LED lamps there is no need to trash your old 4' fluorescent fixture. All you need to do is remove or by-pass the fluorescent ballast(s) and re-wire (plenty of easy "how to" wiring explanations on line) then replace the old bulbs with 4' LED's lamps.

I’d appreciate what you consider a good link of what you are talking about. I did a Google search and found an array of things, some folks hat contradicted others.

thanks!

 

[deadeye dick]

I’d appreciate what you consider a good link of what you are talking about. I did a Google search and found an array of things, some folks hat contradicted others.

thanks!

As stated above, Lowe's has the L ED bulbs in stock It has instructions on the box. Just remove the ballast and follow inst. Easy peasy

 

[doubleh]

When I can buy a light that puts out 5000 lumens that only uses 1/2 amp to do so for 20 bucks I'm not going to mess with removing ballasts and changing bulbs. I don't know what Jeep is using for headlights in their wrangllers now but my '07 had headlights that made the old sealed beams look bright. I finally switched to led headlights two years ago. What a difference it made so I replaced the backup bulbs with leds. Now I can see where I'm going when I back up too. I normally drive to my shooting range in the dark during the summer and it's so much easier now and backing into the firing line is a snap.

 

[George P]

Replaced EVERY light bulb and fixture in my shop, house, reloading room etc. with LED lights; electric bill went WAY down and light is better. Those 4' fixtures are also SO much lighter and easier to hang by oneself.

 

[dh1633pm]

I use these in the reloading room and Garage. Bright and easy to install.

https://www.amazon.com/Barrina-Integrated-Fixture-Utility-Electric/dp/B01HBT3BVM

 

[Don_P]

I’d appreciate what you consider a good link of what you are talking about. I did a Google search and found an array of things, some folks hat contradicted others. thanks!

As stated above by DD, you can usually find the instructions on the box. If not,

 

[Buzznrose]

As stated above by DD, you can usually find the instructions on the box. If not,View attachment 969333

Thanks for that, but I’m not sure what that means enough to try it. I was looking for a
Good You Tube DIY video. Yes, me and electricity kinda have a history....LOL!

Take care

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

Just to add, if you're going to upgrade to LED lamps there is no need to trash your old 4' fluorescent fixture. All you need to do is remove or by-pass the fluorescent ballast(s) and re-wire (plenty of easy "how to" wiring explanations on line) then replace the old bulbs with 4' LED's lamps. LED's are more stable in the cold, use less electric, and run cooler. Plus they provide what seems like twice the light especially if you use 5000k - 6500k rated bulbs. The larger the "K" (kelvin) rating, the whiter the light. I did all my fixtures in my workshop/reloading room and it's like having stadium lighting in there.

Glad I saw this. my work shop has some old very expensive 4 bulb fixtures that don’t put out much light and a couple new cheap-o $12.00 fixtures that put out 3 times the light. Great post

 

[peeplwtchr]

Thanks for that, but I’m not sure what that means enough to try it. I was looking for a
Good You Tube DIY video. Yes, me and electricity kinda have a history....LOL!

Take care

This is why I bought the all inclusive seperate lights. I got shocked once, that was the beginning and end of my work with electricity.

 

[Buzznrose]

Do the current model LED lights or fixtures have any humming sounds or make any noise?

 

[peeplwtchr]

Mine don't, I believe there is no ballast.
I got this one for the metal look:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lithonia-L...-Common-4-ft-Actual-5-5-in-46-5-in/1000703166

 

[George P]

Do the current model LED lights or fixtures have any humming sounds or make any noise?

No, there is no ballast to hum. They just come on and are bright I went with daylight K temp

 

[Blue68f100]

They do have a power supply though, switching type i believe. I've had several start flickering in my kitchen. HD come with a 5 yr warranty, so it got replaced.

I have 4 8' double row LED's + 2 4' double rows in my shop. Sure is nice to be able to see, all daylights. I still have a few areas where I'm going to mount some track lighting with spots to light up specific areas.

 

[alfsauve]

1) I've gotten to where I write the month/year on LED lamps just to see how long they really do last.

2) I use the screw-in, two wire sockets on my garage door opener so that I can mount the lights away from the opener. It also allows me to use lamps that are physically bigger than will fit in the opener, and with LEDs, lamps that put out much more light than the same wattage incandescent.


And yes the struts allow me flexibility in mounting the opener. I've lived in the house long enough that this is the third one
and the struts make it a breeze to adapt to a new opener.


3) One of my favorite sites for LED ideas is: https://www.superbrightleds.com/
Sometimes just for the ideas and sometimes I purchase from them.

 

[Don_P]

Thanks for that, but I’m not sure what that means enough to try it. I was looking for a
Good You Tube DIY video. Yes, me and electricity kinda have a history....LOL! Take care

Step 1 - BREAKER OFF!! Lol

This video shows the way mine are wired, same as the instructions on the box the bulbs came in. His video is easy enough to follow and understand, it's just that he takes 22 minutes to explain a 5 minute task.

 

[HEAVY METAL 1]

combine LED lighting with your bench top painted white and you will be amazed what you can see.