# 4 ft. LED shop light



## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Not exactly safety but we know that good lighting influences safety by eliminating shadows and dark spots on equipment and work benches. Got the shop light at Harbor Freight today; selling at $29.95 each. Plugged it in and it is bright! Might go back and get a couple more with my birthday money. Number is 64410.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

I think it is exactly safety related! Not tripping over crap waiting for the fluorescent ones to light up in winter.

I tripled the number of fixtures in the shop (mine came from Costco) since they don't draw anything, looks like daylight now. If you add the cheap little HF remote control, you can turn them on in sections as well.

https://www.harborfreight.com/indoor-wireless-remote-system-3-pc-62575.html


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I think they are brighter than fluorescent too. From what I’ve read not much if any cheaper than the old tubes but more light and better colour light is always a plus.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Costco has them too.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I bought a case of them on line awhile back,(plug and play), and am replacing the old ones as they fail. I think they are as bright. I have 46 tubes total and have replaced about 10 so far. They should last longer, and run cooler.
Herb


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I went with bulbs, including three with reflectors and super bright. One over the work area and the table saw. Another in the garage. Got a mix of the 2800K and 4000K to get a nice mix. Many other bulbs and some strip lights in corners.

During Christmas, you can get small on/off remotes that can control all your lights with ease. I bought one of each frequency and use them for odd functions. In the theater, one turns on a special spotlight on the speaker, so we can dim lights for PowerPoints, but still see the speaker.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

My old shop had florescent lights they flickered, hummed, and generally was annoying. When I moved to my new shop about 5 years ago I put up all LED lights. I am still using those original fixtures and have no problems with any of them. Some have been on for 5 years because I dont like to walk into a dark shop. The price of the LED fixtures and/or bulbs has really gone down. I originally paid about $50.00 per fixture five years ago and now they are down to between $25-30.00 apiece. I would not want fluorescent in my shop due to the fact that the LEDs are brighter, cheaper to run and make no noise at all.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Knothead?
Is this the whole fixture or the bulbs.

Bushwhacker


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

I replaced all of my fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs from ebay. Just had to remove the balists Instant on and no more flickering. Cheap and they work great. https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-100-Pack-18W-T8-led-fluorescent-tube-light-bulb-4ft-Clear-Milky-cover/192455259363?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D60259%26meid%3D7888d06ee7a74369a1a1df9afb4a8b06%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D263004619346%26itm%3D192455259363%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

At this point all my lights in the shop are LED and I bought all but a few at Costco. The few that didn't come from there were Honeywell brand and I got at Sam's Club. Biggest difference is that the Costco lights have a diffuser that blends the light from the LED bulbs where the Honeywell's you can see the individual bulbs which when looked at directly is uncomfortable for my eyes. The ones from Costco are Feit brand and can be linked together. I have mine working on the existing wall switch.I recommend these highly. All my fluorescent fixtures are long gone except in the garage where I bought and installed high output low temperature fixtures. For what I paid for those they'll have to fail before I replace them. Going on 17 years so..........

https://www.costco.com/Feit-4%27-Linkable-LED-Shop-Light%2C-2-pack.product.100462723.html


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

roxanne562001 said:


> I replaced all of my fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs from ebay. Just had to remove the balists Instant on and no more flickering. Cheap and they work great. https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-100-Pack-18W-T8-led-fluorescent-tube-light-bulb-4ft-Clear-Milky-cover/192455259363?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D60259%26meid%3D7888d06ee7a74369a1a1df9afb4a8b06%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D263004619346%26itm%3D192455259363%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851


The first ones I bought I disconnected the ballast,and wired the ends direct,by passing the ballast. Then the next bunch were just remove the old tube.and replace with new tubes.No rewiring. That works for me no having to remove the fixture, then put back up again. All mine have the white tube cover. I have seen the clear tube in use and it is too bright for me, the white cover seems to diffuse the light better, and I can keep the old fixture,cheaper too at around $8.50/tube off the internet, free delivery.
Herb


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Bushwhacker, the whole fixture. Hang it and plug it in! So easy a caveman could do it! They are going on sale this coming Friday, Saturday, Sunday at $19.95 but coupons aren't honored. Going to get at least two more.


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## willhicks (Feb 11, 2014)

Knothead47 said:


> Not exactly safety but we know that good lighting influences safety by eliminating shadows and dark spots on equipment and work benches. Got the shop light at Harbor Freight today; selling at $29.95 each. Plugged it in and it is bright! Might go back and get a couple more with my birthday money. Number is 64410.


Sams Club has cheap LED utility lights as well. The linkable's are great.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Going back for the sale tomorrow and get three more @$19.95. One HF store is closer than Chattanooga plus traffic is 500% better. Don't shop at Sam's or Walmart.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

I replaced all fluorescent bulbs in my shop with LED's a few years ago and as stated before there is no more hum or flickering and they come on instantly as well as being twice as bright. I have never regretted doing it and would recommend that everybody make the conversion.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

curiousgeorge said:


> I replaced all fluorescent bulbs in my shop with LED's a few years ago and as stated before there is no more hum or flickering and they come on instantly as well as being twice as bright. I have never regretted doing it and *would recommend that everybody make the conversion*.


Everyone but me. I had a herpes infection on my right eye , and the excess blue light produced by led lights brings the virus out of remission very quickly .
I’m assuming it’s the excess blue light, but it could be the nonexistent UV they claim they don’t produce


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Put up two in the shop and it proved to be much brighter than I anticipated. No shadows in one end of the shop that was a problem. I was considering three but two does the job and eliminated the third light. Put the two in the basement to replace the fluorescent lights. One went over the desks in the office- don't need desk lamps.


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Everyone but me. I had a herpes infection on my right eye , and the excess blue light produced by led lights brings the virus out of remission very quickly .
> I’m assuming it’s the excess blue light, but it could be the nonexistent UV they claim they don’t produce


You can get the warm white led bulbs they are not as bad. That might work for you.


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## LexAdmn (Nov 12, 2018)

I have all florescent and they like to do the flicker and hum, and just get crazy at times. I just ordered a few moments ago 16 fixtures with two-bulb / 4000K from discount city for $396. Will see if they were worth getting or not.
2 week delivery...


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

roxanne562001 said:


> You can get the warm white led bulbs they are not as bad. That might work for you.


Tried one , same issue .


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## tulowd (Jan 24, 2019)

LEDs certainly offer many improvements over antiquated illuminaton. Some comments, since I have worked in the architectural commercial fixture business since before LEDs became relevant:

The best fixtures utilize dedicated ballasts and light sources combined, called light engines - best performance, lifespan and light quality when compared to retrofit integrated bulbs.

The costs of all LED sources has tumbled and now matches flourescent in most cases.

For best illumination, daylight 6500 Kelvin temp is what you want, not below 4000, which becomes too orange. I run moslty 6500 T8 in the garage, but am slowly adding LEDs and replacing as they die off.

CRI should be above 80, current Title 24 compliant fixtures are in excess of 94 IIRC.

100 or 105 lumens per watt is pretty much a standard now, so all LED fixtures will offer amazing efficiency, even the least expensive stuff out there.

Diffusing/blending the output results in better spread and lower hot spots/eye strain if the chips are visible - lots of designers have insisted on this type of output - much easier to achieve with the higher efficiencies.
This means playing with angling the fixtures for reflecting the output and considering matte white walls, ceilings and light coloured floor coverings when possible. Maximize and direct the light you have. LEDs are directional, which is both a blessing and a curse, depending on application and fixture type.

Heat is the enemy, this is why most retrofit lamps will not last anywhere near the typical 50-100 000 hours; we still manufacture plenty of fixtures that accept those - typically about half the output and 1/5-1/10 the lifespan.

Too much light is better than not enough, consistent, even illumination is paramount, especially for us senior citizens - when there is plenty of light, our eyes reduce the retina opening (like a F16 stop on 35mm camera lens) for way better depth of field and focus. The HF $20 fixtures are an amazing value - I bought a few but haven't installed them yet - they are 4000k IIRC, likely 75 CRI or so. we manufacture some linear fixtures that produce 2800 lumens per foot out of a 2"x4" extrusion - app 50/50 up and down. The number one inquiry from the market is - can you dim them down lol.

Fun Facts: 5000k blueish hue is used in high end car detailing shops to magnify the flaws in the paint finish. Sunlight is near 6500k depending on location, weather and time of day/ year, since the atmosphere affects colour - think sunset vs sunrise etc.
Tunable color is coming - from warm to daylight for increased productivity and attention span in schools. Philips in Europe started researching and participating in this about 10 years ago; now some high end spaces have sensors that match the interior lighting colour index with the actual outdoor ambient lighting for perfect blend and not influencing the human circadian rhythm.

I have no knowledge of the blue UV issue mentioned, but I'm sure it's a thing. Human Eye fatigue exists with LEDs for sure, as with all artificial illumination.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Well this is certainly interesting. I’ve gotta get me some of this tape 

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news...ul-scientists-suggest-a-simple-solution-58544

Quote : 
Mani and his team tested most of the commercially available LED luminaire with a spectroradiometer and found the blue peak to be unnaturally high and very unlike the natural indoor light. Finally, through some quirk of intuition, Mani tested the lights after applying Kapton tape, a polyimide film that can remain stable across a wide range of temperatures. "To everyone’s delight, it did the job so well that one would even be convinced that these tapes were developed only to cut the blue peak. So much so, that our lab has all our LED lights with Kapton, and everyone who visits our lab feels that these lights feel good," says Mani.

In light of the harmful effects of these radiations, many manufacturers are taking a serious note of blue peaks from LEDs and are moving towards warmer LEDs without the blue peaks. Most warm LED lights, 4,000 K and even 2,700 K, still emit an uneasy blue peak, but are much subdued from the cool daylight 6,000 K variants. 

Experts recommend the blocking of blue light in the 415-455 nanometres (nm) spectrum in LED lighting for commercial use. Experimental evidence indicates that exposure to blue light in the range of 470–490 nm may be less damaging to the eye compared to blue light in the 400–460 nm range. Experts say that the development of LEDs with a peak emission of around 470–490 nm may represent an important advancement in the safety of LEDs for ocular health.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Nouvir Lighting - News
Check out this link 

This is my biggest concern with white led lighting , the UV. The manufacturers are telling us theirs no UV , which may be total bs apparently. 
Sure theirs hardly any UV in the UVA region , just below the human range of vision. 
But UVC is being outputted as much as the output of it’s blue peak according to this article . I really believe it’s the UVC that’s effecting my diseased eye ,as no other light source causes an issue . 
UVC is a known eye irritant , and used to disinfect water . 



> The photo above shows a UVX Radiometer using a 200nm-300nm head (UVB and UVC) in the actual testing of a major brand "white" LED luminaire. The meter shows a UV output of 3.8"W/cm2 for their "cool white" LEDS. The spectral power distribution from the manufacturer's website shows peak output for this LED to be roughly the same intensity, 3.7"W/ cm2. Their "warm white" LEDs show even worse results, a peak output of 1.9"W/cm2 and a short wave UV output of 2.9"W/cm2. *The bottom line is that these fixtures put out as much UV as they do blue light* .


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## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

kp91 said:


> I tripled the number of fixtures in the shop (mine came from Costco) since they don't draw anything, looks like daylight now. If you add the cheap little HF remote control, you can turn them on in sections as well.
> 
> https://www.harborfreight.com/indoor-wireless-remote-system-3-pc-62575.html


Mine came from Costco as well, and paid $30 a pc for them. Ken bought me four (4) of them. I love the remote.


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## LexAdmn (Nov 12, 2018)

These came in a week early. 
The fixtures are made of plastic and the bulbs are defused.
Give me a week, or month, or year and I will get them installed and let you know how they are.

KC


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

I have nothing but LED's in my new shop. Bought them all from Sam's. I have 8 of the 4 foot ones for over head lighting and 2 more 4 foot above the 12 foot work bench. It's super bright and no dark shadows anywhere!


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## LexAdmn (Nov 12, 2018)

*LED Install*



LexAdmn said:


> These came in a week early.
> The fixtures are made of plastic and the bulbs are defused.
> Give me a week, or month, or year and I will get them installed and let you know how they are.
> 
> KC


I did replace 4 of existing fixtures and these are certainly brighter. 
I have no way or knowledge of measuring the difference, but I would not go so far as to say they are grossly brighter than the replaced fluorescent lights, however easily noticeable.
They are 4000K. A little warmth in color, but nice and bright.
I do notice a slight delay from the time I flip the switch, until the lights come on. A fraction of a second?
I do not see this adversely affecting anything, yet.
Will see how well they hold up but, pretty happy with the price, install, and performance so far.

KC


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