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Garage LED Lighting Help

Discussion in 'General' started by ScottyRock155, Jan 8, 2019.

  1. ScottyRock155

    ScottyRock155 A T-Rex going RAWR!

    I have a couple older light fixtures in my garage that have a habit of turning on only some of the time, and almost none of the time if it's raining. I would like to replace them with LED fixtures, and keep them hardwired to the switch. In my initial research almost all of them plug into an outlet with an external wire and I don't want that unless it's my only option.

    Anyone have a good recommendation?
     
  2. Tristan

    Tristan Well-Known Member

    I've seen hardwire only ones, but who cares? Just remove the cord and hardwire it in- no extra work.
     
    BigBird likes this.
  3. CB186

    CB186 go f@ck yourself

    Yeah, just change the connetion type to what you want.

    The bigger question is LED with or without a driver(ballast). What I dont like about LEDs at this point still, is that everyone is doing there own thing. I think there are 4, maybe 5 types of LED powering styles right now.
     
  4. Tristan

    Tristan Well-Known Member

  5. BigBird

    BigBird blah

    well you do have to cut the end, so there's extra work :Poke:
     
  6. FlynScotsman

    FlynScotsman Well-Known Member

  7. Tristan

    Tristan Well-Known Member

  8. xTomKx

    xTomKx Well-Known Member

    Home Depot 4ft LED shop lights work well. Had them for over two years and no issues. $41 per light. Not the cheapest but if you have a problem you can take them back to HD.
     
    ChuckS and rd400racer like this.
  9. G Dawg

    G Dawg Broken Member

    I'm looking to switch over also.
    My eyes are not what they used to be and I need as much light as possible when working on bicycles.
    I tried the one shown from Lowes. Put it over my truing stand and did not like it at all.
    There are several options from Amazon. Just not sure which one I should get.
    Right now I have 4 8ft florescent with daylight bulbs. But the ballast's are staring to go.
    I'm looking at these
    https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07F6PS...&pd_rd_r=87d692b0-136d-11e9-86e6-7bb383cf2d26
     
  10. Motofun352

    Motofun352 Well-Known Member

    Timely post....I have (8) 4-tube florescent fixtures (4 on each of 2 circuits) in my barn shop. 14 ft off the floor, real PIA to get to and they don't work when it's cold...barely work in the summer either.
     
  11. Britt

    Britt Well-Known Member

    I switched all my 8' two bulb florecent ones over to 8" LED fixtures from HD.. Bright.. did I say BRIGHT? Worth every dollar.
     
    lonewrench likes this.
  12. BigBird

    BigBird blah

    how did you get more light going to a smaller fixture?
     
    BSA43 likes this.
  13. ScottyRock155

    ScottyRock155 A T-Rex going RAWR!

    The one I looked at in person had the cord come out the end of the housing, and it didn't look like there was any way to reroute it so that it goes straight into the ceiling without hacking apart the light. Of course it's possible but I'd rather avoid it.
     
  14. some guy #2

    some guy #2 Well-Known Member

    Rather than buy new fixtures I converted my existing fluorescent shop lights to direct wire led's. It can be more work if the fixture isn't meant to be taken apart easily but it was way cheaper than buying new lights or worrying about the ballast going bad which some led's are designed to use. No issues with cold weather and you can string up just about as many as you want without worrying about power or heat.
     
    beechkingd likes this.
  15. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    You can get brighter (more lumens) LEDs that still use less juice - color helps too, I prefer 5000k or above for that lit up like you're doing surgery effect :D

    I went from normal f40 to these - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C52MGKC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    In theory light output should have been the same since the fluoros supposedly put out 2400 lumens but the reality is a huge difference. To the point I may some day remove a couple bulbs from the fixture in the laundry room :D
     
    BigBird likes this.
  16. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Same here, pulled the ballasts, quick rewire, easy change.
     
    Marid2apterbilt likes this.
  17. CBRGriff

    CBRGriff Well-Known Member

  18. ScottyRock155

    ScottyRock155 A T-Rex going RAWR!

    That seems too easy, is it really that simple? Cut out the ballast, rewire to one end, enjoy light?
     
  19. CBRGriff

    CBRGriff Well-Known Member

    Yep. Takes maybe 10 minutes including fishing your ladder out of the attic and finding some wire cutters.

    They are also quite a bit brighter than the florescent.
     
  20. Tristan

    Tristan Well-Known Member

    I guess these make sense if you've got a nice existing fixture that you want to keep. Otherwise, why bother- you can buy a whole new 40W LED fixture for the cost of 2 of these bulbs.
     
    BigBird likes this.

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