LED shop lights?

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Bill Shields
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Bill Shields »

After 12 mailboxes either hit by cars (4) or smashed by rednecks toting bats in pick up trucks..I can think of a better thing to do with the 48" long tubes...
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

When we moved out here in the country 40 years ago mailbox smashing was a big sport with the kiddies. Baseball bats at 2 a.m. One Saturday morning I was out fetching the newspaper (remember those?) and a sheriff's deputy came down the road, stopped and opened his trunk. Inside was about a dozen mailboxes. "Is one of these yours?" Yup. Thanks.

But that stopped long ago. And after one night when they decided to turn donuts on our front lawn we close the gate. Now it's just plain mail theft. We got a locking box, and I put one of those remote doorbells on it rigged to ring when the mailman opens the flap to drop in mail. Thus I don't have to walk down there unless there is mail. So once, the only time in 40 years, that I put a check out for pickup the next day, the doorbell rings at 6 a.m. I pop up in bed to see a grubby black car pull away from the mailbox. Great. It took us the better part of a week to cancel accounts and get all the direct deposits and payments switched to a new account. And then some other bozo tried to jimmy the box, again at 6 a.m., with a screwdriver. The mailman says most often they just take the whole box. Mine is thoroughly bolted down so it would be quite a project to get away with it.

As to the LEDs, I'm still thinking. Of the 12 fixtures only two are bad, so do I want to convert all of them at $9 per, or just those two at about $28 per, or just scrap them out and let the back corner of the shop be dark? Decisions, decisions.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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NP317
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by NP317 »

Go for the LED lighting. You will be glad you did.
I installed those in my new shop in 2016.
It was a bright idea...
RussN
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Bill Shields
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Bill Shields »

bashing still going on today....unfortunately...considering that we live 2 miles down the main road from a 'country bar' would have nothing to do with it.

Like your decision regarding 'what to do' -> I started with a few LED conversions when a couple of ballasts went out...then late this (oops LAST) year, more and more started going bad (after 30+ years)...so I decided to just bite the bullet and add in the occupancy sensors so that 'dead areas' do not light.

cost of power is also a driving factor. Converted fixtures consume less than 1/2 of the power of the original tubes...and when you have 100+ of them in your shop (as I do)...it adds up quickly.

ADD TO THAT a wife that in 40+ years has never found an 'off' switch for the lights....
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Mr Ron
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Mr Ron »

I have been using the following tubes. https://www.amazon.com/Barrina-Integrat ... MCP2&psc=1
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
Lew Hartswick
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Lew Hartswick »

All my shop/garage lights are 8 ft . When will the the 8 ft LED tubes ever get down to close to twice the price of the 4 ft ones? :-)
...lew...
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NP317
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by NP317 »

Lew Hartswick wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:07 am All my shop/garage lights are 8 ft . When will the the 8 ft LED tubes ever get down to close to twice the price of the 4 ft ones? :-)
...lew...
That's why I chose to install new double-tube 4 foot long LED fixtures, at about $24 each.
Easier that retrofitting, and affordable, especially considering the value of my time. And paid for themselves in lower electrical consumption.
RussN
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well, folks, the shop lights are going to have to wait for a while. Here’s the priority list:

fix leaky toilet valve (might need complete replacement)
fix leaky kitchen faucet (might need complete replacement)
clean out clogged rain gutter
replace shop air compressor pump
fix truck fuel tank sender
replace burned out refrigerator light
fix broken rocking chair
repair bad spots on dining room table
clean out swamp cooler

I’m starting to understand why some folks move to assisted living.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Bill Shields
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Bill Shields »

Need assistance to just read the list..
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well, since it was a nice warm (60°) sunny afternoon I decided to get up on the shop roof and clean out the swamp cooler and get it ready for spring. Due to the fires last year it was much worse than usual, and not doing it last fall when I should have meant there was a nice crop of algae growing in it. Lovely. But now it's off the list.

But as Ron Popeil would say, "But wait! There's more!"

I discovered that the wood frame to the east door to the backshop is completely rotted through for about a foot up from the concrete on both sides. Yippie.

"But wait! There's more! We'll rot out, absolutely free, the west door as well! No extra charge!"

I'm thinking there are some things that just might not get fixed.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Electrojim
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Electrojim »

Just saw this, wish I'd chimed-in earlier. I was faced with the same situation, though not on as large a scale as you guys... just a kitchen, garage and over-workbench hanging lights. I used the existing fixtures and bought the LED 'tubes' that connect on the two ends, like Bill Shields mentioned above. Some of my old fixtures had transformer ballasts, some electronic ones. I removed both and tied the AC mains directly to the ends of the tubes, wiring the two pins together when I could, but as Bill pointed out, probably not necessary. One important thing I did add to the installation was a label inside each fixture advising of what I did. I'm not liable to forget, but if my wife ever replaces me I wouldn't want the klutz she moves in to make a tragic mistake. I've attached a snapshot of the label made on the computer. Good move, too. Just as bright as the fluorescents and will probably last longer than I will.
100_0864.JPG
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: LED shop lights?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks, Jim. I'd planed to do the same. Most of the tubes commonly available are the type A, for use with ballast. Why let a ballast suck up watt-hours when it's really not needed. The type B tubes are less common and I've found some hardware store folks who don't know the difference.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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