Good Shop Light option?

[capncarl]

I’m always looking for ways to improve the lighting in my shop. I’ve increased the number of 4’ flouresent fixtures and converted all fixtures to daylight LED.....boy that helped a lot. I added 3 LED “sewing machine” lights to the band saw and that is good but could still be better. My latest quest is to provide better point of use light at my sit down sander. I wanted a long arm desk light but the only ones I can find at the box store are smaller versions that won’t reach where I want. I did find this screw in LED light module on close out at Lowe’s that I intend on installing it in a long arm fixture if I can find one. To test the LED module I screwed it into a typical troubleshooting light, it puts out a lot of light and doesn’t produce much heat. I believe this light could be used in a lot of applications in the shop, and makes a real nice troubleshooting light as well. Since I bought the last one Lowes had on close out for $14 I searched the internet for more of them and found they are quite pricey, but they showed up on Lowes online site for $9.99.
I ordered 2 more for the shop. And will keep everyone posted on their application. Photo of item on an Amazon site

[Carlos]

So...link to the Lowe's deal...?

[LCHIEN]

So...link to the Lowe's deal...?

just go to lowes.com and search for voltec
pops up directly. Shows $10 but not many stores have stock. and not available for store delivery.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Voltec-Industries-6-Lumen-LED-Portable-Work-Light/50433094

[capncarl]

I like this light because it screws in like a standard light bulb and it is directional. You can find any number of simular lights but most that ive seen are made like a troubleshooting light with a built in receptacle and long cord. My milling machine light is a long arm desk light with a 9 watt LED bulb. It does an ok job because it has a removable shade that helps reflect light in one direction. The LED module I’m trying focuses all its light in one direction.
This morning I removed the desk light off the milling machine and clamped the base in the bench vice behind my sander so I could test out the new LED module. Lots of good light but the jury is still out, sev rail more hours at the sander will tell. At least I now know that I still want another long arm desk light for this application.

[Carlos]

Thanks, I grabbed a couple, for the old reel shop light and one other spot. It did show delivery available for me. Note that the output of these, 500 lumens, is about a 45W bulb.

[tfischer]

I've totally redone my shop lighting over the past couple of years. As of a few months ago I'm 100% led, except for a couple of work lights on my band saw (even my DP now has an LED bulb in it).

For general shop lighting this involved swapping out my T8 fluorescents with Hyperikon retrofit bulbs from Amazon, which I am very happy with. I also picked up a number of new LED shop light fixtures that replaced some halogen lighting and a couple very old T12 shop lights.

You can never have enough light in the shop, especially as your eyes get older. I can't believe the light levels I worked in when I first started woodworking.

[capncarl]

I don’t know how to address the lumen equivalents of led vrs cfl vrs incandescent, but I do know that no 40 watt incandescent bulb that I’ve ever used in a desk lamp has “appeared “ to produce as much light as this led fixture. I’m amazed at how much better LED lights up my shop!

My grandfathers workshop in his dusty old barn had 1 light bulb hanging in the center of the probably 14x20 room, with no windows, just a wide door. Previously the light was from a kerosene lantern. I can’t imagine how he was able to do any work, much less find his tools on the workbench with no more light than this! The best I can remember this light was the only electricity in the barn, and this electricity was “borrowed” from the light wire to the outhouse!

[leehljp]

I don’t know how to address the lumen equivalents of led vrs cfl vrs incandescent, but I do know that no 40 watt incandescent bulb that I’ve ever used in a desk lamp has “appeared “ to produce as much light as this led fixture. I’m amazed at how much better LED lights up my shop!

I agree but must say that there are some LEDs, usually HF and a few others, that must have a different lumens rating than others - less light than what is expected. I see some with less lumens rating than others but seem brighter and light a larger area. I was in Lowes recently and they had several LEDs plugged in for comparison. I have what I think are brighter LED lights with far less lumens rating. That said, there are some HF lights that amaze me. The ones with the CREE type of led lighting output exceed the older LED lights. Here is one that I found on sale at my local HF back in December for $19.99 and I bought 2 of them. Wow, was I surprised for the price, bright!: https://www.harborfreight.com/4-ft-l...ght-64410.html

My grandfathers workshop in his dusty old barn had 1 light bulb hanging in the center of the probably 14x20 room, with no windows, just a wide door. Previously the light was from a kerosene lantern. I can’t imagine how he was able to do any work, much less find his tools on the workbench with no more light than this! The best I can remember this light was the only electricity in the barn, and this electricity was “borrowed” from the light wire to the outhouse!

I wondered about this ability to see well in dim lighting and it was in reading a few Louis L'Amour westerns back in the '80s and '90s about the "good" cowboys who avoided looking into fires and were able to detect shadows and movement in the dark. Our eyes are not 'trained" to see darkness like our forefathers. I think we may be hurting ourselves.

[Carlos]

Sam's Club has a lower price on a better light. I have a few of them, and one of the HF lights. The ones from Sam's are a true white, not blue, not warm, and no green cast. The HF light is sorta white, but with an obvious green cast (common with cheap LEDs). The Sam's light is the same price in a single, $10 off a two-pack, and even more off an 8-pack. Oh, and the rated life is much longer, plus they offer built-in brightness settings.

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/honeywell-4ft-led-multi-mode-shop-light/prod22050808.ip?xid=plp_product_1_1

[LCHIEN]

I don’t know how to address the lumen equivalents of led vrs cfl vrs incandescent, but I do know that no 40 watt incandescent bulb that I’ve ever used in a desk lamp has “appeared “ to produce as much light as this led fixture. I’m amazed at how much better LED lights up my shop!

My grandfathers workshop in his dusty old barn had 1 light bulb hanging in the center of the probably 14x20 room, with no windows, just a wide door. Previously the light was from a kerosene lantern. I can’t imagine how he was able to do any work, much less find his tools on the workbench with no more light than this! The best I can remember this light was the only electricity in the barn, and this electricity was “borrowed” from the light wire to the outhouse!

First of all, Lumens is the total light energy radiated into an integrated sphere. This is different than lux, which measures how bright an area is say on your workbench, which depends on the lumens of the bulb, how they are directed and the distance from the bench surface.
THis is very confusing to most people. THe Lumens is the net llight output of the bulb, but for practical purposes the lux falling on your workspace is what matters.

Lumens is best measured with a light in the middle of an integrating sphere which adds up all the light rays in all directions (360 degrees around and up and down).

As a point in fact, the bulb in question has all the emitters on one side... probably the pattern of emission is into a cone about 100 to 150 degrees wide.
If you placed this facing you bench the output is 500 lumens and might put 100 lux on your benchtop. Turn the bulb around 180 degrees and the output is still 500 lumesn but the light on your bench will fall to about 10 lux mostly reflections of the light off the wall several feet away. THe fact is that lumens doesn't count direction but lux does.

So a 500 lumen bulb putting all its light out one side as this one does is probably just as good as a 1000 lumen A19 bulb (standard incandescent or LED style) without a reflector. With a large reflector the 1000 lumen A19 bulb might be twice as bright on the subject.

[Jim Frye]

When I built my new shop (12'x22') I lit it with screw in LED lights. I arrayed 17 lights with each light covering about a 4' diameter area. I used GE Brite Sticks at 780 lumens each. It's worth noting that the daylight version is far "brighter" than the cool white version even though both were rated at 780 lumens. I was able to light the entire shop for less than $78 (boxes, bases, & bulbs). SWMBO complains that the shop looks like LasVegas, but I can see stuff very well with no shadows. Unfortunately, GE has stopped production of the Bright Sticks, so I will have to find an alternative in the future. I also have four 75 watt indoor floods on swivel mounts for color matching finishing.