Shop Light LED tubes

[pehayes]

I have traditional 4' fluorescent shop lamp fixtures in my garage and have been pondering the conversion to 4' LED tubes.  Also, my house bathrooms also have 4' fixtures.  All told I have 16 tubes in place.  Costly in the short run, but energy saving and more durable in the long run.  To date, LED replacements have always required some type of rewiring to the fixture and/or removal of ballast elements.  Just a minor nuisance.  Recently I found some tubes at Costco which claim direct installation into any 4' fixture.  I tried a pair.  Wow!  Find my sunglasses.  Instant full brightness.  Another issue with LEDs is their tendency to be directional and fade rapidly to the side.  These bulbs have a ratcheting fixture at each end which allows the tube to be rotated relative to the fixture and aimed more directly at your target.  However, I really do not sense any significant illumination loss to the sides.  These are VERY effective.  You need to set up that angle of attack before inserting the tube.  The tubes are plastic so that risk of crash damage is greatly minimized.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[canuguzzi]

Just did mine, they work and are equalnin illumination and are instant on with lower operating costs.

I did it for convenience and function, not cost but they work just fine.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I don't do Costco, is there a brand name and item/model number on the packaging so I can find them somewhere else?

[pehayes]

Side of the box shows a 5 year warranty and lists:
FEIT Electric Company
Pico Rivera, CA
www.feit.com
Order T48/4K/LED/2

Oddly, Costco sells this 2-pack for $36.  You can buy a 4-pack from their online system for $80.  The 4-pack comes with free shipping, but I'm only 3 miles from the store so I'll save the transport and buy the local 2-packs.

EBAY seems to have cheapest with shipping as #291628604585.

Odd thing.  Comes with plastic tips to protect the metal pin terminals on the ends.  No information or instructions about how or why to remove those plastic protectors.  Stood confused for awhile and then just bit with my teeth and yanked them off.  Also no instructions about rotating the ratcheted ends to improve light direction and to insure alignment of pins at both ends. 

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[canuguzzi]

I don't do Costco, is there a brand name and item/model number on the packaging so I can find them somewhere else?

FEIT
Model 73993
3800 lumens

Visit Feit.com

You really don't want the consumer stuff sold to Costco for anything but home use. They make much better lights in different models.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Thanks! As soon as I use up the box of fluorescent bulbs I already have, I plan to begin phasing in LEDs in the shop.

A few months ago I bought an LED shop light for over the one workbench and it really does a great job, without the heat and frequent bulb replacement of the halogen light it replaced.

[dsrdave]

Has anyone used the FA8 tubes ????  They replace the 8' single pin tubes.  Removal of the ballast and minor rewire required.  I've been contemplating the conversion (no small cost) but I have not seen any in use. 

[bigbikerrick]

My Local Costco just lowered the price of their complete 4' led shop light with a pull switch on/off to $29.95. I have bought 8 for the garage, and a couple of other locations around the house. I am sick and tired of the "buzzing" of those stupid ballasts!  he LED lamps put out a much nicer ,white light ,than the fluorescents did.
Rick.

[jas67]

I can see these being a huge advantage in the garage/shop in the winter when the fluorescent take forever to warm up.

That said, three years ago, I invested in all new T5HO (high output) fixtures for my garage.    Each individual 54 Watt 46" T5HO tube puts out 5,000 lumens; so 20k lumens for each of the four 8' fixtures I installed out there.       I'm lighting about 3/4 of my 44x36 shop with those four fixtures, and it is well lit.   I'd have had to put twice that many T8 fixtures.

As for LED's, LED fixtures of that kind of light output are still quite expensive.

That said, I've got a couple T8 fixtures above my work benches that I could see transitioning to these LED lights

Thanks for posting the info!

[Mark West]

When I did all my fluorescent lamps I specifically wanted to get rid of the ballasts. Took less than 5 minutes per fixture to eliminate and no more having to figure out if the bulb or ballast is bad.

[canuguzzi]

Just be careful about buying electrical stuff from Costco. Many of their LED security lights and such fail often and usually after the return period and trying to get warranty repairs or replacements is an effort in futility.

It is much better to deal with a direct distributor with link back to the manufacturer. 4 out of 6 led security lights failed after 6 months, two pressure washers within short periods of actual use, I no longer buy such things from them.

Looking for a good propane generator, Costco would be the last place I shop for it.