I think I"ll order 3 sets of those LED lights. Two "U" shapes for the garage, and one setup for my crawl space so I can finally see in it.
I"ll need to look into taking the flex joiner and making it longer. Anyone done that? is it just two wires inside?
Not sure if OP had found a solution yet, but I just bought 4 Phillips brand instant fit LED tubes for my laundry room.
They go in a regular florescent fixture, no cutting, no wiring, just straight bulb replacement. At $7 each for 4ft T12 sized, only slightly more expensive than regular bulbs but Holy crap are they bright.
I still like my standalone plugin 4footers in the garage and car port, but I would recommend these to anyone with a regular fixture that needs new bulbs.
Mad_Ratel said:I think I"ll order 3 sets of those LED lights. Two "U" shapes for the garage, and one setup for my crawl space so I can finally see in it.
I"ll need to look into taking the flex joiner and making it longer. Anyone done that? is it just two wires inside?
Not quite sure what you mean by the flex joiner, but these lights have two wires inside. Also, they come with extensions so you can connect them together directly or up to 7 inches apart. You can always use the connections it comes with to make longer connectors if you need to span more space.
RevRico said:Not sure if OP had found a solution yet, but I just bought 4 Phillips brand instant fit LED tubes for my laundry room.
They go in a regular florescent fixture, no cutting, no wiring, just straight bulb replacement. At $7 each for 4ft T12 sized, only slightly more expensive than regular bulbs but Holy crap are they bright.
I still like my standalone plugin 4footers in the garage and car port, but I would recommend these to anyone with a regular fixture that needs new bulbs.
That is a very good suggestion. I didn't have existing fixtures, so I had to start from scratch. I only have a single light bulb in the middle of the garage. Even with two LED lights plugged in, it was not bright enough. And the issue with the florescent fixtures is the ballast. I hate that they make so much noise and go out all the time. If I had the existing fixtures, that would have been the best way to go.
About the ceiling work, would it be easier to cover the drywall with paneling, and then paint that?
In reply to pres589 :
Paneling would be easier in the short term. I don't want to cover up the ceiling and start finishing anything until I decide if I want to use any of that space for storage. I will get it done, but I have to get the cars running and out of the way before I do that. My longer term goal with the garage is to install a recessed box in the center with retractable extension cord and compressed air. Then I can pull down what I need and retract it in the ceiling when I don't.
Of course, this assumes I can convince my wife that I "need" an air compressor.
tedroach said:Mad_Ratel said:I think I"ll order 3 sets of those LED lights. Two "U" shapes for the garage, and one setup for my crawl space so I can finally see in it.
I"ll need to look into taking the flex joiner and making it longer. Anyone done that? is it just two wires inside?
Not quite sure what you mean by the flex joiner, but these lights have two wires inside. Also, they come with extensions so you can connect them together directly or up to 7 inches apart. You can always use the connections it comes with to make longer connectors if you need to span more space.
I need to span a few joists that cross in my "crawl" space. So I need a 3 to 4 ft extension between lights.
If the question is "do I need an air compressor?" the answer is always "yes!".
pres589 said:If the question is "do I need an air compressor?" the answer is always "yes!".
I think the trick to selling the need is "I'll be able to get more work done faster, so I have time to do other things". I'm also not married, so it's only speculation.
This may be one of those situations that I will ask for forgiveness instead of permission. The "need" is not always easy to justify the cost, unless I decide to paint my Chevelle myself. Then the need is real!
My compressor has gotten a lot less use since I bought a battery powered impact wrench. Always hated the amount of noise an air ratchet made, so I barely used it. Nowadays, the main thing I use the compressor for is inflating multiple tires in a short period of time. Could probably get by with one that is much smaller than the 33 gallon one I have.
well, this thread made me finally address the fact that my new garage is lit by a single crummy fluorescent fixture. I'm trying those LEDs that the OP ended up with.
Wow these things have come a long way. I went with the OP's set of 6 LED linkable fixtures, and have 4 of them up in the garage so far. It's an impressive amount of light.
I think they're a bit cool in color for interior use, but for a workspace they are fantastic.
I ordered the 6 linkable fixtures, arriving tonight. I'll try wire them up after the kiddo's go to bed. :P
Just in case anyone needs a longer space between the tubes - I do - and don't want to be bothered soldering, a 4 foot connector is available here for purchase.
I have to order more, but I put a strip of 6 in my basement workshop area. Easy Peasy installation (took half an hour from opening the box to turning them on and OH MY GOD ARE THEY BRIGHT!
The0retical said:Someone here did flush mount lighting with the linkable rolls of LEDs not too long ago. They used a used computer PSU to power it and spent like 50 bucks on the project for some absurd lumen rating.
Edit: It was AWSX1686 here's the thread. Maybe summon (or PM) him and see how it's held up.
Hey, that's me! So far they've held up great.
I haven't decided if I want to continue the strips to do the other half of the garage, or go with the "Costco 4ft style" LED lights. I may be doing some fairly serious garage renovations in the spring/summer, so I'm probably going to hold off till then. The main thing with the strips is you have to custom do the wiring (12v) unless you pay for a more expensive system, and you need a good power supply. (See my thread for details.)
Edit: The more I read about the 4ft Cost/Low/Mart lights, the more it seems like they are just a bulkier version of what I did, so it is probably worth the effort to install like I have already.
SaltyDog said:¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:I have 8 of these bad boys in my shop and am very happy with the output for the price, they're super bright and the color doesn't make my brain itch like some of the LEDs I've had elsewhere.
I just checked my UPS Tracking. I have 8 of them waiting for me at home.
Should light up my 28X22 just fine! Better pricing than anything from the box stores.
I've had these up for three weeks now. Love 'em.
2 linked together over my workbench and the other six equally spaced thru ought the rest of the garage. Great light, no shadows and quiet. Had no idea how loud the florescents were till they were gone.
(8) 4' fixtures delivered, $205.
1 fixture was missing one of the mounting holes, but since I flush mounted them, I drilled through the fixture, after taking off the end cap to make sure there were no parts to damage, and screwed though into the joist.
Closest I found at the box stores locally was $40/ea., so $320 vs $205
I love these new lights. They are awesome! I can't believe how bright my garage is and I do not even have all of them installed yet.
I was working on the car the other day and needed more light under the hood (since the hood blocks some of the light from above. I went to Harbor Freight and picked up some $4 magnets with hooks, bent them to close, and attached them to one of the lights with zip ties. Now I can use a light that is held with magnets to the hood of the car. Worked so well that I had to share!
Next, I am going to mount two of the lights on a 2x4 with a slight angle to use as a light for when I am working under the car.
In reply to AWSX1686 :
I am thinking about doing this, but since I already have some lighting up in the cieling, I think I will 45* a 1x6 or so and just space these as close together as possible and put them in the top corner of the garage.
I just got some 7 way LED "regular" bulb splitters I put up, I will have to report once I have lights in these.
I have four recessed lights in the 12 ft. high ceiling, each holds three 4ft. tubes. They don't work well in the winter so I planted an LED outdoor flood light in the center of two of them, similar to the ones pictured below. Will do the other two when things slow down a bit. ~$50 each. They throw shadows on sunny days.
This canoe has boots.
That were made for walkin'!
A zombie thread, yes, but one that interests me. :)
I think I'm ready to make the jump. This six-pack of LED fixtures was previously listed at like $130. Now it's $119. What's the downside with this setup for a two-car garage?
David S. Wallens said:A zombie thread, yes, but one that interests me. :)
I think I'm ready to make the jump. This six-pack of LED fixtures was previously listed at like $130. Now it's $119. What's the downside with this setup for a two-car garage?
I can't imagine there is one. My Coscto lights are still kicking ass 3+ years on.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
my UPS/USPS/Fedex guy is going to be sooooo annoyed with me this month.... I just ordered a set of these (lots of Amazon deliveries lately :P )
6 of these can't be anything other than an improvement over the 2 fluorescent tubes I have in the (two-car) garage currently
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