Doing something I should have done a long, long time ago

The fluorescent lights in my garage quit working about a year and a half ago, and my landlord (who in all other respects is an excellent and responsive landlord) has not really done anything about fixing them. As such I have been working by the light of the sun through the open garage door by day, and by the puny garage door opener light by dark. Unfortunately most of my wrenching time happens at night. I've had to work by flashlight for pretty much every task that was more involved than walking through the space.

Last night I haphazardly hung four of those ultra cheap amazon LED fixtures, and now I can actually see to work! It makes me so happy, I can't believe I didn't do this sooner.

Before: Dark, cave like

After: Bright, actually useable

Take this post as the sign you need to add more lights to your garage. Unfortunately, now I can see how messy it is, so that's next.

I put 16 in my shop, amazing difference.

Awesome. I should get around to finishing the install on mine. I put up a half dozen to get a project done and the rest have been sitting in the boxes since. Five years or so?

Agreed, you just about can't have too much light in your shop! Well done....

Barrina from amazon..

You can thank me later.

wvumtnbkr said:

Barrina from amazon..

 

You can thank me later.

I agree 

wvumtnbkr said:

Barrina from amazon..

 

You can thank me later.

True.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Yup. I bought a 6 pack and a 12 pack for $180 maybe, I cannot remember. I put 16 in the 24x24 shop and have 2 $30 home despot ones in there.

Barrina feel cheap as they cost but they are berkeleying excellent. I have yet to have one fall from it's E36 M3ty clip mounting.

100% would purchase again.

The downside of having really good shop lighting is that it's really easy to lose track of time. If I'm not wearing a watch, I'll often be in the shop until 1-2 am on work nights, which is no Bueno. 

I have 20x 4' LED lights in my 20x30 3 car garage. I hate working in caves.

preach (dudeist priest) said:

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Yup. I bought a 6 pack and a 12 pack for $180 maybe, I cannot remember. I put 16 in the 24x24 shop and have 2 $30 home despot ones in there.

Barrina feel cheap as they cost but they are berkeleying excellent. I have yet to have one fall from it's E36 M3ty clip mounting.

100% would purchase again.

Same here. Those clips and the whole fixture seem so sketchy, but mine have been up for over a year with no issues. 

Did you send a bill for the lights to your landlord?

In reply to MyMiatas :

I did not, I'll take tgem with me when I leave lol

I am a big fan of the flat panel LED lights. I put up a bunch of these 1' x 4' panels in my shop, with a few 2' x 4' panels. The light is much more evenly distributed. You can stare at any one light without pain, but they really brighten up the joint. 

dculberson said:

Awesome. I should get around to finishing the install on mine. I put up a half dozen to get a project done and the rest have been sitting in the boxes since. Five years or so?

Same. 7 years though, sadly. 

I'm a landlord and frequently have tenants asking about doing work like this.  IF THEY ARE COMPETANT, and the work adds value, I will often reimburse for the material costs if I can get the receipts because I can deduct the cost of the improvement.  It's worth asking about, although you have already done the work. 

Jack

Yes to modern, low-cost LED lighting.

Here's how I did it: Don´t Work in the Dark | LED Shop Lights Have Gotten Way Inexpensive

And some talk from Tim about his shop's lighting setup:

Well, the fluorescents started working again out of the blue, so my garage is extra bright now :)

In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :

Too soon?

Bonus points that someone still remembers Timbuk3.  So much good music.  Saw them in high school and they literally walked in off the street with the most minimal setup that they hand carried in one trip in.  They rocked.