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I am really tired of the flickery florescence lighting in my shop, and most shops for that mater.
I wonder if anyone has moved to LED?

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Hmm. My t8 fluoros don't seem to flicker...

I replaced some that were flickering, but its more of a pulsing that I can see.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I started using t5s over my bench. I don't notice any flickering. but i do notice all the dust and dirt

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I did notice that at the plant on the 8' bulbs. But the 4' ones seem to be working for me anyway...

Never tried the LED's though...

We went with T8 lamps for room lighting with GE Ecolux 5000k bulbs (spent a lot of time playing with color temp, and really like the 5000- 5200k range for the shop). No hint of a flicker or pulse from ours at all.

Then we supplemented these with a mix of CFL and LED floods in track lighting focused on the bench areas, and of course the obligatory bench lamps as well. Can't recall the color temps on those bulbs, but the LED's look above 5000k and the CFL's probably down in the 3000's. It took some fine tuning, but was well worth the investment and works remarkably well all together. The shop is twice as bright as before, and we're using about half the energy as a bonus.

Sometime in the coming month or so I'll be replacing the lighting in the tool room with T8. I wonder if your pulsing is an issue with the bulbs or fixtures?

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Yes Lance I have switched to LED T8 fittings, I'd never go back to fluorescent lights. The LED lights give me an even clean white light, it can seem a bit clinical at first, but you soon appreciate the even illumination that they provide, oh and of course flick the switch and instant full light. Plus 25yr lifespan, no more expensive than fluorescent to buy, and lower running costs. Most T8 fittings can be simply rewired for the LEDs. They are the future of lighting, I don't have a light in the shop or house that isn't LED now.

Colin

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I built my own worklight with an extension and has a 10' reach. I use LED on my work light and I would love to get rid of my fluorescent ceiling fixtures! But none of the florescent lights flicker at all!

Lance, upgrade ur ballasts. I can't remember if mine are t-5 or 8, they are those thin tubes. I put a bunch out there. Made a world of difference. LED is great but so expensive. Don't forget, LED is a modulated light source. So some folks will be sensitive to that as well.

Some of mine are halogen which provide good light but they are quite hot.

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Some t8 on the ceiling and 60 & 100 watt (eq) cfl task lights.

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Pat

I went with these and will never go back http://www.elightbulbs.com/catalog_prod ... od=SL29786
they are about the equivalent of 2 tubes and about 200 watts incandescent. They give you a more natural light .

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Funny you should mention this. I've found this to be quite an annoyance with some LED lights I've tried - terrible strobing effect, much more pronounced than typical fluorescent bulbs. I imagine that better (and more expensive) units may do a better job of smoothing this modulation, but haven't put the effort in to finding the right ones yet. Best solution I've come up with to date is combining different light sources, both of different type and color. Seems to give the smoothest and most full spectrum balance for my needs.

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David Eddy that swing arm task light is the business!

I've got one of those on the ceiling too and it is great. Probably will get more in the future.

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Pat

To achieve the lumens similar to incandescent lighting, LED apply large currents for short periods of time (so they won't burn out). They do this at some high frequency. This frequency is detectable. My running headlamp is bright,and when bugs fly through my field of view, they leave interesting traces. The other issue is color temperature. LED lighting tends to be harsh, almost single frequency dominated. I found a formula at SawmillCreek.org that specified how many lights to put in a shop. It also had an "age" adjustment. I was surpised how many it took, but I did it. And it worked out pretty good!. On many of the lights, I added pull-string switches so I could turn some off if needed. I do have some LED lighting, it's just not the main source. I should take a picture of it...

Thanks Godin, yes I love it!

I noticed some Cadillacs with flickering LED taillights that are really annoying.

Some of the spiral fluorescent bulbs that replace incandescent bulbs burn out pretty quickly. I have had this problem with more than one brand. One brand burned out in just a couple of months. The company replaced it free, and the new one burned out right away, too. I find it not worth the hassle to keep calling the companies and get them to replace defective items. They do not last the ten years that they boast about. Unfortunately, the newer fluorescent shop light fixtures burn out quickly, unlike the olden days when they lasted for decades. I have had many of these replaced free from the manufactures. I have started taping the receipts to the fixtures for proof, but so far the manufacturers have not demanded any proof. There are a lot of small appliance manufacturers that are very good about replacing failed items. There is a date code molded into the plug that they might have you check and report.

Thanks guys. I am guessing that its the ballasts that are going bad. All of them are at least 10 or 12 years old. I think I will doing like David and try a combination of different lighting types.
Its not horrible what I have now, but it sure could be better...

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I removed virtually all the fluorescent lighting in my shop a number of years ago, in favor of halogen track lighting. Now, I'm starting to gradually shift over to LED's as they come down in price. The LED is actually a much nicer light too, and obviously, not as much heat and certainly cheaper to run. They also last (in theory) forever, and should pay for themselves in energy savings in a few months, based on my average usage. I still have a couple of fluorescent fixtures for general lighting in places where task lighting isn't needed as much, but at all my benches and tools I have the track lighting. You can't beat it for good lighting, especially on the bench.

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I have been using T8, and T5 with 300watt incandescent directly above table. I have switched most of the house over to LED Daylight and will do the shops soon. Amazing difference, and the power savings will be an added bonus.

Here's the layout we use (vaulted ceilings of course allows for different positioning). T8 bulbs over each bench, combined with LED and CFL floods strategically pointed, and then task lamps on the benches.

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Most of the problem with fluorescent lighting (flickering, bulbs burning out, etc.) comes from using cheap ballasts. When I set up my shop at my current home about 4-1/2 years ago, I hired an electrician to wire the shop to the hilt and light it up. I told him to use the good ballasts -- no more of those home depot contractor specials! He used some that were a few times the price of what I used to use from the Borg. I think I now have something like ten fixtures with the bigger bulbs. The lighting in the shop is spectacular. No flickering. I don't think I've had to replace a single bulb in the last 4-1/2 years since we installed them. And for a hobbyist, I spend a lot of time in the shop (at least 20-25 hours every week).

I like lots of light in my shop. I want to be able to see as much detail in my work as I can. One thing worth mentioning with bulbs is the CRI rating. This is the color rendering index. The higher the index the more natural the colors are in your work area. This might not be important to everyone but with color work (bursts, matching necks to back/sides) I need to see those colors as accurate as possible.

My lighting over each work station is the Lithonia I-Beam. These fixtures are sold in four, six or eight lamp versions. They are called "high bay" lighting but can be used lower for workspace lighting. The highly polished reflector seems to really direct the light toward the work area. My bulbs are Philips F32T8/TL841 and GE F32T8/SP50/ECO. They are both 5000K, and have CRI of 82 and 78. Near sunlight like lighting. Absolutely no pulsing or flickering.

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jw ( o)===:::

$8.00 at Costco

Rated as 60 watt equivalent but they seem brighter and they run cool.

Kevin Looker

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