Anyone interested in upgrading their shop lights?

truth in advertising

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

We have been here before. Without knowing anything about these lamps it is not certain, or even likely, that replacing a working T12 or T8 with these lamps will be an "upgrade" in lighting. .

We don't know the reason these were dumped at a fire sale. They could be early generation lamps with way out of date LED technology. they could have horrible CRI. They may have weak lumen output. Who knows. They may be a steal.

Why people gravitate to bargain lighting in a shops with thousands of $$ in machinery is a mystery.

Re: truth in advertising

Barry Irby

You are such a negative Nancy....

You are correct on all points. I would be happy to give whatever details I can. We never know the reason why things are at the auctions. Well, sometimes there will be dozens of giant boxes of Home Depot patio furniture there....in September. Sometimes part of the shipment is damaged and that part ends up in the trash but the rest of it is good and current technology. sometimes it's not left over crap, it's crap they put into giant boxes and pallets and it's a treasure hunt.

These bulbs might be an upgrade if only in the sense they are not easily broken and won't shower you with phosphor coated glass. And hopefully you won't have to climb that wobbly ladder and change them for a very long time. As we get older the ladder becomes more intimidating. Many of here are people of a certain age and if there is any truth in the advertising the bulbs may last longer than we do.

I just asked my friend and the are available for a $1 each plus shipping. That may make them very attractive for utility lighting.

reference chart for compatibility

david weaver

I bought some LED bulbs from a supplier on ebay. the reviews for them are positive, and I have common lithonia lamps and ballasts that were sold in droves at home depot.

When I got the led tubes, they didn't work - they flickered. Not a little bit, but like a scene in a seedy movie or video game. I ended up just buying complete fixtures from sams (which I should've done in the first place).

if these bulbs are the phillips branded bulbs, it looks like Philips has already done the work to let someone know whether or not they'll work.

http://images.philips.com/is/content/PhilipsConsumer/PDFDownloads/United%20States/ODLI20190329-01-UPD-en_US-PLt-16118CR_InstantFit_Ballast-Compatibility-Guide_Jan2019.pdf

(I learned this lesson the hard way, but it wasn't that costly - I only light part of my shop with intense light and that only takes four fixtures).

Re: reference chart for compatibility

walta

FYI some of the “drop in” LEDs only work if you have a electronic ballast and not if your fixture has a old fashion magnetic ballast. Other LEDs work with both types of ballasts.

Walta

Re: reference chart for compatibility

david weaver

Thus the chart, yes.

Mine have electronic ballasts (the fixtures are only about 6 or 8 years old, but I was motivated to go with LED now after tiring of chasing down bulbs and getting rid of them here. You can throw them in the trash where I live, but I know that's discouraged. County collection twice a year costs extra to get rid of them. I think the person who buys my house will probably just find a bunch of spent tubes at the far end of the attic where there's no storage or ability to walk around.