When I built my "dream shop" 2+ years ago, I installed 2 banks of 8 4' shop light each bank linked. They have provided very nice light, but they are starting to fail with the individual 4' sections going dark sub-section by sub-section. I've been told this is characteristic of Chinese-made leds. So I'm looking for replacement fixtures made here.
Requirements:
1) LED only with at least 4K color temp,
2) Need to be able to link so that a switch can handle each bank of 8 fixtures.
3) Told to get US made to get the advertised 50,000 hour life span.
Suggestions and supplier links would be appreciated
LED Shop Lights
Posts
Re: LED Shop Lights
#2One of the reasons I despise anything China made, and marketers of same is complete waste and lack of durability. I will ask my neighbor. He designs industrial/commercial lighting.
Used to be Cree was USA but they sold a big portion to Garbagechina. My Crees have only been in about 3-years but I think some of the newer stock were China-made..
An aside:
Early in my marriage my FIL replaced all his incandescent lights with the, of the time, new CFL's. Costly as H! When he died and we cleaned out the house I salvaged those same bulbs, which was twenty-some years ago. Except for physical constraints, large size, I am still using them. They literally fade over time before fluttering out. . . . A lot like tube CFLs.
Re: LED Shop Lights
#3
This is the shop and
This shows how they are failing
I keep looking for USA made, but not finding anything that will link eight 4'fixtures
Re: LED Shop Lights
#4Do they still make stuff in America??.......who knew???
Re: LED Shop Lights
#5I recently replaced all of the old 4 foot florescent tubes with these led tubes. Rewiriing was an easy job. I'm very pleased with the color and brightness. They are 6,000 K and advertised at 50,000 hour life.
Re: LED Shop Lights
#6Thanks Lee,
Unfortunately I'll also need the fixtures, Just bulbs wont do.
Re: LED Shop Lights
#7If all else fails, try Amazon. Especially check if they indicate an item is frequently returned, or, almost never returned. Ratings should be more than 4 stars.
Re: LED Shop Lights
#8
Good luck on hitting 50,000 hours on…anything. LED lights are driven by circuitry that includes capacitors, and I would challenge you to find any available in bulk (and cheap for manufacturing) that are rated for more than about 4000 hours. I also believe their failure is compounded by how LED light fixtures are often built—with the LEDs closely spaced, not dissipating heat well. I think they’re also typically driven at close to their theoretical maximum output to reduce the number of component LEDs, which only exacerbates the heat problem from the higher current.
I’ve had better longevity at work with the 2’x2’ troffer LED panels, and the 4’ LED direct-wire T8 replacement tubes.