Light for workbench - fluorescent or LED? Or...?

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geekIT

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#198167 29-Jun-2016 08:37

I want to put some decent lights in my shed and above my workbench without spending megabucks.

I'm currently using three 24w Philips Tornado Energy Saver lamps, with a 200w filament on-demand desk lamp. But it's fairly gloomy.

As I see it, my options are used fluorescents (if I could find such things) or new fluorescents.

But having been recently fooling about with some LED striplights in another project, I'm impressed with these little gizmos.

Suggestions would be appreciated :-)

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

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#1582433 29-Jun-2016 08:58

I'm considering the same thing and I'm going with an 36W LED Batten light.

Will be around the $100 mark.

A single fluorescent can produce a stroboscopic effect, which makes a spinning object appear stationary.

Mike

richms

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#1582455 29-Jun-2016 09:55

Fluros only strobe on magnetic ballasts which are only going to be available on used fittings now.

A cheap dual fluro with 2 tubes is about $40 from Bunnings when I last looked. 4000k tubes which is a hard to get in led.

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/deta-fluorescent-2-x-36w-diffused-batten-light_p04370495

Description must be old as mine are all electronic.

Buy an extension cord and chop the socket off for a cable since that is way cheaper than buying wire or a plug on their own.

Richard rich.ms

MikeAqua

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#1582473 29-Jun-2016 10:14

And the OP mentions buying used flouros.

richms: Fluros only strobe on magnetic ballasts which are only going to be available on used fittings now.

Mike

richms

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#1582490 29-Jun-2016 10:48

MikeAqua:

And the OP mentions buying used flouros.

richms: Fluros only strobe on magnetic ballasts which are only going to be available on used fittings now.

Yes, which is why I mentioned that its not a problem on new ones.

Richard rich.ms

gzt

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#1582606 29-Jun-2016 13:06

Some white paint for the interior might be a good investment.

geekIT

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#1582866 29-Jun-2016 17:40

Yeah, G - you're right. The shed is doubly bad for light because the walls and ceilings are only showing black building paper. So it's like a big light sink :-)

I should look at fixing it sometime, but it'll be a tedious job because I've got shelves all over the place.

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

gzt

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#1582876 29-Jun-2016 17:55

A minimal ceiling only above the work area will help a lot.

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oxnsox

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#1582877 29-Jun-2016 17:55

Recently bought a Deta 1250lm (15watt) LED fitting from Bunnings for above mine. Its presents aout a 150mm circular evenly lit source and is apparently dimmable.

Now thinking of replacing the standard fittings in the garage with these

nickb800

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#1582890 29-Jun-2016 18:39

Also worth thinking about how much use they will get - if it's going to be on a lot, then that might sway you to a higher upfront cost (LED tubes) with low operation cost or vice versa.

I have 3x double fluoro tubes over my workbench, which is awesome when I'm working on stuff. The linear rather than point light source def makes a difference. However it does use a bit of power when I'm dashing in to grab random household stuff which is also kept in the garage, so power consumption probably adds up

geekIT

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#1582922 29-Jun-2016 19:29

I followed richms's link to the Bunnings fluorescents. The package looks pretty good, I thought.

Would someone like to check my maths?

Two 36w tubes would put out around 6700 lumens, I calculate, which is more than four 100w incandescent bulbs. Yes?

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

SepticSceptic

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#1583396 30-Jun-2016 15:03

nickb800:

Also worth thinking about how much use they will get - if it's going to be on a lot, then that might sway you to a higher upfront cost (LED tubes) with low operation cost or vice versa.

I have 3x double fluoro tubes over my workbench, which is awesome when I'm working on stuff. The linear rather than point light source def makes a difference. However it does use a bit of power when I'm dashing in to grab random household stuff which is also kept in the garage, so power consumption probably adds up

I have 2 triple flouros I scored from a work office refurbish, and intermixed cool white and warm white tubes ( 2 CW + 1 WW in one fitting, and 1 CW and 2 WW in the other.)

You maybe able to score some second handies from a demo yard.

Excellent spread of light, minimal shadows. I have these at about 3ft from either end of a 20ft container workshop.

though 36w x6 = 216w, over 5 hours is over a Kw/H, I sorta watch for how long the lights are on for .... but in the big scheme of things, probably less than a Plasma TV ..

MikeAqua

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#1583953 1-Jul-2016 11:11

Airless sprayer

geekIT:

Yeah, G - you're right. The shed is doubly bad for light because the walls and ceilings are only showing black building paper. So it's like a big light sink :-)

I should look at fixing it sometime, but it'll be a tedious job because I've got shelves all over the place.

Mike

nunz

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#1583981 1-Jul-2016 11:54

Sheds are hard to light and as i get older find i need more concentrated light and less of the ambient stuff.

1 - fluros stobe, are really dangerous if they break (shed lights are prone to getting hit with bits of 4x2, over head hammer swings etc) and are as toxic as hades. they are also colder in colour generally.

2 - LEDs, are energy efficient, can be daylight or other colours, dont heat up, are knock resistant and best of all - can be moved to where you need the light so you aren't standing in shadows.

Bunnings have the following - investing in a few, with screws / hangers on walls and ceiling would give you light right where you want it.

The power bank also has magnetic back - easy to situate on a bandsaw pointing down at your work

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/arlec-led-10w-worklight-with-stand_p00267133

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/click-led-worklight-with-tripod-blue_p07071814

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/eiger-1000w-halogen-tripod_p00311489

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/led-worklight-with-powerbank_p04410779

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/arlec-portable-halogen-worklight-150w_p07070597

richms

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#1583996 1-Jul-2016 12:44

Bare LEDs, like in most worklights are a point source so are horrible to work under, with shadows being very dark and the resulting high contrast making it much more unpleasant to work under.

That long click $40 worklight is built like crap, and it has really visible PWM on its low brightness, its charger is super slow.

I have bought a previous arlec worklight, unseen as it was not plugged in when in the store and it turned out to have massive 100Hz flicker and also was a warm white light which both are not nice for a worklight. If you are buying one then keep all the packaging etc till you have tested it out because you cant return it without them.

Over my electronics bench I have just cieling mounted my soft boxes that I got for a brief attempt at photography, put in 4 9w LED lamps in each, the soft cover spreads the light making it nice to work under and if I do make more videos of pulling crap apart will be well lit without missing details because of shadows.

Richard rich.ms

throbb

675 posts

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#1584017 1-Jul-2016 13:34

geekIT:

I want to put some decent lights in my shed and above my workbench without spending megabucks.

I'm currently using three 24w Philips Tornado Energy Saver lamps, with a 200w filament on-demand desk lamp. But it's fairly gloomy.

As I see it, my options are used fluorescents (if I could find such things) or new fluorescents.

But having been recently fooling about with some LED striplights in another project, I'm impressed with these little gizmos.

Suggestions would be appreciated :-)

I have a shelve above my workbench, which I have run some LED strip lights along that I got for a few dollars from Aliexpress. These provide really good light.

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