Lets get the L.E.D out

[Dan Hintz]

The LEDs are probably lasting just fine...it's the cheap circuitry driving them that is likely the problem.

Bingo! And if the LEDs have failed (which is very likely), it's because the drive circuitry wasn't designed to properly drive them.

Today's manufacturing is counting on the hype of LEDs to carry them, like putting a Ferrari engine in a Yugo's chassis... it'll work, but eventually that engine is just going to overwhelm the rest of the system and the entire thing breaks down. Is a Ferrari engine poorly made? Certainly not! But if the support isn't there, even the best items will eventually fail.

[Don Alexander]

and to my eyes (the only eyes i can speak for) LED's in the shop significantly change the color of what i'm illuminating which means they are of very limited value to me

also the LED taillights on cars these days absolutely drive my eyes batty, which gives me a headache , which in turn makes driving in traffic at night much worse than the normal traffic issues ever did sometimes "progress" isn't all progress as with most everything the product will likely be improved over time hopefully improved alot

[Dan Hintz]

A 4' LED T8 replacement sells for around $25 per

I'd still love to know where you're getting such cheap bulbs, James... those things are typically $100+. For $25, I'd start using them.

[Marty Paulus]

I can find them on Amazon for $55ish. Still to expensive for my taste. For $25 I may pop for a few. I too am waiting for the cost to come down. We have dimmer switches in most rooms in the house and sensors on all the outdoor lights. CFL's just don't cut it in my house. I tried some CFL in the outdoor garage lights and they only lasted a couple of days. If they come out with reasonable cost CFL's I am all for them but I just don't see that happening anytime soon.

Not that I really want to show my age but does anyone else remember going to the electric company to get free light bulbs??

[John McClanahan]

I searched Amazon but struck out. What search phrase is used to find these LEDs?

[Peter J Lee]

The LED version of T8s I've come across have been around $75. The only T8 fixture I have holds 8 bulbs so thats too pricey for me.

Regarding CFLs, I bought a bunch from Ace that are 100 and 150 watt equivalents for $1 and a bunch of smaller ones from Home Depot in 4 packs for $2. We use a bunch of them all over the place and so far one has spit the bit. It was in my workshop and I probably abused it in some way. That's cheap if you ask me.

[Marty Paulus]

I searched Amazon but struck out. What search phrase is used to find these LEDs?

John, Believe it or not just "LED T8" in all departments and that got me almost 1380 results. That is assuming I am looking at the correct bulbs that is...

[Wally Alexander]

Actually I do remember as a kid taking your old burned out light bulbs to Detroit Edison for free replacements. After highschool I moved a little farther south, though still in Michigan, and my first job was cleaning a resturant after closing. When the time came to change a burned out light bulb, I asked where they were stored and was told the trash. Seems they had never had that service available. They all had a good laugh at my expense as well. Thanks for the memory, Wally

[Kerry Wright]

Not that I really want to show my age but does anyone else remember going to the electric company to get free light bulbs??

Actually yes, in fact twice in the past year. Our local power company was promoting switching to CFLs, both times they gave away four 14W (60W equivalent) CFL bulbs per household.

[Ben Hatcher]

Buying LEDs right now is like buying a car that is in its last year before a remodel. The light quality, dimability, and efficiency keeps getting better all of the time. I'm worried that I'm going to drop a bunch of cash on some good lights only to have very good to excellent options available a week after the return period is over.

[Dan Hintz]

Buying LEDs right now is like buying a car that is in its last year before a remodel. The light quality, dimability, and efficiency keeps getting better all of the time. I'm worried that I'm going to drop a bunch of cash on some good lights only to have very good to excellent options available a week after the return period is over.

It's like computers... the longer you wait, the better they become, and no matter how great the one you just purchased is, tomorrow's it will be old technology.

Sometimes you just gotta plant a stake in the sand and go for it...

[Alan Lightstone]

I've replaced my fish tank metal halide bulbs with LEDs. My electric bills have gone down noticeably. And they produce VERY much less heat, so my chiller and A/C costs are clearly less.

That being said, it takes 6 30-watt fixtures (with 10 LEDs per fixture) to light the tank (it could easily take 12 fixtures), and the penetration is not nearly what it was with the halides, and the color is not nearly as nice.

I have no doubts that LEDs are the lighting source of the future. But I think we still have a few years to wait until they get both economical and have pleasing light quality.

[Mark Denovich]

Check out LED strip lights. I have a 5m long strip, with 300 white LEDs on it. The strip features a self-adhesive backing. Draws about 24w for 1000 lumens. $16 on Amazon.

The format is quite interesting. The strips can be cut as needed... perfect for under cabinet lighting.

[Russell Sansom]

In response the the "watery light" question, I think the problem is slightly backwards from what it appears.
I have picked up some 7 and 10-watt LED "arrays" on EBAY which I've put into fixtures for intense light. But I'm not comfortable with that unless there is a considerable amount of ambient light to fill in the shadows.

LED's are ( basically ) point light sources. It's not something we are used to indoors. Incandescent bulbs are mostly diffuse. Even the clear-globed bulbs have a large filament. So, one problem is that shadows under an LED lamp are very dark...there's no diffuse light bouncing all over the shop, just the single "point" source.

I thought an LED's headlamp would be fantastic for camping ( I usually read myself to bed for an hour in the tent ). As lumens have gone up there's a lot of light...but even with decent condensing lenses or focusing reflectors, the light isn't diffuse enough for reading comfortably. Especially with trifocals where tilting the head changes the reading lens to the wrong one.

On one motorcycle trip across the country I found myself making reflectors out of tin foil and diffusers from waxed paper. These worked a bit, but they were flawed mechanically.

I started experimenting with diffusers a few months ago with some success, but I didn't take it all the way to measuring light pattern and taking light meter readings to quantify the whole thing. Then I ran across a great headlamp at REI with a built-in diffuser that can be slid across the lens, and it works perfectly for reading. This works pretty well for woodworking when combined with a few other lamps.

Sorry for the rambling note, but it's a subject I've spend a lot of time on. If someone has some further insights along these lines I'd like to hear them.

[John Lifer]

Numerous T-8's for sale on the site that begins with an E. One in fact shipping from New York that is under $25 per bulb. You can get to almost $10 per bulb if you are willing to take chance on shipping from mainland China. I'm tempted to try a couple, but I'll let others do experimentation. Heat dissipation is the main problem with the led. Must be able to get heat generated away from the led.