try one or two fixtures w/ non asian daylight bulbs/tubes in daylight output...

http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/046677376635/tubular-fluorescent

It seems like if you removed the ballast you could just use the cheapest T8 fixtures, gut them, and use the LED lamps and it would be a lot cheaper than buying LED fixtures. I'll have to look into this a little more. In the last shop I bought quality T8 lamps/fixtures and it was fairly expensive.

1 hour ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

It seems like if you removed the ballast you could just use the cheapest T8 fixtures, gut them, and use the LED lamps and it would be a lot cheaper than buying LED fixtures. I'll have to look into this a little more. In the last shop I bought quality T8 lamps/fixtures and it was fairly expensive.

 

Check Craigslist under materials.  Used fixtures are plentiful and cheap around here.

https://youngstown.craigslist.org/for/5743819629.html

We're a little more rural, but I'll watch. I guess I should check the Restore as well.

3 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

It seems like if you removed the ballast you could just use the cheapest T8 fixtures, gut them, and use the LED lamps and it would be a lot cheaper than buying LED fixtures. I'll have to look into this a little more. In the last shop I bought quality T8 lamps/fixtures and it was fairly expensive.

 

5 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

We're a little more rural, but I'll watch. I guess I should check the Restore as well.

 

Fred, You are right ,the end sockets work for the LED tubes, so you don't even need to rermove the ballast, just wire around it, the instructions come with the tubes. They do sell new end sockets too if you wan to replace them, but in any event you don't have to buy a whole new fixture.

Herb

Costco is running a sale on their 4' two-tube LED fixtures beginning Dec. 5,  $19.99 each after $10 off.

 

Single pack version of these: http://www.costco.com/4’-Linkable-LED-Shop-Light-with-Pull-Chain%2c-2-pack.product.100284402.html

I'll ask my son to keep his eye on them (he works there). Canadian price is $60.00 for two-pack, don't know if they'll go on sale here. Thanks for the heads-up.

John

1 hour ago, kmealy said:

 

Costco is running a sale on their 4' two-tube LED fixtures

 

Awesome price! Unfortunately no Costcos here

2 hours ago, lew said:

Awesome price! Unfortunately no Costcos here

count your blessings...

8 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

count your blessings...

We have a "BJ's" and a Sam's Club- neither of which I frequent. Blue Borg here, Orange Borg half an hour away. And of course, Wally World. Oh Yeah, one restaurant for every 5 persons.

I am always amazed at the number of Costco members (85 million and realize 300+ million people in USA, including children, incarcerated, etc.).   In Ohio, unless you are in 5 largest major metro areas, you are not near one.

True enough...Id love to have one nearby.

I am reminded of a trip I took to Moose Factory, Ontario.   You drive on the road until it ends, then a two hour train ride, a walk across one town and a canoe ride out to the island where Moose Factory is.    The locals there made a couple of shopping trips a year for staples and loaded up their trucks on the train to head back to MF.   The pastor we worked with regularly made a 4 hour cross country trip on his snowmobile in winter.    Too remote for me.

19 minutes ago, kmealy said:

I am reminded of a trip I took to Moose Factory, Ontario.   You drive on the road until it ends, then a two hour train ride, a walk across one town and a canoe ride out to the island where Moose Factory is.    The locals there made a couple of shopping trips a year for staples and loaded up their trucks on the train to head back to MF.   The pastor we worked with regularly made a 4 hour cross country trip on his snowmobile in winter.    Too remote for me.

Ah, yes... MY country!

John

On 9/28/2016 at 11:16 AM, schnewj said:

I can only caution you guys to check and see where they are being made. HD and Lowe's were selling a lot of these retrofit (made in China) 4' bulbs. They came back in the door as quick as they went out. When I asked the CS rep at the counter why so many, she told me, that, they were burning out and stopped working after a couple of weeks.

 

I swear that these two "Big Boxes" are owned by the same parent. The prices are always within a few cents of each other and they carry a lot of the same products, that are made by the same manufacturer(s) and packaged under different labels.

 

 

They both seem to love selling cheap made in China tools and goods also. There are things I buy from them, but lumber and tools are infrequent.

On 11/26/2016 at 7:57 PM, kmealy said:

I am always amazed at the number of Costco members (85 million and realize 300+ million people in USA, including children, incarcerated, etc.).   In Ohio, unless you are in 5 largest major metro areas, you are not near one.

 

We live in Columbus, son is a member, amazing deals for those of us that live near one though....

Well, the nearest Costco is 70 miles away...and I still joined last week. I had ordered a couple of those LED lights linked above to check them out. I ordered as a non-member and paid a $6 surcharge plus shipping ($10) to get 2 sets. They were enough of a good deal I drove to that Costco (Centerville Ohio), joined and bought 10 more lights. In the store they are not sold in sets of 2, but rather individually...and there was a limit of 10 (). Anyway, I got 10 when I really needed 20 for the new shop. I'll order some off the internet, they don't seem to have the limit. But in the current market, those lights are a good buy....even if they are Chinese.

22 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

Well, the nearest Costco is 70 miles away...and I still joined last week. I had ordered a couple of those LED lights linked above to check them out. I ordered as a non-member and paid a $6 surcharge plus shipping ($10) to get 2 sets. They were enough of a good deal I drove to that Costco (Centerville Ohio), joined and bought 10 more lights. In the store they are not sold in sets of 2, but rather individually...and there was a limit of 10 (). Anyway, I got 10 when I really needed 20 for the new shop. I'll order some off the internet, they don't seem to have the limit. But in the current market, those lights are a good buy....even if they are Chinese.

Good to know, I am needing to add some more lighting to my shop and not sure exactly how I want to go about it.

 

Spending money on fixtures and wiring is not as sexy as a new hand tool sadly...I have an Ohio Master Electricians license and it is my own dwelling, so I can do what I want...

 

But still not as much fun as a new hand plane or router.

24 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

Well, the nearest Costco is 70 miles away...and I still joined last week. I had ordered a couple of those LED lights linked above to check them out. I ordered as a non-member and paid a $6 surcharge plus shipping ($10) to get 2 sets. They were enough of a good deal I drove to that Costco (Centerville Ohio), joined and bought 10 more lights. In the store they are not sold in sets of 2, but rather individually...and there was a limit of 10 (). Anyway, I got 10 when I really needed 20 for the new shop. I'll order some off the internet, they don't seem to have the limit. But in the current market, those lights are a good buy....even if they are Chinese.

...and if after the first of the year you want a hand running any new circuits...I am always up for meeting a new woodworker.  I know you don't know me from Adam....but I do enjoy seeing how other guys work wood.

 

Chris

On 11/27/2016 at 9:53 AM, kmealy said:

I am reminded of a trip I took to Moose Factory, Ontario.   You drive on the road until it ends, then a two hour train ride, a walk across one town and a canoe ride out to the island where Moose Factory is.    The locals there made a couple of shopping trips a year for staples and loaded up their trucks on the train to head back to MF.   The pastor we worked with regularly made a 4 hour cross country trip on his snowmobile in winter.    Too remote for me.

 

Sounds exactly like where I would like to live.