# Walmart LED Shop Lighting



## ste6168 (Mar 12, 2015)

Saw these while "school supply" shopping with the family yesterday at Walmart. Anyone have any info on them, or have used them? Not quite as cheap as the Costco ones, but being I am not a member, nor do I have one local, these would actually be cheaper for me. Specs on them seem slightly better than the Costco ones. I think am going to purchase one to try out, but wanted to see what the consensus here was first. Cannot find a link to them on the website, but I took a picture.

Specs say (and I am not a lighting expert by any means):
40watts
4500 lumens
240 5000k LED's
50,000 hr life (sure this is worth about a grain of salt)

As of now I have almost no lighting in my garage shop… Which leads me to my next question. I work with the garage door open, mostly. Whats the best way to light the area underneath? During the day, this is a non-issue, but when the sun goes down it is. I was thinking about using a spot light or two (the portable kind on stands), but i am not sure. What do you guys with garage shops do?


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

They will throw a lot of light.

Check the box for the CRI (Color Rendering Index) If it isn't at least mid 80's you will want to be careful about doing any finishing/staining under it, because the color will look different outside or in the house under better lighting.
~94 is the Highest LED's get right now (available on the shelf). 100 is a direct match to a daylight standard. (for 5000K)

My shop is T8 fluorescent, with a 'proprietary' lab made phosphor blend that gives me about 88 CRI. But I made them myself (I work at a fluorescent factory site) so I am my own 'beta test'


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## ste6168 (Mar 12, 2015)

> They will throw a lot of light.
> 
> Check the box for the CRI (Color Rendering Index) If it isn t at least mid 80 s you will want to be careful about doing any finishing/staining under it, because the color will look different outside or in the house under better lighting.
> ~94 is the Highest LED s get right now (available on the shelf). 100 is a direct match to a daylight standard. (for 5000K)
> ...


I zoomed in on my original picture, and it says 86 CRI. As I said, no lighting expert, but sounds acceptable based on your recommendation. Not sure if this is a new product or what, but at $43 I think I may pick up two or three. Should light my single car garage up well!


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## SuperCubber (Feb 23, 2012)

I think you'd be super happy with three of those. I have one of the Costco ones and it does throw a lot of light. I could use one or two more, but it works for me for now.


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## grantd (May 5, 2014)

I work out of a single car garage myself with no windows and not even a person door so the garage door is the only way in or out. I have 2 of the costco units in addition to 2 100w equivalent cfl's and I'm very happy with the light in there now. I don't think I would want any more in there. Unfortunately I needed the light in the half of the garage closest to the door so I had no choice but to mount the lights in a place where they are half covered by the fully open garage door. I usually just leave the door open about half way which gives me airflow and all the light. Living in a condo I have a lot of neighbors close by so It's good to have something to keep them from stopping by or looking a bit too close at what I've got in there!


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

You've gotten some pretty good advice, but I'll add my $.02. I use 2 T8 fluorescent fixtures w/ 2 lamps each in my 2 car garage. I wouldn't use any that weren't suspended though. I like the ones directly over my workbench hanging just high enough to keep from hitting my head for good lighting for finishing and striking lines and such. On the other side though, where all the tools, are, I have the light just 6" or so below the ceiling so I get more diffuse light cast over a wider area. I occasionally use my work lamps on tripod stand but the light temp and intensity on those is not good for finishing. I like having the height of the lights adjustable and I like bulbs that are "daylight" balanced. Not as daylight balanced as DrDirt though… I'm gonna have to learn how to make my own custom fluorescent lamps now!

I use lights similar to these (but much older and less attractive!)

And I believe these are the bulbs I use.


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## WoodNSawdust (Mar 7, 2015)

> Not sure if this is a new product or what, but at $43 I think I may pick up two or three. Should light my single car garage up well!
> 
> - ste6168


I would love to switch to LED lighting but I have 14 four foot dual fluorescents my shop at over $600 the price would have to drop drastically.


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

Can't speak to these, but I switched out my two T8 fixtures hanging over my workbench with Costco LEDs-much brighter and clearer. I love them.


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## ste6168 (Mar 12, 2015)

I picked up one of these yesterday to try it out. Plugged it into a switched outlet I have on the ceiling. All I can say is, night and day difference, literally. I will be picking up two more over the next few paychecks. I am happy with the purchase, will post a picture this evening of it lit up.


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## ChrisBarrett (Jul 4, 2015)

I have the costco versions in my basement and they are fantastic. I'll be buying 8 of them for my garage.


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

Great thread! I have a mix of old T12 and newer T8 fixtures in my shop and I have never been totally satisfied with the lighting. I will be stopping by CostCo tomorrow to look at the LED fixtures. The real issue for me will be the color temperature. The real test will be to purchase one and hang it in the shop.

Added: Another concern is the actual spread of the light from the fixture. We tested some LED fixtures at a company I consult for and they were too directional. They threw a very narrow band of light and could not serve as replace,nets for our existing T8 fixtures given the spacing we already had in place.


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## ste6168 (Mar 12, 2015)

Ok, so I am working on rearranging some things in my small shop, so don't mind the mess, but here is a pick. Before this LED fixture, I had the garage door opener light, and a household fixture that I moved around to where I was working. I added the LED light, alongside the other fixture, it is AWESOME! I will be purchasing a second, and saving my receipt for both, just in case

Obviously, the pictures aren't a TRUE representation of the light output, but at least it gives you an idea. I think if I had two of these strips, I will have more than enough light.

No lights on at all:









LED fixture and the stand light:


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