Feit LED Shop Lights on Sale at Costco

[Monte Milanuk]

Those are T12 HO lamps. The base is called R17D. Those are energy saver 95w bulbs as the standard HO is 110w.

Good to know!

The mystery is why they aren't very bright. Correctly working ballasts and new T12 HO lamps are VERY bright, 6000+ lumens per bulb.

Well, fwiw I replaced one bulb recently (the burnt one in the image above) and it doesn't seem noticeably brighter than any of the other ones in *any* of the fixtures.

You could swap out the tombstones for single pin and use 8' LED. This works well as you can rotate the bulbs out to cover a wider angle and help make up for some of the LED issue with too narrow output. I wouldn't use these any lower than the 9' you have as they can be too glaring.

What would be the benefit of doing that? TBH, I *hate* working with 8 ft bulbs, start to finish, from getting them home from the store (have to make a special trip with the truck because they won't reasonably fit in my car, but 4 footers do) to disposal. I don't live in a metro area; some things that are commonly available elsewhere are... not so much, here. If I have to get up there to pull apart and rewire the fixture, why would I do that instead of just pull them down and replace them with LED fixtures of a known history?

[lee cox]

Here are some bulbs that will make the Costco Feits seem like you are working by candlelight:
https://www.prolighting.com/led-ligh...l07103-3m.html

Many possibilities. Narrow angle, wider angle, less/more light, Lumens per watt vs price per bulb. Reliable brands with a warranty that might be worth something, etc.

I think the Costco lights give off more Lumens unless you are running multiple bulbs and then you are burning more power(watts). I guess there is nothing free.

[Greg R Bradley]

I think the Costco lights give off more Lumens unless you are running multiple bulbs and then you are burning more power(watts). I guess there is nothing free.

Costco Feit is a two bulb type integrated fixture. Looks like two bulbs but not removable. 42 watts to produce 4000 lumen. 95 Lumen per watt.

Typical LED $12 bare fixture has two pairs of tombstones for two 4' lamps so my example is 18 watts & 2640 lumens each so two lamp fixture 36 watts to produce 5300 lumens. 145 Lumen per watt.

The Costco Feits just aren't a serious light. Great when you buy one or two to add a light over a bench or similar.

The advantage of a fixture is that it goes in permanently or semi-permanently and then you choose the "bulbs" as appropriate.

[Peter Christensen]

Lee I don’t understand your reasoning. How the fixtures are set up shouldn’t mater as long as sufficient power is supplied. Daisy chaining would limit the power by the size of the wires in a fixture. The fixture series I bought were able to handle a total of 200 watts when daisy chained together. So I could have put 5 together with the 5’ ones I got. If I bought their 2’ long ones I could have put closer to 10. If I bought the 8’ fixtures I think the limit was 2 or 3. If I remember correctly they could have been mixed too as long as they didn’t exceed the 200 watt limit. I found out later that if wired as a single fixture they could be dimmed.

[Greg R Bradley]

Good to know!



Well, fwiw I replaced one bulb recently (the burnt one in the image above) and it doesn't seem noticeably brighter than any of the other ones in *any* of the fixtures.




What would be the benefit of doing that? TBH, I *hate* working with 8 ft bulbs, start to finish, from getting them home from the store (have to make a special trip with the truck because they won't reasonably fit in my car, but 4 footers do) to disposal. I don't live in a metro area; some things that are commonly available elsewhere are... not so much, here. If I have to get up there to pull apart and rewire the fixture, why would I do that instead of just pull them down and replace them with LED fixtures of a known history?

It depends on the quality of the existing lights and how well they are mounted and wired. HO fixtures tended to be well made. On most of mine, changing tombstones and wiring was less work than removing the old ones. No one right answer for all situations. One issue with 8' LED conversions is that most of the vendors will only ship them in case quantities, which is usually 15. But then they are shipped right to your door and you don't have to pick them up or haul them.

I do suppose there are advantages to an urban environment. My local wholesale lighting supplier is two blocks away. Don't get me started on the DISadvantages of urban.........

[lee cox]

Costco Feit is a two bulb type integrated fixture. Looks like two bulbs but not removable. 42 watts to produce 4000 lumen. 95 Lumen per watt.

Typical LED $12 bare fixture has two pairs of tombstones for two 4' lamps so my example is 18 watts & 2640 lumens each so two lamp fixture 36 watts to produce 5300 lumens. 145 Lumen per watt.

The Costco Feits just aren't a serious light. Great when you buy one or two to add a light over a bench or similar.

The advantage of a fixture is that it goes in permanently or semi-permanently and then you choose the "bulbs" as appropriate.

You are correct. I have 15 or 17 Costco lights I installed last year. I remember them as 32 watts but I was wrong as I just looked it up.

[lee cox]

I like the color of the Costco lights. We use 3 of them to light up our long kitchen counter. They get used every day for several hours. Out of 15 or 17 fixtures we had 1 light that was bad, dim. Costco exchanged it.

We installed 4 Costco LED lights in my wife's sewing room. You almost need sunglasses. It is setup as indirect light reflecting off the ceiling.

[Greg R Bradley]

Lee, they could have been 32watt and 3000 lumens. I think they have changed them several times. I think they had a 38 watt 3600 lumen 4' also. There seem to be three different appearances too.

[Jim Becker]

The Costco Feits just aren't a serious light. Great when you buy one or two to add a light over a bench or similar.

Well...walking into my shop is like walking onto a sunny beach since I put in the Feit fixtures as well as a few replacement "tubes" for four T12 fixtures that were still in good condition. Granted, I probably am using a few more than some folks might in a given area with an 8' ceiling, but I'm not lacking for light in any way.

[Monte Milanuk]

It depends on the quality of the existing lights and how well they are mounted and wired. HO fixtures tended to be well made. On most of mine, changing tombstones and wiring was less work than removing the old ones.

Fair point. I remember taking down the old 8 ft 4 bulb T12 fixtures with magnetic ballasts by myself at the last house. That was *not* fun! I don't know about the 'quality' of the fixtures themselves, but whoever put them up sure did a pretty nice job of it. Might be worth keeping them after all...

One issue with 8' LED conversions is that most of the vendors will only ship them in case quantities, which is usually 15. But then they are shipped right to your door and you don't have to pick them up or haul them.

I had no idea you could mail order 8 ft light bulbs from *Amazon* Looks like they can be had in quantities as small as 4... but I'd need at least 8... hmmm...

I replaced one of the 4 ft 2 bulb T8 shop lights with a CE (Home Depot) 4 bulb 4 ft LED fixture... holy cow, what a difference. Both in the amount of light, and the color.

[David L Morse]

Fair point. I remember taking down the old 8 ft 4 bulb T12 fixtures with magnetic ballasts by myself at the last house. That was *not* fun! I don't know about the 'quality' of the fixtures themselves, but whoever put them up sure did a pretty nice job of it. Might be worth keeping them after all...

If you're going to rewire and replace tombstones another option is to retrofit the fixtures to hold four or six 4 ft tubes. It's a bit more work but there's a much wider selection of 4 ft LED tubes compared to 8 ft.

I did the six tube conversion with my fixtures. It's tedious but not difficult.
LEDRetroFit.jpg

[glenn bradley]

A number of recent threads have been about replacing fluorescent shop lights with LED. A number of you have recommended the Feit LED shop lights sold at Costco. I received my Costco Savings Coupon Book in the mail yesterday, and it announces that starting on April 17, those Feit 4-foot LED 4K will be on sale for $19.99 (usually $29.99). The book also says that Costco.com will have additional savings on the 2-packs (though the web site doesn't identify what the savings will be as of today; presumably it will starting Tuesday). I think it's time to bid farewell to my fluorescents.

Thanks to your post Steve, I remembered to stop by and pick up a few more of these at a good price. Thanks again for that.

[Jared Sankovich]

Well...walking into my shop is like walking onto a sunny beach since I put in the Feit fixtures as well as a few replacement "tubes" for four T12 fixtures that were still in good condition. Granted, I probably am using a few more than some folks might in a given area with an 8' ceiling, but I'm not lacking for light in any way.

This..

I have 16 costco feit fixtures in a 20x30 space and the only room I've been that was brighter (and literally hurt your eyes) was a 9x13 machine shop metrology room painted all white with two 8' t5ho fixtures (8 bulbs)

15 fixtures from Costco are $300.. 224 lumens per dollar of lighting fixture. Running costs are irrelevant compared to everything else in a shop..

[Sam Murdoch]

In the For what it's Worth dept. - AS - the quality remains to be seen - I ordered this week, out of the mighty river, (inspired by this thread - thank you) a set of 6 - double bulb LEDs 5,000k, 4100 lumens, 40 watt, and with frosted bulbs for $ 23.70 each including S&H and tax. 7 year manufacturers warranty. 5 foot cords, daisy chain capabilities and pull cords too if you need them. I'm expecting to be delighted!

I'll let you know if this is so, next week.

Sam

[Monte Milanuk]

If you're going to rewire and replace tombstones another option is to retrofit the fixtures to hold four or six 4 ft tubes. It's a bit more work but there's a much wider selection of 4 ft LED tubes compared to 8 ft.

Hah! Another thing that I had no idea it was even an option! By chance would you have any links to where you found those?