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O/T - Highest O/P T8 LED Fluro bulb?

Terry Keeley

Titanium
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Location
Toronto, Canada eh!
Did some googling around and couldn't find any answers.

Need to replace some cheap T8 (4') LED bulbs and want the most amount of light possible.

I see the specs quote lumen values but they're all basically the same for "cool white", "daylight" etc. bulbs.

Any idea if there's a "high output" or equivalent in LED fluoro bulbs?
 
There are differences, you'll just need to look around. What lumen value are the ones you're replacing and what lumen value are you seeing in the ones you're finding? Sam's Club actually has some pretty decent aluminum bodied 2 bulb fixtures that put out 4500 lumens. I was given a couple as a gift and they are pretty good.
 
I just bought a couple of Sylvania LED replacement T8s, just to see what they are all about. The color is expressed in Kelvin, the output in lumens, and the power consumption is mentioned. Not sure what else you would need. I think that info is now required by law, if it is not on the bulb or packaging it is probably cheap imported junk.
3000K is a warm light easy on the eyes, 4500 and 5500K is a more bluish white that is hard on people prone to migraines and may contribute to cataracts. The hotter bluish white are preferred by some because they are easier to read by and may require a few less bulbs.
I forgot to say the 3500K LED bulbs are noticeably brighter than the regular 3500K bulbs.
 
There are differences, you'll just need to look around. What lumen value are the ones you're replacing and what lumen value are you seeing in the ones you're finding? Sam's Club actually has some pretty decent aluminum bodied 2 bulb fixtures that put out 4500 lumens. I was given a couple as a gift and they are pretty good.

Not sure what they are rated at now except I know they're cheap. Just need to replace the bulbs, not fixtures. The most I'm seeing is 2200 lumens per bulb.

Consider adding more fixtures. :rolleyes5:
Not many if any T8 led tubes more than ~3600Lm

Can't add any more fixtures, it's for our gun club. The existing bulbs are awful compared to the regular fluorescent ones they replaced. The most I'm seeing is 2200 lumen/bulb, where are these 3600 Lm units you speak of?
 
Terry, at work we use T-8 HO lamps but they are the eight-footers. They draw 84 watts so if you can fine a 4' lamp that draws in the neighborhood of 40 watts, you have the HO version.

We are currently installing LED lamps. They are available in a HO version but it draws almost the same amount of power so the boss went with the standard version, half the power and almost the same amount of light.
 
Can't add any more fixtures, it's for our gun club. The existing bulbs are awful compared to the regular fluorescent ones they replaced. The most I'm seeing is 2200 lumen/bulb, where are these 3600 Lm units you speak of?

Sorry, imperial unit cockup. 3600Lm 1500mm tubes are closer to 5' :rolleyes5:

But it might be worth a try one tube from respectable manufacturer(Osram/Sylvania/Philips?) if the current ones are noname cheapos.
 
My house has a lot of 4' fluorescent fixtures, almost 50 bulbs. I recently replaced the bulbs with LED ones that I purchased on the web. They are Sunco brand, 18W, 5000K, 2000Lm. That does not sound like a high output bulb and I was worried about the light, particularly in my shop where I had six two tube fixtures and really needed more light.

I was very happy to find that the rated lumens were very real, as opposed to the often, quickly depreciated values for fluorescent ones. In most places where I had four tube fixtures, I only had to use three bulbs (just two bulbs in a couple of them) and the light was greater than the fluorescents ever gave, even when they were new. In all, I replaced 48 bulbs with 39 and had better light everywhere. My point being that you may not need quite the amount of rated output that you may think, judging by the present fluorescents. I certainly did not. The Sunco LED bulbs were not cheap, but they worked great. Not a single dud in the entire lot.

One caution that I learned in the process. The bulbs that I used could be just installed in place of the fluorescents, leaving the ballasts in place, but I saw two things that were unfavorable that way. First, the efficiency was lower if you used them with a ballast. I wanted the best efficiency possible. Second, most of my ballasts were very old, some over 40 years and a few would have to be replaced anyway. And more were sure to follow fairly quickly. So I choose to remove the ballasts and wire them directly. But that is not the caution. The caution came about when I brought in an electrician for the second phase of the changeover. He started to wire the fixtures in the same way that he used in a prior job like this. But it would not work with my LED bulbs. Apparently, there are at least two ways that the fixtures can be wired for direct connection to the power. And these two schemes are NOT necessarily compatible. I think a wiring scheme could be devised for using both styles of bulb, but we did not test it. His scheme used two pins on one end of the bulbs while my bulbs used one diagonally opposite pin on each end. The scheme for my bulbs is easy to wire: all wires on one end of the fixture go to neutral and all the wires on the other side go to hot. For his scheme you need both neutral and hot on at least one end and you need both to each socket in that end.

These bulbs have been in use for over six months and I have not had a single problem. I believe they are rated for 15 years.
 
I put a 4' Feit brand LED tube in a cheap-o fluorescent garage ceiling fixture, and the output is noticeably brighter. The Feit tube offered the option of keeping or removing the ballast. I think the directions even said keeping the ballast would give more light. In any event, I kept the ballast despite the losses, because I like the light output. I also put a Phillips LED tube in the same kind of fixture, but took out the ballast. That one is not as bright as the Feit tube, and it's about the same as the neighboring fluorescents remaining, though more downward-directed. I got both the Feit and Phillips tubes at the Orange Big Box store.
 
Like everything else,,you need some power (balls) behind what you are trying to do.

For 4 foot,try the T-5 HO,,,which also means you need the ballist (balls) to make it work.

For 8 foot,,already mentioned,HO (High Output),,which means you have to have the right ballist (balls)

Want brightest ? ,, Metal Halide,,but that is a whole different box of worms,,one being you should have 35 or 4o foot ceilings so the UV does not hurt you.Also not economically friendl,,,but,,they are the shit in the right situation
 
Like everything else,,you need some power (balls) behind what you are trying to do.

For 4 foot,try the T-5 HO,,,which also means you need the ballist (balls) to make it work.

For 8 foot,,already mentioned,HO (High Output),,which means you have to have the right ballist (balls)

Want brightest ? ,, Metal Halide,,but that is a whole different box of worms,,one being you should have 35 or 4o foot ceilings so the UV does not hurt you.Also not economically friendl,,,but,,they are the shit in the right situation

If adding more fixtures was out of the question I think HO T5's or 8 footers are not any better in that case.
 
Thanks for the input guys but I'm stuck with four foot T8 LED's and the existing fixtures.

Hey Gordon, any info on the HO LED's the boss wouldn't spring for? I'm not finding them anywhere.

If only I we could install the units in my home shop, 8' 96w HO fixtures everywhere with a white epoxy floor, it's bright!
 
. . Hey Gordon, any info on the HO LED's the boss wouldn't spring for? I'm not finding them anywhere. . .

Terry, sorry for the delayed response, missed your question until now.
This the name and phone number of the sales guy I dealt with, a real nice fellow. This info is on his website so I'm sure its ok to repeat here: Alan Ledbetter 828-527-2241

Industrial LED Solution, LLC Marion NC, Quality LED tubes

He has a couple of different color temps available too. (We had to use 3500K for community rules, but even those are quite bright).

He stocks a lot in NC, but our warmer color had to come from China. Didn't take long and came in good order.
 
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Terry, sorry for the delayed response, missed your question until now.
This the name and phone number of the sales guy I dealt with, a real nice fellow. This info is on his website so I'm sure its ok to repeat here: Alan Ledbetter 828-527-2241

Industrial LED Solution, LLC Marion NC, Quality LED tubes

He has a couple of different color temps available too. (We had to use 3500K for community rules, but even those are quite bright).

He stocks a lot in NC, but our cooler color had to come from China. Didn't take long and came in good order.



Just the sort of info I was looking for, thanks!
 
I find changing from warm or cool white to daylight is a dramatic and positive difference.

5000K or 6500K is fantastic

I prefer the higher
It's as close to sunlight as you can get.

It allows me to see and read things that before were impossible and dim.
 
I find changing from warm or cool white to daylight is a dramatic and positive difference.

5000K or 6500K is fantastic

I prefer the higher
It's as close to sunlight as you can get.

It allows me to see and read things that before were impossible and dim.



Thanks, didn't think it would make much difference but will look for "daylight" now.
 
Terry, I suggest you test-drive the 'daylight' lamp before buying a bunch. For me they are too blue, to the point of being hard to tolerate for long periods. I prefer 4500-4800k which is what you typically find in a well lit retail store such as Home Depot, etc.
 








 
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