OT - LED Work Light

[irideti]

Anyone here can recommend a portable indoor work light that bright enough for working on bike or car in our garage where lighting is less than optimal? I've tried a few different models from Costco and Home Depot. While all of them provide very good illumination, my eyes really hurt when look at them unintentionally.

[C40_guy]

I went through this recently, looking for handhelds, and there's a thread on this... (Was just under the sink swapping out our disposal with an old rechargeable LED worklight that sits on the floor)

Here's the handheld (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V4FTX6C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I picked up.

[irideti]

I'm looking for something big enough to illuminate a bike repair area, ideally with a stand.

[AngryScientist]

Since you're talking about working on things in your garage...

It may have been some time since you have looked at what is available for shop lighting. LED shop lights have come a LONG way in the past 10 years it seems. You can get some really good LED shop lights for not too much money, and permanently install them in your garage very easily. I would say it's totally worth the minimal $ and time investment to light up your workspace with some LED shop lights.

I just went through this in my new basement and garage shop spaces and the current offerings with LED strip shop lights is way nicer and cheaper than what i remember from years past.

Just a thought.

[Steve in SLO]

I am with Angry on this. A year or so ago, I swapped out my 48” fluorescent lighting in my garage with LED elements from eBay, and have been very impressed with the brightness and clarity these lights. Less than $100 in my 900 square-foot garage gave me great lighting.
As far as a handheld or portable work lights, there are many options available, but beware that most LED lights will be very irritating to look directly into, because their lumens are so high and they tend towards the cool wavelengths. The trick is to point them away from your eyes so they can be highly illuminative but not irritating.

[Ti Designs]

I'm a photographer, I have a studio in my house with both strobes and constant LED lighting. Photographers use modifiers to shape or change the shape or characteristics of light. One of those modifiers is called a softbox, which is just a large reflector with a few layers of diffusion. A softbox creates soft light which reduces shadows, which I find ideal as a work light as well. As I've upgraded the lighting in my studio I've shifted my older lights to my shop. Even a small softbox on a cheap light stand is better than most direct shop lights.

[rice rocket]

Get a headlamp, that way you'll never blind yourself.






(until you look in a mirror)

[C40_guy]

Really good point Angry!

I added a half dozen 4x2 LED fixtures to the ceiling of my garage...and that made a huge difference. Now, working in the garage -- oil changes, car detailing, etc, I can see everything!

Note, I was not trying to illuminate a workbench. And they were inexpensive to purchase, and had an electrician install...

For the workbench in my shop, I have a 4x1 fixture hanging over the bench, which plugs into an outlet and has a chain pull cord. Inexpensive, easy to install (just two hooks in the ceiling). If you're looking for task lighting, this may be the way to go.

[zmudshark]

If you want a portable, stand mounted light, it's hard to beat a Milwaukee M18 work light. I just glanced, and they've come a long way since I borrowed my son's light a few years back. I'd buy whatever cordless platform you are on. Dewalt makes one that looks decent, too.

I have also installed in the inexpensive ceiling LED panels that Costco sells, so far, so good. In addition I have the inexpensive, two tube, hanging lights in my garage.

For a portable stand light, buy what is in your tool universe. I'm committed to Dewalt, the kids have Milwaukee. You can buy a convertor to use one brands battery to another brands tool, about $20, so buy the light that suits you best, and a convertor if it's not 'your brand'. The Milwaukee is also plug in, at least the one I borrowed was. I used it for car detailing.

[Gsinill]

I agree with Angry.
Google "deformable led garage ceiling light", they look ugly but you can adjust them to maximize the area they illuminate.
Works great.

[BobbyJones]

Anyone here can recommend a portable indoor work light that bright enough for working on bike or car in our garage where lighting is less than optimal? I've tried a few different models from Costco and Home Depot. While all of them provide very good illumination, my eyes really hurt when look at them unintentionally.


The comment about using a modifier may point you in the right direction.

With the proliferation of LED tech everywhere, there's now alot of crappy lighting everywhere. From lousy color temps and flickering, it depends on what you're sensitive to.

I don't have a specific recommendation, just that it may take some more trial and error to get what works for you.

[HenryA]

Headlamp for sure. Even when you have good light otherwise a headlamp will illuminate underneath or in a hole that would otherwise not be well lit. And its aimed right where you’re looking. But, if its your garage I would add some ceiling mounted led lights. They are not expensive these days.

Here is one that screws in to a regular household socket - good and super easy if thats what you have on your ceiling now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094N1L4DG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?pd_rd_i=B094N1L4DG&pd_rd_w=54ASH&pf_rd_p=9fd3ea7c-b77c-42ac-b43b-c872d3f37c38&pd_rd_wg=E1wUA&pf_rd_r=RXR1JVDYPK9RF39D0Q0N&pd_rd_r=d6061672-4812-40a9-a2ee-767c56f07f54&smid=AR79B6AALAUS7&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMk9ZQkY0T0JITlcmZ W5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA4MTc5MzEyRVY4VEFNMVZWWVg0JmVuY3J 5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4MjE3NTAxMk9ENkdCRVpMRjNSJndpZGdld E5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmR vTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

I have these and would buy again:
https://www.amazon.com/Wraparound-Warehouse-Lighting-Fluorescent-Replacement/dp/B07SRC67L7/ref=sr_1_3?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&keywords=Commercial+Bay+Lighting&qid=1642991149&refinements=p_89%3AANTLUX&rnid=2528832011&s=lamps-light&sr=1-3&ts_id=5772194011

Went up in place of old fluorescent units for vastly more light.

[Tommasini53]

Since you're talking about working on things in your garage...

It may have been some time since you have looked at what is available for shop lighting. LED shop lights have come a LONG way in the past 10 years it seems. You can get some really good LED shop lights for not too much money, and permanently install them in your garage very easily. I would say it's totally worth the minimal $ and time investment to light up your workspace with some LED shop lights.

I just went through this in my new basement and garage shop spaces and the current offerings with LED strip shop lights is way nicer and cheaper than what i remember from years past.

Just a thought.

+1 On the LED shop lights. Pulled out old tube lights and replaced with LEDs. The new LED units are low enough watts that you can daisy chain several together. One of the best (and cheapest) improvements to my shop area that I've made; super bright for middle-aged eyes.

[Peter P.]

I have THIS (https://www.dewalt.com/products/storage-and-gear/jobsite-lighting-and-flashlights/20v-max-led-handheld-area-light-tool-only/dcl050) DeWalt light for work. Up to 8hrs. runtime. Insanely bright.

If you can, definitely install LED lights. I just replaced the florescent shop lights in my basement with LED panels and traditional shop fixtures.

The 2x4 ft. panels draw less than 0.3A each. I imagine the shop fixtures are similar.

Tremendous lighting, and worth the expense. Very easy to daisy chain the lights together.

THESE (https://lithonia.acuitybrands.com/products/detail/831382/lithonia-lighting/contractor-select-sbl4-led-wrap/most-popular-and-readily-available-sbl4-configurations-for-your-everyday-lighting-needs) are the shop lights I bought.

For the LED panels in my dropped, basement ceiling, I found Lithonia low profile 2x4ft. panels. Can't find 'em on their web site.

[carpediemracing]

For portable, very easy to use, the guys at the shop all have LED lights that mount on their ears like glasses. They point where you're looking (don't look at other people directly, and not in a mirror), they keep your hands free, and you can "micro adjust" on the fly while still using both hands.

This is an example link, not an endorsement link (I took all the ref stuff out of the URL so it's direct to the product, no credit/cookies to me). The guys probably overpay for SnapOn or Matco or one more brand, but this looks very similar:
https://www.amazon.com/Merchandise-CT7100-Lumens-Neck-Light/dp/B0842W9VLR

I actually thought they were like $150 so to see it this cheap I may get some. lol.

Our garage isn't that greatly lit either. I don't do much work in it, partially because it's not climate controlled, partially because it's so dark most of the garage. We do have a sun tube that helps brighten things up, but it doesn't help with the cold/hot nor the areas that the sun doesn't hit.

Suntubes are great for introducing lights to areas where you don't mind light (like in the summer, the sun will shine pretty late in the day). When we put them in the house we lived in before, we put one in a hallway. In the summer we were trying to turn off the hallway light for months, out of habit. It was quite bright actually. I'd recommend it for rooms where you don't mind light, so areas that aren't visible when you're sleeping. An example of a manufacturer of sun tubes (not sure what brand we have): http://sun-tek.com/home/how-to-choose/suntube-skylights

[paredown]

For overhead lights, I added these (about a year ago)--and as the cliche goes, the difference is 'night and day'.

Set of 4 (on Amazon) for $120. Not the best quality, but no different than the inexpensive ones at Home Despot and a little cheaper. Takes standard fitting so easy enough to daisy chain:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C7HYVR1

[tuxbailey]

Definitely what Angry suggested. Few years ago I upgraded all my fluorescent lights with the ones Costco was selling. Great brightness and also has motion sensors and brightness adjustment. And it has a remote too.

[fmradio516]

Im with the others on this one. LED shop lights (get the ones that you can daisy chain if you want multiple in the same area)

and also those screw-in lightbulb fixture LED 3-panel lights are amazing as well!

When we moved into our house, there was practically zero lighting in the garage and basement. Put two LED shop lights from Lowes in our two car garage and its more than enough lighting.

We've only had em for a little over a year, and i havent been using LED lights for too long, so im still skeptical on longevity.... you have to replace the whole damn thing instead of replacing a bulb if it goes out... but I figure its the future and what everything is now, practically. Someone please tell me im worrying too much about this...

[carpediemracing]

Someone please tell me im worrying too much about this...[/B]

A not-very-environmentally-friendly experiment. I bought a set of LED string lights, for lighting up underneath the stairs in the basement and, if I got around to it, lining the walkway to the front door.

I put one string up under the stairs. That was Aug or Sept 2008. I turned them on (plug in, no switch), figured I'd test their 10 year warranty. They use 5w or so, so like an old fashioned night light. I haven't turned them off. They're still on. A bit dim now, but still on. Other than blackouts they haven't been off for 13+ years.

I never did the walkway lights. Walkway has been rebuilt twice. So I have 117 years worth of under-stairs lights (I bought 10 strings, 9 still in boxes).

I do see LED lights fail in cars at work. And they aren't serviceable, you just replace the board or light assembly. The flashlights, depending on the make, you might be able to replace the bulb part.

As an aside, because I have to back up down an unlit driveway (and I hook up a trailer in the dark), I put LED tail lights in the tow vehicle. And then did LED brake bulbs (half second quicker illumination, which is evident when you see a car with regular tail light bulbs but LED high mount lights, the high mount turn on long before the regular ones do). Then the plate lights and the interior lights.

Side benefit - son turned on interior lights without me realizing, I came out the next day and the interior lights were on. Engine started right up. With regular bulbs I'd have been looking for jumper cables.

[dbh]

Was just at Home Depot and saw a stack of these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/7-5-in-x-4-25-in-6000-Lumens-Single-Pole-Occupancy-LED-Flush-Mount-Motion-Activated-Garage-Light-BEBRPRO-MC4/314326755. Look like the same setup that the previous poster linked to on Amazon. Grabbed one to experiment with the poor lighting in my garage (just a single LED bulb in there previously).

My goodness it works like a charm. Really impressed by how it lights up the workspace. Going to experiment with a few of the lower lumen output models for the basement: https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEYOND-BRIGHT-3500-Lumens-11-5-in-Single-Pole-Occupancy-LED-Flush-Mount-Garage-Light-BEBR-MC4/311884950. Again, all I have in there are single bulbs, so this should be a huge improvement. Hopefully they'll last. Time will tell I suppose.

[Ozz]

+1 On the LED shop lights. Pulled out old tube lights and replaced with LEDs. The new LED units are low enough watts that you can daisy chain several together. One of the best (and cheapest) improvements to my shop area that I've made; super bright for middle-aged eyes.
+1 Put 3 fixtures in our garage a few years ago.....they work great.

Easy setup as I just screwed an outlet (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08JGD15PW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B08JGD15PW&pd_rd_w=fBqo9&pf_rd_p=887084a2-5c34-4113-a4f8-b7947847c308&pd_rd_wg=IXfXq&pf_rd_r=Q64KW0H1GWVPR5V5W4AA&pd_rd_r=38c986d2-72dc-42f0-822d-77255f5f70b7&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyUDI2UDM5NjFIWkFUJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjkwODIwMzJVSVJVU1VFSFc4WSZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTU5Mjk3M0xKVUxONjIxTDc3MyZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZ kb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=) into the old incandescent figures and plugged them in. There were instructions for hardwiring as well.....lazy me.

[deluz]

For close up work I use this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FDD79AW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I find overhead lights on the ceiling are not always enough.