LED lights

[mickdundee]

I've just installed an LED light baton from screwfix. If anyone has been wondering how the light would be from LEDs I'd say they're really good. Nice and clear and no flickering like a flouro tube which I've heard can cause a weird strobing effect while turning. I went for a 37w which is around 2500 lumen which is roughly equivalent to around 150w worth of candescent lightbulbs so plenty bright enough for my 6'x10' shed.
Hopefully I'll be able to spend some more time turning this winter

[GBF]

And they are cheaper to run

Regards George

[mickdundee]

That's true although I don't know how long it's going to take me to recoup the £50 outlay 

[Paul Hannaby]

If you turn for 8 hours a week it will only take 10 years to recoup the extra cost

[Bryan Milham]

I have a couple of LED lamps on flexi-necks as additional lighting, so I can put light onto the area I need to see without shadows.

A friend who keeps fish has set up a Fish Tank LED lighting system above his lathe and says it's the best lighting he's had, but yes, it is expensive.

[fuzzyturns]

If you turn for 8 hours a week it will only take 10 years to recoup the extra cost

Well, that's debatable. Your calculation only looks at the cost of electricity saved. However, your average LED light will last for 10 years, whereas if you use fluorescent tubes 8hrs per day, they will only last max 2 years. So In reality you need to buy 5 tubes over 10 years, and then the calculation looks different. And that's not even counting new starter units, and the time spend faffing around with the lights.
LED lighting gets my vote anyday.

[Paul Hannaby]

Don't believe all the hype! The fluorescent tubes in my workshop were put in when I built it 9 years ago and haven't been replaced yet.

I have an LED light I had to repair after 18 months because one of the LEDs failed (that one also does cause a stroboscopic effect). I have other LED lights around the house which have had to be replaced after around 2 years.

The LED lights do use less power but I think a more realistic average lifespan is probably 3-5 years. Often it isn't the LED that fails, it is the electronics that go with it.

[Stevekir]

During the summer I installed two more lights in my garage, making three altogether (sketch attached). I now have light on all sides, inclding behind. A huge improvement.

[Eric Harvey]

I`ve just bought a pair of tweezers with an l.e.d., light built in,I now have you wondering don`t I haha,its a really bright light,you can get them in QD type place for £3.00p or less.I`m going to make an attachment to fit on my hollowers so I can see inside hollow forms/deep vases better,and you get 6 batteries with it.

[edbanger]

All the lighting in my workshop is LED and it's great it's a much better light than from the fluorescent in my opinion.

Ed

[davidbrac]

seem to spend a lot of time at the moment changing customers lighting to LED's They are a better light but be careful what you buy l bought 10 G9's from amazon and didnt realise they were coming from China. They strobed like mad and were unusable. However fitted 50 watt battern in our kitchen which is excellent, it gives out 4600 lumens.

dont look at leds with wattage comparisons look at the lumens its far more accurate.

My workshop is now light by  eight t5 flurescents that have been removed from commercial kitchens that have been replacing their lights with led batterns. The t5's were about 18 months old.

[Derwent Woodturning club]

It's also worth getting the 'daylight' types, NOT the 'warm' or 'normal' colour temperature lights. These give a much whiter light and are good if you are using colours on your work, since they are much closer to the real daylight