RMweb Premium melmerby Posted December 1, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, APOLLO said: In my model railway garage I have two twin tube 8 ft fluorescent light fixtures. Getting life expired and I find 8 ft tubes impossible to find now, I intend to replace these with LED battens in the spring. Any suggestions ? - I'm looking for a warm light - what colour temperature / deg kelvin should I look out for ? I don't want the harsh blueish light. I have received a Screwfix flyer and they have advertised Twin 6 ft 60 watt LED battens, 6000 lumens, £36.49 each Would three of these be a suitable replacement ? I also have eight five foot fluorescents in the loft. Interesting to read that tubes for these will become unavailable after 2023. I might just buy some spare tubes before that date. Brit15 So far I have found Screwfix far from competitive with LED lighting prices, especially considering how good they are for things like electric drills. The V-Tac ones I linked to are more efficient as well as being half the price. Both the LAP & V-TAC are cool white which is a colour temperature around 6000K For warmer tones you need around 3000K light. V-Tac do a 3000K one but presently the max is only a 4ft 4800 lumen and unfortunately not in the cheaper twin packs but still less per lumen than LAP (Screwfix): https://www.amazon.co.uk/V-TAC-Fittings-Integrated-1200x74x24mm-Lighting/dp/B07DTW7X4S?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 EDIT BTW the market is constantly changing and what is available in the spring could be better again. As I posted above, 12 months made a lot of difference between my two purchases, where the later ones were cheaper and more lumens per watt. Edited December 1, 2021 by melmerby 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamThomas Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 1 hour ago, APOLLO said: In my model railway garage I have two twin tube 8 ft fluorescent light fixtures. Getting life expired and I find 8 ft tubes impossible to find now, I intend to replace these with LED battens in the spring. Are they 85, 100 or 125watt ? Forget the likes of Screwup - find a local electrical wholesaler (most will sell to the public) & tell them what you have now & you want a similar light output and the sort of colour you want. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted December 1, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2021 1 minute ago, SamThomas said: Are they 85, 100 or 125watt ? Forget the likes of Screwup - find a local electrical wholesaler (most will sell to the public) & tell them what you have now & you want a similar light output and the sort of colour you want. A place like City Electrical Factors are usually OK for bits but they are a lot more for LED battens than the V-Tac store and personally think it's unlikely an electrical wholesaler will beat them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyID Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 7 hours ago, KingEdwardII said: Agree 100%. We've just replaced the last of the fluorescent tubes in our house. The change to daylight white LEDs in the garage was most impressive. We also bought some round LED ceiling panels that have a switch on the back enabling changing between different colour temperatures - useful in allowing us to decide on which works best for the particular room involved. Yours, Mike. I like the fact that they don't care how cold it is 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted December 1, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2021 1 minute ago, AndyID said: I like the fact that they don't care how cold it is The electronic HF ballast fluorescents don't do too bad in the cold, the ones in the unheated, draughty shed light OK whilst at a frosty temperature. LF ones aren't so good & magnetic ballasts are pretty rubbish apart from the SRS type (slightly better) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamThomas Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 9 hours ago, melmerby said: A place like City Electrical Factors are usually OK for bits but they are a lot more for LED battens than the V-Tac store and personally think it's unlikely an electrical wholesaler will beat them. Some wholesalers (not mentioning any names) always start with the basic trade prices & then come down ! Personally, I've always found a local wholesaler who will beat the on-line suppliers price, delivery & quality wise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted December 2, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 2, 2021 8 hours ago, SamThomas said: Some wholesalers (not mentioning any names) always start with the basic trade prices & then come down ! Personally, I've always found a local wholesaler who will beat the on-line suppliers price, delivery & quality wise. Thanks for letting us know who. They will need to go some to beat £18:50 inc VAT for a 50W 6000lm batten with a 5 year warranty CEF certainly can't and there aren't that many others left as they have closed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamThomas Posted December 2, 2021 Share Posted December 2, 2021 2 hours ago, melmerby said: there aren't that many others left as they have closed. In my area we are quite lucky with quite a few independants who can be quite gressive with their pricing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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