I was price-checking a Dewalt cordless LED worklight when I happened cross this motion-activated magnetic LED light kit.
The kit comes with 3 light strips, an AC adapter, a motion sensor, and the wiring to connect everything together.
While this looks specifically designed for Dewalt’s licensed shelving rack products, I don’t see any reasons why the lighting kit cannot be adapted for use with other steel storage products.
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The Dewalt light strips each have two magnetic mounting points, and there doesn’t look to be any other means of attaching them.
If you wish to attach them to other types of work surfaces, you could consider attaching steel backing strips or plates first.
The motion sensing block looks to be needed for power distribution. From the images, the lights are daisy-chained together in any order.
The lights feature 15 LED emitters per strip (45 total), with each strip delivering 500 lumens of illumination. They have aluminum and ABS plastic housings, and polycarbonate lenses. The output color temperature is said to be 6000K to 6500K.
According to the spec sheet, you can expand the setup with an additional 3 light strips (sold separately), for 6 total. I could not find any pricing or availability information for any add-on kits.
The kit also comes with hook and loop strips for cord management. The jumper cables, for connecting the lights to each other and the sensor box, are each 3 feet long.
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Upon activation, there is an automatic shutoff where the lights will turn off after 5 minutes if no motion is detected.
Price: $100
This looks like a convenient turnkey solution, but there are plenty of ways the same $100 can be spent on DIY lighting solutions. Please share some ideas!
Paul
This is interesting but I’ve always preferred DIY LED tape for under cabinet lighting. My use case is that they need to be hardwired to a wall switch. I know how I hide the drivers but it is not as clean as I would like. The motion sensor is a nice feature here.
I would be interested in hearing how others run the romex out of the wall to connect to the driver (they have to be accessible for maintenance).
fred
Things have changed since my last foray into cabinet installations. But in 2017 and then again in 2018 and 2019 – we chose puck lights installed with the help of jigging made by True Position Tools
https://www.amazon.com/TP-PLJ214-Forstner-Lights-Strips-Position/dp/B07TFB4MQP?th=1
They also make a jig for cabinet base wiring (TP-BWJ) and one for strip lighting.
https://www.amazon.com/True-Position-Tools-TP-BWJ-Base/dp/B016FKD06E
fred
This is True Position Tools original cabinet hardware jig.
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Cabinet-Hardware-Jig-Tool/dp/B003E46SVO
fred
Of course, these lighting jigs and options are applicable for wooden cabinets rather than steel storage cabinets and shelves.
Bob
Thanks Fred! That jig is pretty slick. I’ll have to remember those when I finally get around to replacing my kitchen cabinets.
Paul
Thank you for the tip on that jig! The next time I have cabinets, I will keep that in mind.
JJP
When I did my kitchen undercabinets I wanted everything completely hidden, to 3 way dimmers and all lights were controlled by the same 2 switches. I was doing a complete gut so it was easier for me to do exactly what I wanted. Also I live in a conduit code area.
I ran a 3 gang and single gang box inside an upper cabinet. The 3 gang houses the LED driver and the single gang holds all the LV connections that spider to the different areas of the kitchen. I used Romex for LV because I was running through the attic and didn’t trust speaker wire long term, and price isn’t that much more.
The inspector was the one who asked for the single gang box so there are no 120v and 12v collections in the same box which makes sense and only cost about $10 more.
In the end you don’t see anything except if you open that one cabinet you’ll see the blank plates I have on the boxes through all the Tupperware. And everything is really simple to access if it needs replaced.
JJP
I do the same type setup for most LED tape. Hiding the driver in a large box also seems a little safer especially in a garage type setting, and only 1 driver that spiders to LEDs always made more sense to me than individual drivers for each section.
Paul
That is a great idea for hiding the driver in a 3 gang box. Next time I have this project, I will see if that fits. It is accessible and I think (but I’ll double check) that it would be cool enough so that solves my problem. Thank you for that tip.
JJP
Finding a driver small enough wasn’t too hard but I had to be careful, especially since I wanted dimmable. Non-dimmable would probably fit in a 2 gang.
I did get the highest wattage driver I could fit in the box. It’s oversized for the lights it’s running but I’ve found they last longer and don’t get as hot if you’re not near their upper limit. I rarely have them turned all the way up either, I never really turn off though, just dimmed low.
I would have gone with a 4 gang box and had room for any driver but I only had so much space between the vent stack and stud.
Good luck. It’s fun designing exactly how you want it to be laid out.
Matt C.
I bought this a few years ago when on sale. It fits nicely under my Gladiator overhead cabinets. The sensor is also magnetic. My only complaint is that there is no good way to hide the wiring. In my case, they are run next to each other like a train so I only need about an inch of wiring per light. Light output is ok but not a ton. But it suits my needs. When I would drive my car into the garage I would have to climb around a mess of tools and go up a flight of stairs in the dark. This now gives me the ability to see when I pull in. Of course now I park outside as my project car is sitting in the garage.
Al
I have the same lights set up under my Gladiator cabinets. I bought two light sets for $76.00 each, as I constantly Googled to check prices; not 5% off – “moving inventory” pricing. It took 9 months and I also could not find the extra fixture packs; even from DeWalt hence the two sets.
The lights work great, and if you’re younger with good eyes one set may be good.
I doubled up the fixtures in my work area; where more light is needed I use magnet backed, battery LED work lights to add more light.
If light is needed in one specific spot then I use an automotive, magnetic based flashlight with an extendable, flexible shaft, or the companion DXSTA151PS 15-Amp GFCI Power Strip Station with the removable, rechargeable LED work light. (Also bought on sale).
As for the wires; I flipped the light fixtures, so the power lines go in/out the opposite end of the light fixtures from the power source and to the next fixture. I found magnetic base zip tie holders on Amazon to secure the lines run behind the light fixtures, so they can’t be seen. I plan to try heavy-duty Velcro; if it holds up to the heat/cold I can use the magnet zip ties elsewhere.
I’ve thought about drilling holes through the sides of the cabinets below the storage boxes. Maybe screw together any cabinets with gaps between and install plastic or rubber grommets.
I thought about the thin LED ceiling light fixtures all over social media, but I move cabinets up when need extra work space. I wouldn’t be able to this with fixed length wiring.
I hate a dark garage, so I replaced our switch with a motion sensor switch. It’s worked so well we now have the same switch in our pantry, laundry and walk-in closet. Just like kids love Armor hotdogs; parents will love these switches because they automatically turn off the lights behind your kids.
John
Poor choice for color temp, would never buy. 3200-5000k is the peaceful range. 6000-6500K shifts to blue and is quite awful. 24 yrs of pro photography.
Bonnie
They’re not being advertised as residential or photography lights. 6K isn’t unusual in industrial settings, and this color temp is good for high visibility.
Harrison
This isn’t really an industrial light, it’s designed to interface with Dewalt’s consumer workshop products.
For a long time, 6000k+ blue LEDs were the only thing available at industrial scale. Tech and prices have improved though, and even commodity warehouse lighting is being sold at more pleasant 5000k ‘Daylight’ temperatures. At a certain point, cooler, blue lighting doesn’t improve safety or visibility, it’s just ugly and distorts the appearance of paint and objects.
Manufacturers and the general public are a lot more aware of this recently, to the point that work lights are now being sold with adjustable colour temperatures to match the situation. Not just for photography or setting your dinner party ambience.
I just bought two cheap ‘Power Zone’ work lights from my local lumber yard, and even they are a very balanced 4000k.
JJP
I agree 6500k is way to high. I never use more than 5k personally. I know industrial can use 6500k but that’s normally Highbay I believe, nothing that would be in line of sight like these probably would.
Julian Tracy
They could have had a winner here for shed or storage closet lighting had they made it work with a Dewalt battery.
I did something similar in my 12×16 shed – got some 12v led strip lighting, cut it into (5) 4’ sections, wired it up and stapled it to the bottom of my ceiling joists with the wiring going to a Makita battery mount hooked up to a 18v > 12v step down transformer with a voltage meter mounted nearby so I can change the batteries before they get much past 14v.
Lights up the entire shed well enough to work on projects and I can cycle through batteries no issues. I think when I compared it to other Jobsite lighting, I figured I had the equivalent to about 3000lumens, but more importantly is that it’s spread out through the entire space, something no jobsite led lighting can compete with .
Stuart
Ryobi had something like that, kind of – https://toolguyd.com/ryobi-cordless-corded-hybrid-led-cable-light-hands-on/ .
JJP
I did the same thing in my shed but installed about 30′ of tape, mounted to aluminum bar stock (I figured it might help dissipate heat better in the summer).
I had an extra old car battery laying around so that’s my power source and it only needs charged a few times a year.
LED tape is awesome for little projects like that. My shed glows at night with how bright it is inside, I was very happy with the results and only took an afternoon and a couple hundred bucks.
Matt+the+Hoople
Thanks for the ideas. I was looking for a better option in my shed than the portable ryobi work light I had out there. Kids always leave it on so the battery is often found dead, requiring me then to go to the garage to swap it out with a good one. Like the idea of having a voltmeter set up as well as the car battery. Our boat gets a new battery every three years whether it needs it or not because it is cheaper than paying for a tow on the water. This is the year it gets replaced. Rather than turn the old battery in for the core charge it may just move out to the shed instead.
MM
I think a simple solar charger mounted on the shed roof would make a nice addition to a setup using a car battery, that should help keep the battery topped up, if you’re only using the power occasionally for lights now and then it might even eliminate the need to take the battery away to charge it.
JJP
I’ve had the solar planned since I installed the lights but haven’t gotten around to it. Costco has a kit with charge controller that would probably be more than enough that I’m waiting to go on sale. If you got a little trickle charge panel I don’t think it even needs the controller.
Running a cord through the yard a few times a year hasn’t been to bad though so I’m not as motivated as I thought I’d be.
Matt+the+Hoople
Good idea on the solar charger. I’m not working out there long term so having basically a trickle charger would be able to keep up with any drain from LEDs for my purposss. Actually, I could even go to a smaller battery in that case. Most uninterruptible power supplies use a 12v battery and they are pretty inexpensive. I have a couple of those laying around as well.
Matt+the+Hoople
Good idea on the solar charger. I’m not working out there long term so having basically a trickle charger would be able to keep up with any drain from LEDs for my purposses. Actually, I could even go to a smaller battery in that case.
DRT42
You need the charge controller. I have a gate opener which is powered by a car battery with a solar panel charging the battery. In the summer, my 20 watt solar panel puts out 18 volts, but in warm weather the “12 volt” lead-acid battery only wants to see about 13 volts or it gets cooked. The charge controller has a temperature correction circuit which reduces the voltage in hot weather. In the winter, the situation is reversed. In cold weather a lead acid battery really needs 14 or 15 volts to charge. With the sun low on the horizon in winter, and with cloudy skies 28 out of 30 days a month, the solar panel can only put out 13 volts at noon (measured with DVM) which really isn’t enough. In the morning or afternoon, it’s useless. If the gate gets used a bunch, the battery goes dead because it’s not charging.
The solar panel is like a bank loan. When you don’t need it, the bank will loan you all the money you want. When you do need money, the bank won’t give you any. I’m getting tired of disconnecting the battery (always on the coldest week of the year) and hauling it back to the barn to recharge it with a real battery charger. What I really need is a solar panel that is rated at more than 18 volts. Or wire two in series.
Ct451
Loose cables are asking for trouble. Run some cable trunking and whatever light fixtures you prefer. I replaced 9 fluorescent fixtures in my garage and shed areas with e26 because you can get led bulbs for that socket in limitless variety. You can even get bulbs with the motion sensor build in.
Chris S
$100 is truly ridiculous for the amount of light your getting.
Kent Hanson
I am half of a professional bbq team and we have a custom fitted 20’ enclosed trailer and we got some light not to different than these from Costco for far cheaper, we have three that are Daisy chained together and when we get to the competition site and power up the trailer they are good to go. The Dewalt ones would be more durable I would believe but ours work for the size of our trailer. Having them be a slim panel light was a must because of the head room constraints.
JJP
I’ve installed the waterproof LED tape lights in any trailer or truck cap I use regularly. You don’t lose any headroom because they’re so thin. I’ve always been able to slip them between the structural members of the trailer and the metal roof. I use 3m VHT? Double sided tape because it’ll hold up through temperature changes, the stuff that comes on the tape strips won’t. You can run as many strips as you want to match what brightness you need. And it’s continuous light so no shadows. I normally wire them into the same standard light circuit the trailer had so they work with whatever switch came with it.
If you’re using a generator you’d just need a LED driver rated for the wattage your installing and it would work the same. Easy and cheap and if a part goes bad you can replace just that section easily.
Mark M.
I’ve done the same and it’s the best upgrade I’ve ever made. I got a kit off Amazon for about $30, put one strip each on the underside of my bed rails and another on the front bed panel. 3M tape and wired it into the puny in-bed lights that were already there so the existing switch works. I would have bet against the tape sticking but they have been rock-solid for 4+ years in Central Texas, 100+ in the summer down to teens in the winter. Not even a corner has peeled back.
Mark M.
It’s a good concept, not sure about $100. If you have a gun safe or other similar dark area that doesn’t lend itself to running permanent power, there are battery-powered, motion-activated, self-contained LED strips on Amazon for about $17. Slap some lithium batteries in them and it’s a total game-changer for occasional use.
Bob
Neat concept but low lumen output, color temp and cost make this a hard pass.
Always wonder why private labeled LEDs always kind of suck? The Harbor Freight plug in led strip lights are 5500 lumen. Sure fire can make a handheld flashlight with 7000 lm and I can’t get a tripod light from Dewalt that does more than 3000? I mean they can fit a 60v 15ah battery on a massive stationary light. I want 10,000 lumens! Sorry rant over.
Stuart
Do you find modern worklights to be too dim, or are you speaking about on-paper specs?
Bob
I find modern work lights not bright enough. I have yet to find a battery LED option that will work as well as my 2×1000 watt halogen lights. Now those get extremely hot and are a fire hazard. Also susceptible to breakage and I need an outlet to plug into. I also I think halogens are around 3K color temp which I prefer. But I would take a 6K if I could get decent run time and similar light output in a battery platform.
I guess I’m just frustrated because I see what is now possible with LED tech and the tool companies seem to be lagging far behind. I guess they will catch up eventually.
Harrison
Makita has a light out now that works with both their 18 and 40v platforms, plus AC cord, and does 10,000 lumens. Not sure the colour temp.
Julian Tracy
Dewalt’s dumb tripod light also does not have a rotating head. So when you need to “rotate” the light, you are picking up the entire heavy ass tripod base and having to spin the legs… super cool. Sold mine off after a month of using it.
Jack
Looks just ok, but not compelling for the reasons stated by others. Thanks for the heads up. Based on the application, I’ve been very pleased so far with 10,000L 5K 85CRI screw-in motion detector lights (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095PN4PKM/) and 4″/6″ Lightolier dimmable LED ceiling lights (93CRI, selectable up to 4K, ~900L) to a Leviton wifi motion detector dimmer switch (D2MSD, https://www.leviton.com/en/products/d2msd-1bw) and wifi dimmer switch (D26HD, https://www.leviton.com/en/products/d26hd-1bw). To me, CRI + K + lumens are key decision factors. Dimmable was needed in the case of my workshop/shed to control the outside lighting (not too intense) and inside lighting intensity for these old eyes.
Doug
I use a couple of rare earth magnets to attach a generic LED light strip to the steel shelf above my 3D printers. Same concept, but a lot cheaper!