T8 LED Fixtures

Costco is selling 4' "twin tube" LED shoplight type fixtures for 35.99 or so.
My neighbor loaned me one to test out.
The tubes are not replaceable, no switch, they can't  be hardwired without some surgery.  And they're ugly.
 
Costco also sells 4' LED replacement tubes for 36.99 a pair.   Found these in Portland (they also have Gelato), don't know about availability elsewhere.
 
I did come comparisons with my Kill-A-Watt meter.  YMMV.

Standard Utilitech 4' twin tube fixture from Lowes.
With 2 Sylvania Octron Eco tubes, 4100K, 2600 lumens (each), 32 watts (each)
5200 lumens (total), 64 watts (total)
Kill-A-Watt reading 48W.
Edit: Increased to 51W after fully warmed up.
 
Standard Utilitech 4' twin tube fixture from Lowes.
Wtih 2 FEIT LED tubes, 4100K, 1700 lumens (each), 17 watts (each)
3400 lumens (total), 34 watts (total).
Kill-A-Watt reading 31W.
 
Complete FEIT 4' fixture from Costco.
With integral LED "tubes", 4000K, 3700 lumens (total), 38 watts (total).
Kill-A-Watt reading 35W.
 
2015/07/13
Standard Utilitech 4' twin tube fixture from Lowes.
With 2 "USA GREENLIGHTS" tubes from ebay, 5000K, 2300 lumens (calculated,each), 20 watts (each).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271912151251    20w, clear
These can be used with or without a ballast.   To use without a ballast, you need to do a minor rewire of the tombstones to supply hot to one end of the tube and neutral to the other.  
Rewired fixture for 120V, no ballast.
4600 lumens (total), 40 watts (total).
Kill-A-Watt reading 34W.
 
Observations.
 
The LED bulbs are definitely brighter than the fluorescents.  Even though the lumens are higher, the LED's concentrate the light down and not in all directions.
 
No discernible difference in light or color between the LED tubes and the complete LED fixture.
 
The Costco complete fixture (and tubes) is slightly shorter than the standard fixture.
 
No hum!!   I've got a bunch of old fixtures in my shop and it sounds like killer bees when they're on.  
 
There's a slight afterglow in the standard fixture with the LED tubes.  Ballast discharge?
 
If you want a cheap plug in shoplight, then the Costco fixture is the way to go.
If you want something that looks better, pick a T8 fixture you like and put in LED tubes.
 
2015/07/13
The ebay tubes are noticeably brighter and whiter than the Costco LED fixture or tubes.
Being clear, they are better suited for use inside a fixture with a lens than bare.
Looking directly at them, you can see each LED and its not pleasant.

Good info, thanks! I've  seen the LED tubes in costco and have wondered about them but didn't want to spent the money to try one.
 
Mike.

I've got two pairs of them.  Two for the attic and the other two for a bike shed under the front porch.  I've only used one of them as I haven't put the wiring in place for the rest.  The light is decent, a better color tone than typical fluorescent.  I've never put much consideration into how utility lights are supposed to look, so it never occurred to me whether they're ugly or not.  They're not enclosed, more like the old-school inverted W shape of typical utility lights.  So, yeah, if you want something above a bare utilitarian look then these won't make the grade.
 
The other upside is they're reasonably durable.  As in, my use of it thus far has been more like a handheld work light than a fixture.  I've propped it up against the wall, knocked it over, put it across some boxes, knocked it over again, rested it cantilevered off a shelf, whacked it with a yard blower, etc.  Any one of which would've instantly destroyed typical fluorescent glass tubes.  So while they don't highlight it, they're surprisingly tough.

FWIW, I have two of the "Standard Utilitech 4' twin tube fixture from Lowes" in my garage, and the fluorescent tubes (IIRC I'm using Phillips)  last a very long time (> 5 years).  However, even though the ballasts are rated to work down to 0 degrees F, we do notice some dimness during winter coldness (chilly, but typically still well above freezing).  Because of chilly dimness I thought maybe the bulbs were going bad, so I replaced them with new ones, resulting in no difference.  So, perhaps the fixtures just need better ballasts.in which case it seems the bulbs last longer than the ballasts!  Anyhow,  you may want to be aware of that if, for whatever reason, you're thinking of upgrading to LED tubes.

I have some of the inexpensive 4' florescent shop fixtures... had them for about 2 years now and no hum. Having said that I did read a portion of the instructions that provided ballast burn-in instructions, which IIRC stated to leave the lights on for ~30min initially. I think there may have been instructions to get rid of the hum if you did start to get it, but I don't remember what they were...

Edited 1st post to reflect increase in standard T8 tubes from 48W to 51W after tubes were warmed up.
Added below info to 1st post.
 
I ordered a couple of more LED tubes from ebay.
 
2015/07/13
Standard Utilitech 4' twin tube fixture from Lowes.
With 2 "USA GREENLIGHTS" tubes from ebay, 5000K, 2300 lumens (calculated,each), 20 watts (each).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271912151251    20W, clear.   
These can be used with or without a ballast.   To use without a ballast, you need to do a minor rewire of the tombstones to supply hot to one end of the tube and neutral to the other.  
Rewired for 120V, no ballast.
4600 lumens (total), 40 watts (total).
Kill-A-Watt reading 34W.
 
Observations:
The ebay tubes are noticeably brighter and whiter than the Costco fixture or tubes.
Being clear, they are better suited for use inside a fixture with a lens than bare.
Looking directly at them, you can see each LED and its not pleasant.