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M**.
Goin' Whole-Hog.
The neutral version is slightly cool, but not blue.Compared them to a bare Cree XP-L 5700k, they look like they could be around 5000k. Definitely not as cool as the XP-L.These neutral lights may be too cool if you're into warm lighting, I prefer it because it looks like mainly white light. The yellows and reds that the warm strips add may influence food preparation. Also, the color of the cabinets around them will be included in the reflected light.Speaking of preparation: Surface prep is crucial for the adhesive; clean, clean again, then clean with alcohol. I learned the hard way, mine are pulling away in spots, I've ordered some Klus TAMI Channel to mount them in.I wouldn't pick at the emitters but I live in a house which may have many different curious people pass through. The TAMI Channel will give a more finished look and act as a host to the new strip lights that replace these in 10 years or so. This was my first foray into strip lighting and didn't want to go whole hog until I verified that they would do the job.They powered up fine from a 12V, 2A switching power supply wall wart. It pulls 14 watts powering one side of the kitchen with about 9' of lights.A 15 watt soldering iron and knowledge of "tinning" will come in handy if you need to split up the strip. Pre-solder the LED strip (+) and (-) tabs and then the wires, hold them together and touch the iron to it for a quick connection.Very bright. The middle cabinet over the sink seemed dimmer because it is 3x as high as the cabinets around it, easy enough to put 2 rows of emitters up to balance the lighting.All the emitters work, no open circuits when bending, this is a great product at an amazing price.Comes with the LED strip on a plastic reel with 4" wires soldered on to both ends.If you have an installation that allows a simple stick-on application I recommend some TapeCase VHB 5952 for a permanent bond.There's really not much more to say about them except that at this price it's worth buying them just to see if they suit your application. The prices on these lights vary wildly, these were a great value for the money. I'm now looking all over the house for places to put these.****UPDATE******The 3M tape on the back of the lights seems like it has assumed the radius of the coiled position. When you straighten out the strip the tape pulls at it to try to get it to go back to its coiled shape which creates portions of the strip which detach from the mounting surface. If you pull the strip straight the tape will pull away every 6" or so, use a small pair of scissors to cut through the tape and stick the pieces back on the LED strip. Do not cut directly under the solder pads if you are going to use an aluminum housing to hold the strip.The 4 solder pads every few inches go through to the back of the LED strip. If you are going to mount the strip in an aluminum housing be sure that the 3M tape is covering the pads, if not, they will short circuit. At the end pads where you attach the power take the additional step of either heatshrinking the wires and end pads (like the factory attached cables), or putting a small piece of electrical tape under the pads at the end. The heat from soldering the ends can make the 2-sided tape less effective and the physical stress the wires can put on the joint make it vulnerable to shorting the pads on the underside to the aluminum channel. I found this out quickly.*****UPDATE******When I bought these the inspiration was not wanting to go buy MORE fluorescent tubes. Time flies by and before you know it you're down to a fraction of your desired lighting. By now I would've already had a couple tubes out. The LED strips are still going strong! If the work is off-putting, think of the time and money you'll spend maintaining your incandescent or fluorescent lighting, the LEDs are in and I'm DONE!****Another Update*****Wow, it's been a year since I put these up.Previously it would be a 2 year cycle on replacing the fluorescent bulbs under the cabinets. After a year I would price them and say "Screw that!" and get by with about half the lights working. Eventually they'd all go out and I'd load them all up with expensive little tubes. All of the emitters are still working. It seems the cycle has been broken. Will update in a year.***August 2016****Still going strong. Well worth the effort, at this point they've paid for themselves.
P**R
Don't even think about it.
What a waste of money!!
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4 days ago
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