Recessed Lighting Without the Cans

I want to install 6 recessed lighting fixtures in my kitchen, and 4 in my bedroom. My house doesnt currently have recessed lights, just center mounted ceiling lights. I went to lowes and home depot and saw where I could by the cans and then mount them. They are between 16 and 20 dollars a each for the can. Then to buy the led lights would be another 30 each. so at roughly 50 dollars for a can, plus the led light times 10 fixtures is 500 dollars.

I saw these on ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/20pcs-3W-6W...hash=item2368ef412e:m:mnRdxrr4-nbCyITvn0-Xpfg ) and they look interesting. They do not sell them at lowes or home depot but they probably will be sold their before to long.

What makes them look interesting is that they do not use the can. You simply cut the hole and place the fixture. They have spring flags that then spring over holding the fixture to the drywall. 20 of these lights can be purchased for less than 100 dollars. The deal looks too good to be true.

Have any of you used anything like these?

Home Depot near me has a version of both those lights you linked. If you look at the Home Depot website, search for Pixi. They come in various sizes. I've been considering them for my garage.

I li also saw a round flat-ish LED light that looks like a can light ....but it can just be mounted in a standard ($2) junction box. I don't remember if it was at Lowe's or Home Depot, but I really think it was at Home Depot.

I li hope that helps!

To be blunt, looks like no-name, non-UL listed crap to me. Or maybe it has a valid UL listing? Who knows? What could possibly go wrong?

You know it's "too good to be true". Move on...

I've seen that style many times, mainly [exclusively?] from foreign outllets. I've always wondered if perhaps they don't comply with US building codes, in particular junction boxes. I don't think the mounting method is the issue: afterall, non-IC Lightolier's only use a friction ring to hold the downlight in place. Having said that, IIRC, Lightoliers do have a junction box.


Speaking of Lightolier, these would be the perfect replacement for older models, such as the 1100ic. 99% of replacement downlights will not work in these fixtures, as they do not employ a 'can', but rather a hollow box (to keep the insulation away) and a friction ring. But, with BR series bulbs getting brighter and cheaper, it may not make sense to replace a perfectly good downlight…

I prefer the cans + bulbs because in the event of a failure they are easy to replace. And I very much doubt the eBay ones will last even a small fraction of the 50,000 hours quoted.. not to mention questionable light quality, safety, efficiency...

As far as the bulbs - $30 a bulb is far too high! We installed 20 or so Feit BR40's from Costco in March and they are all going strong. Great light quality, etc. Right now they are 2 for $16.99 - plus a $10 utility rebate in our area brings them to $3.50 a bulb, but even without a rebate 8.50 each isn't bad at all. I'm sure they aren't the *best* bulbs on the market but they've been great for us.