My  shop lighting has been in service 9 years, starting to  replace  F96T8  tubes, couple burn out per month.
As I use up my last case of spare  tubes, I wonder if  the new LED conversion  tubes are   up to  par yet ?
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 Can't stand working under BLUE light, and  need a fair number of lumens.

current  lighting complement is   ( 16) F96T8 tubes, and (10) F32T8
   Any recommendation for brand and source of  T8 conversion LED  tubes, prefer direct AC power, integral ballast if possible.

Yes, but the bolt-in replacements for tubes are still pricey. The light is much better than your typical fluorescent shop light.
link

I've given serious consideration to replacing fluorescent tubes with rope lights encased in those plastic shatterproof tube guards.  Toss the ballast, re-use the wiring.  Haven't run the numbers, though.

I use these in our closet with great results!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IT1DVEY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I redid a couple of older semi-custom fluorescent fixtures with aluminum channel LED strips like these (not a recommendation for the specific seller, just one found quickly).  They're 1/2 meter each , available in warm white, and with the 5630 LEDs are pretty bright.  Unlike just using the LED strips with the self adhesive, they will stay put better.

That and a generic 12V power supply with sufficient wattage to support the number of strips you're using in a given fixture, also available from ebay; you gut the fluorescent starter and ballast, put the power supply in place, and wire up however many strips of LED are needed to replace the tubes.

Not so sure about the 12 Volt  power supply option,   seems like the cost of  copper welding lead to carry the necessary AMP draw  would add up fast.

I don't think the math works yet for that stuff

I recently redid a commercial storage room

Replaced the sane fixture you have with electronic ballast twin dual t-8 8' fixtures

That way you just have one bulb that matches the existing fixtures

I think I paid $42 per american made fixture from a supply house

Got a pallet of Philips alto cw bulbs from hd for $2ea

Trying out a six-pack of Cree 1600 lumen 18 watt led bulbs. Advertised as 5000K, they are, unfortunately blue in color, and sort of annoying. The supposed output of 1600 lumens doesnt seem to reach far from the open ceiling fixtures.

A single regular f96t8 bulb at 4200k puts out 5700 lumens so dropping to 1600 lumens per would be very disappointing

Yes, even a six pack of CREE  18 watt, 1600 lumen is a  thin, sickly pale blue  standing next to  a pair of F96T8.