LED Bulbs not Satisfactory in Trouble Lights

Last night I was doing some work outdoors after dark, and was using a trouble light. The old incandescent 100W bulb died, so I went to get another. But it turned out that I did not have any handy. Before they outlawed them, I bought several cases of them, but to save on space in the house, I put them in a shed which is well filled with stuff. I was not about to go dig thru that shed last night, when I was in the middle of a job. I had just bought some of those low cost 60W LED bulbs at Walmart, and they were right in front of my face, so I grabbed one of them.

I knew that I never liked any bulbs less than 100W for trouble lights, but this had to do for now.

Besides the (expected) lower wattage issue, I found that the LED bulb did not focus the light in the same way as a convential bulb. LEDs seem to focus the light out of their TOP, where all the light used from a trouble light comes from the side of the bulb. I came to the conclusion that LED bulbs are not the best for trouble lights.

Any light is better than no light, so I lived with it, knowing I was almost done with my outside work for the night. Otherwise I may have gone in the house and grabbed one of the CFL bulbs I have been replacing with LED lately.

Unless they design a LED that focuses the light from the SIDE of the bulb, the common trouble lights wont work the best with LED bulbs. Maybe the solution is to redesign the shields on trouble lights, rather than change the LED bulbs ?????

One other comment: I recently wanted to buy some of the incandescent ROUGH SERVICE bulbs when I was at Walmart. I know those were not outlawed, yet none were on the store shelves. The Rough Service bulbs were always better for trouble lights and lasted much longer. Walmart did have halogen type bulbs in the 100W range, but I avoid them. I've burned myself enough times on trouble lights, using common incandescent bulbs, and halogen burns much hotter. No thanks on a hotter shield near me when I'm working.

Reply to
Paintedcow
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So LED is not bright enough and incandescent or halogen risks burns? Is there a question there? I don't know what other options you might think there are.

I like the 70w halogen (100 w equiv) for work lights. I never thought about the heat, frankly. I don't touch them when they're on and I never sit them on dropcloths, so it's not an issue. :) I also use a

300 watt halogen shop light sometimes. There's nothing to match when you need bright, clear light.
Reply to
Mayayana

There's more than one supplier/design for LED bulbs, including those with an A19 base. I recently bought some "Edison" style bulbs for the outdoor house lights. They have 4 strands of LEDs designed to look like vertical filaments. Look and work very well.

You might take a look at the Philips "lollypop" bulbs.

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Reply to
Arthur Conan Doyle

there are led troublelights that look liikea paddle, covered on one side with leds.

they appear similar to the free led lights from harbor freight.....

they work awesome, espically since they are free.

Reply to
bob haller

One great thing about the HF trouble lights (besides they are free sometimes) is the magnet on the back and the folding hook that make it possible to use the light in almost any situation,

Reply to
hrhofmann

I assume we are talking about the red one with about 30 LEDS in it, battery operated. Yes I like them and I have a few around but I still like my regular old corded trouble light because it has a receptacle in it.

I have one of those LED deals stuck to the front of my electrical panel. That is where the battery might really be handy.

Reply to
gfretwell

They make some "corn cob" LED bulbs. I bought a couple of those off Ebay, and they were about as bright as a night light. Maybe the later ones will be brighter.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

2 possible solutions:

A few years ago I bought one of these for "outside in the dark" work.

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As designed, the light only goes as high as 44", which I found too low for lighting large areas. In addition, at that height they are too close to eye level. At

500 Watts, it really hurts when you accidentally look into them.

I still have some adjustable aluminum tent poles from our Boy Scout troop of

50 years ago. I inserted one of them between the 2 sections of the base. Now the work light starts at about 6 ft and goes as high as 10. At 10 ft, you can light up a pretty wide area.

Another option is an LED headlamp. I just bought one a few weeks ago and used it for the first time this week. I strapped it on and proceeded to take all the Halloween decorations out of my front yard as if it was mid-day. Everywhere I looked, I had light. No shadows, no accidental blindings, just light wherever I needed it. Sweet.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Some cut.

The LED headlamps Derby Dad mentioned work pretty well. One can choose how many of the bulbs are lit on the ones I have. I think Walmart also has some LED lights that look like a book. There are rows of lights on each half.

Using Opera's mail client:

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Reply to
Dean Hoffman

The one I bought at HD has 3 settings. I used High for the work I was doing, but I can see (no pun intended) Low and Medium being good for camping, etc.

When SWMBO and I went camping in Maine this summer, a lot of our neighbors from north of the border were wearing those headlamps around the campground.

I gotta admit, it seems to beat carrying a flashlight.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I got a couple of the blue ones, off, 3 LED, 27 LED.

A friend was working under my trailer, I let him use one of these. Loved it, lay the light on the ground, puts light on the work. Better than the 3D mag light.

Keep one with batteries, just in case.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I also use strap on head lamps. Great invention. This one:

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Can pull out the bulb, and put in a Mini Mag LED conversion. Head lamp runs on two AA cells which last a long time. Lamp is bright, and totally useful. Pivots so I can look through distance or near vision and still have light on the subject.

Bought one of these work lights.

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It is a failure as area light, just shines a spot on the far wall.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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. .

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Can't say which might work. Been using CFLs for ages. Seem more rugged and I don't get burned.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

I have a small fleet '98 Blazers. I mounted one under each hood.

Reply to
Justin Case

Maybe one of the Phillips "lolipop" bulbs would do better.

Reply to
croy

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