Work lamps - which kind?

D

Don Nguyen

Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Messages
1,043
Looking to get some relatively inexpensive adjustable lamps for my grinding area.

There are way too many kinds to choose from though - halogen, led, etc, etc. I'm looking to get one that provides a lot of light without sucking up too much juice and putting out too much heat.
 
In our shop, outside the main overhead lighting, we have goose necked, magnetic based lamps at most all stations. Drill press, grinder, buffer and the like. I use the ice-cream cone bulbs in them. They don't get hot and add a lot of light. There only drawback is they are not at full brightness when first turned on. They last forever.

Fred
 
I have the same conundrum. I'm thinking some cheap 4' florescent fixtures. I too am curious what others use.
 
I already have a bunch of overhead lighting, but was thinking that some smaller adjustable ones near the grinder would be really useful.

Thanks Fred, I'll check something like that out.
 
I've run into the same issue. I need to get something soon and I've decided on LED for the efficiency and because my shop was cooking at 90F yesterday. If I don't get one of the goosneck lamps with a clip for a base off ebay, I'll try to make something myself out of a chunk of aluminum and a CREE XP-G
 
Sandow said:
Been using compact fluorescents in the clip on fixtures with aluminum reflector domes. /QUOTE]

I use the same thing clamped to a couple of pieces of steel I hung from the ceiling. I put them up high enough keep from banging my head when I lean forward. CF aren't my favorite, and it remains to be seen how well they start when it gets really cold out there, but for the summer (and the money) they are fine so far.

Halogen didn't work out too well in my woodshop. I stopped using it over a decade ago. Every little bump would fry the bulb, and with all the sawdust getting into the lamp body, I was concerned about the fire risk. I use fluorescent around the tablesaw, but you have to be aware that when the blade is spinning down, the strobe effect from fluorescent can briefly make it look stopped when it is still spinning.
Click to expand...
 
The halogens have nice white light, but they get really hot.

Especially when every fixture you buy has a warning sticker that puts a 60w limit on it- putting a 150w halogen in it is less than 2 amps, but the heat makes me nervous.



Some fixtures have plastic sockets, some are ceramic.
I had one with a plastic socket and the metal tabs that are riveted in became loose at the plastic/rivet junction

I avoid the plastic ones and if it needs a switch replacement, I go to a heavier switch.

I stay away from the halogens because I bring the lamp in close and have burned my forehead often enough to learn to stop that.


so far I us the compact Fluorescents in the 6500k blue daylight colours, I'd like to try LED's sometime but the lumens have to come up and the price go down before I will risk liking them.
 
Last edited:
I've built my main assembly/cleaning table built into a larger self-built wall-mounted shelf unit. I wanted to get a very bright, shadow-free light source. Ended up going with LED strip lights - you buy a transformer and then add as many strings of LED strips as you have power for. I added about 16' of 24v LED tape (160 individual LEDs) stuck to the underside of the shelf above my bench and a 90w transformer. Puts out a very diverse, warm white light - somewhere north of 3000 lumens total, that consumes about 72 total watts. It is nearly shadowless and makes for a great assembly area. I'll shoot some pictures tonight.

TedP
 
Don Nguyen said:
I was looking into LEDs also, but they are indeed pricey.
Click to expand...

Something most don't know about the light bulbs with LEDs in them, is that they stay slightly lit even after the switch has been flipped off, thus still drawing power. This is true even after the lights have been "off" for many hours.
 
Broomhead said:
Something most don't know about the light bulbs with LEDs in them, is that they stay slightly lit even after the switch has been flipped off, thus still drawing power. This is true even after the lights have been "off" for many hours.
Click to expand...

How does something that has the circuit cut off to it still draw power?

I just put all high hats in my living room and they're all LED I also have LED light bulbs in a few lamps in my house. All I know is when its the middle of the night and the power is cut you can't see any faint glow of anything. Regardless I compared how much power using them draws and to run 8 LED high hats I'm using about as much wattage as it would to run one traditional high hat. The way I look at it as they LEDs are more pricey up front but considering they have a life of about 25 years. Once I replace everything in my house to LED I'll probably never have to change a bulb for a long time :D.

To answer the OP question I've found those little squeeze clamp lights with the metal reflector domes like someone else mentioned are quite handy and cheap. Pop a CFL in it and you have a cheap easily positionable light that doesn't bake you like a Halogen or even incandescent bulb does.
 
Fletch Helical said:
How does something that has the circuit cut off to it still draw power?
Click to expand...

Beats me. How does an electronic device that has been turned completely off still draw power when plugged in? They say it happens and to conserve electricity you should unplug everything you're not using.

My parents had several LED bulbs in their kitchen fixtures and in the middle of the night they still glowed. So, unless they had batteries in them, they were drawing power.
 
Fletch Helical said:
How does something that has the circuit cut off to it still draw power?

I just put all high hats in my living room and they're all LED I also have LED light bulbs in a few lamps in my house. All I know is when its the middle of the night and the power is cut you can't see any faint glow of anything. Regardless I compared how much power using them draws and to run 8 LED high hats I'm using about as much wattage as it would to run one traditional high hat. The way I look at it as they LEDs are more pricey up front but considering they have a life of about 25 years. Once I replace everything in my house to LED I'll probably never have to change a bulb for a long time :D.

To answer the OP question I've found those little squeeze clamp lights with the metal reflector domes like someone else mentioned are quite handy and cheap. Pop a CFL in it and you have a cheap easily positionable light that doesn't bake you like a Halogen or even incandescent bulb does.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see what the life is really like, try marking them with install dates and tracking them.


The CF spiral lamps are guaranteed for 7 years, but they last about 6 to 18 months here.

Of course you can't return them to the store because you don't have the receipt and shipping them back to the warrenty service center is more trouble and money than buying new ones.

Discrete LEDS have a long life , but I don't know about the assemblies; I'm a wait and see type - not an early adopter.
 
I'm using 4 foot 18w LED tubes in my grinding room (one fixture - 2 tubes). They are bright white in color and give off great light w/o any heat. To install, you just open up the fixture and bypass the ballast. LED tubes run off 110v no problem. In fact they will run anywhere from 90v to 277v! This is what I'm using:
http://www.creativelightings.com/DLC-LED-T10-Tube-Light-4ft-5000K-18W-UL-p/cl-smdt10-4-18w290-ul(50f).htm

I have also played with the LED strips that you cut yourself and attach to any 12v power supply. I have some left over from when I installed them under the kitchen cabinets. The reason they stay lit for a second is because of the 110v transformer making power for the 12v lights.

I was thinking about trying to make a light attached to my grinder using these waterproof 6 LED pucks:
http://www.creativelightings.com/White-Waterproof-LED-Module-12vDC-6-Piranha-LEDs-p/cl-wp6lmod-12wc-wh.htm


Count, I have used LED bulbs in some track lighting in my kitchen (mr-16 bulbs). They lasted me about 5 years before I remodeled the kitchen and switched lighting. I still have the bulbs and they still work fine. MR16 used a 12v transformer and those blew up every few years, but the bulbs keep going, so you're right about the other components. They will probably fail before the actual diodes do.
 
We use old fashioned adjustable arm desk lights and some newer gooseneck lamps as task lights at the tools. We use safety-coated incandescent lamps in all of them. General shop light is from T8 flourescent fixtures Depending on the quality of the ballast or driver, both fluorescent and LED lamps can cause a strobe effect that is a safety concern with moving equipment.
 
cheap aluminum foil is a good way to reflect light
I've used mostly neon lights

P1011852.JPG
 
The question about why some LED lights will glow dimly when not turned on is a common question.
It is caused by several things, but the short answer is that even in an open circuit ( switch in the OFF position) there is some minute current available.....a few microwatts. This is caused by the AC pulse going back and forth in the wires. Even if only the neutral wire is connected, and the "HOT" wire is off at the switch, there is a minute back and forth of the electrons to the bulb. An LED makes light by allowing electrons to energize a diode and transform those electrons from potential energy ( electrical) into light energy. It only takes a few electrons to make the LED have some output. In some cases, the glow is caused by inductive current in the wires, induced by other wires carrying current. If you put a sensitive meter from the neutral wire in your house and connect the other end to ground, you will see how there is always a minor voltage and current. I read about an experiment where they connected fifty feet of wire to a socket with an LED, and didn't connect the ends to anything. They laid an extension cord that was running a fan along side the wire. The bulb glowed faintly.

Now, take a fluorescent light and rub it with a wool cloth in a dark room...... it will glow. Or, hold it by the end on a dry winter's day and walk across the carpet. Touch the other end to a door knob. The lamp will flash brightly. These are all examples of electrons being converted into visible light.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top