Anyone use LED Work Lights instead of halogen?

zmcgovern45

zmcgovern45

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I have had to replace about 4 500W halogen bulbs in the past 2 months... It's driving me nuts.

Can anyone recommend an LED alternative or other nice, very bright lighting option that is not stupid expensive?

I have fluorescent overhead lighting and I use my brinkmann dual xenon, but I always have my halogen work lights on too... They're great for pictures and for inspection.

Thanks.
 
I'll be changing to T5 bulbs they are much brighter than T8 bulbs and cheaper than LED.
 
Pureshine said:
I'll be changing to T5 bulbs they are much brighter than T8 bulbs and cheaper than LED.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I already have overhead lights covered. Looking for another option to replace my dual halogen work lights.

I have seen a couple LED options and didn't know if anyone had experience with them. I don't know how bright they are, durability, etc
 
I got this from jasper ecotek, shows defects even direct sun does not,I love it!
748a9fd8faf93a358abdd16e1c36c15a_zps1c6e884b.jpg
da0652b741d13a11801a396f7a04a8ae_zpse01f8425.jpg

5000k, 2year warranty. Pm me if you need a contact guy
 
My general caution with the LED's is the light is very directional...it's kind of hard to explain but I find with the LED worklight I have you have to aim it EXACTLY where you want, as opposed to similar incandescent or fluorescent drop lights.

Do they still make the worklights that are like the halogen in shape/size but have CFL bulbs? I remember seeing some at Lowe's some years ago but I had already bought a halogen setup.
 
Here's a thread from Autopia Forums Finally a comprehensive review of the best bulbs out there... - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum that starts out discussing over all lighting, but if you read through the entire thread you'll come to some alternatives to Halogen. I'm now using the single diode led floods mentioned in the article with a photo light stand and they are amazing in their ability to show swirls and scratches. I just use one since I only do my own cars and a friend or family members car from time to time, but you can get a heavier duty stand and double bulb holder for more light as listed later in the thread. They are great and produce little to no heat.
 
Mike lambert said:
I got this from jasper ecotek, shows defects even direct sun does not,I love it!
748a9fd8faf93a358abdd16e1c36c15a_zps1c6e884b.jpg
da0652b741d13a11801a396f7a04a8ae_zpse01f8425.jpg

5000k, 2year warranty. Pm me if you need a contact guy
Click to expand...

Care to share a little more info please?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
I use a "Husky 1720 Lumen LED Worklight with Tripod", part #480575 that I purchased at Home Depot for about $80.

It's a single SMD (or at least single light source) LED, which makes it great for finding swirls and holograms. It's definitely a defect finding machine!

It's currently my favorite light! I say "currently" because I change lights about as often as I change underwear, which is currently about weekly... (j/k) :)
 
I have read so many comments on the brinkman light battery being junk. And me just ordering one of those I'm super interested in this post.

My over head lights in my garage do work (t8 bulbs). But not nearly enough. I have to move around like crazy to locate the spot that I just corrected. They also don't show any imperfections on the side of the cars either.

I have a stand with 2 very bright 500w shop lights. They really don't do the job I thought they would
 
erichaley said:
I use a "Husky 1720 Lumen LED Worklight with Tripod", part #480575 that I purchased at Home Depot for about $80.
Click to expand...

How's the tripod on that thing? Any idea how those lumens stack up to the typical 500W halogen? And is it a single "wattage"? Usually the 500W halogens have a half step: off-250W-500W.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
How's the tripod on that thing? Any idea how those lumens stack up to the typical 500W halogen? And is it a single "wattage"? Usually the 500W halogens have a half step: off-250W-500W.
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I've read a 500W Halogen has around 4000-6000 lumens. My 1000W 2 x 500W Halogen has around 10,500 lumens. But a Brinkmann dual LED spotlight only has 320 lumens I believe. I think that LED stand uses around 35W though and is on/off.
 
You might check out the new line of Led's being offered at Lowes and Menards. From 800 lumens to over 2,000. Priced at $39.00 up to $149.00. Ace hardware also has one of the units found at HD. I have two of the 25w 2000 lumens on a stand and love them.

Smart Electrician 25W LED Worklight at Menards

The ones offered at Lowes are thin line like a flat screen TV but came out after I purchased the ones I have.
 
I love the fact the new offering of led's draw so little current and I can run both of mine and multiple other things at the same time compared to my halogens. They also remain cool enough to touch. These I find are great for interior work. A win/win deal. Try that with halogens.
 
The lumens ratings on these are as contrived as horsepower ratings on vacuums (or some non-operational condition that would soon burn up if run continuously).

Besides Lowes, HD, etc, you can also try photography stores like B&H, and then you could get double duty as an off-camera light and it will have diffusers, filters. Those can get pricey though. The better high output Cree LEDs are pretty pricey just for the raw LED part, and some of the matrix lights contain a dozen or more LEDs.
 
SR99 said:
The lumens ratings on these are as contrived as horsepower ratings on vacuums (or some non-operational condition that would soon burn up if run continuously).

Besides Lowes, HD, etc, you can also try photography stores like B&H, and then you could get double duty as an off-camera light and it will have diffusers, filters. Those can get pricey though. The better high output Cree LEDs are pretty pricey just for the raw LED part, and some of the matrix lights contain a dozen or more LEDs.
Click to expand...

I'm not a photographer so I won't comment about photography equip. All I can say is I love the new offerings as they make my job of finding defects easier for a lower price then halogens. The guarantee is for 5 years so we will see about their longevity. At even half of that length they out last my high heat producing halogens with their high amp draw.
 
I tried a few L.E.D lights without luck, it's just so hard to detect the damage.
Now I use an old drop light, works for me:)
 
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