OH-OH moment

[44man]

Pete brought me a 4' diode shop light, brightest thing I ever seen. I put it over my lathe where I need the most light.
I was taking the old one down but failed to remove the bulbs. One fell out across the lathe and exploded, glass all over the basement. Mercury too. Soon I will speak Russian or Chinese here! What a mess.
But look into the lights, amazing.

[WILCO]

http://www.pasadenanow.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/BrightLight.jpg

[Goatwhiskers]

Dang! Even that photo hurts my eyes! GW By the way, you should never put a flourescent light over rotating machinery. Those lights have a tiny flicker in their operation which combined with rotation can have bad results. GW

[Smoke4320]

Dang! Even that photo hurts my eyes! GW By the way, you should never put a flourescent light over rotating machinery. Those lights have a tiny flicker in their operation which combined with rotation can have bad results. GW
it didn't didn't dnnt hurt heurt hurrrt mee!!

[tdoyka]

http://www.pasadenanow.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/BrightLight.jpg


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it means "ouch!!! i'm blind!!!!":bigsmyl2:

[runfiverun]

LED's are the future.
but they are here now, take advantage of them wherever you can.

[leadman]

I replaced the lights in my old motorhome and it reply increased the runtime for the batteries. Also replaced most of through the lights in the house and garage with less. Bill went down about $30 a month.

[ole 5 hole group]

If you want light - LED's are the way to go. I met a pickup truck on a logging road in Ontario last June and he had a LED light bar over the cab - at about 200 yards his lights blinded me and I pulled over - looked like one big ball of light coming my way. He shut them down at about 50 yards from my location.

When he pulled alongside, we exchanged pleasantries and I asked him to turn those "blasters" back on and it threw a light beam out that lite up the side of the road and down the road for an unbelievable distance - that is the best offroad/backroad lighting system I've ever observed in my lifetime.

I spent a month in Australia last winter and I saw several Prado's and Hilux's (Land Cruiser/Sequoia looks like the Prado and the Tacoma looks something like the Hilux but the Aussie vehicles look much more "robust") with the LED bar mounted on the front bumper and that front bumper looked like front bumper sold here in the USA as ARB off-road armor. If I were a few years younger and felt the need - I would sure put a bar on the front of my '95 80 series cruiser with the armored front bumper.;-)

[mold maker]

The extra bright vehicle lights are sure a hindrance to those of us with cataracts. We can't have them removed until they are "ripe", and are stuck till then.
While I agree that they do an excellent job of making the path like daylight, respect for others on the road should be given. Approaching a blinded driver is liable to put you, in the hospital or cemetery.
The power company here gave vouchers for fluorescent and now LED bulbs, as a way for you to reduce the electric bills (their infrastructure load).
There are lots of LED bulbs available as imports at extremely reduced costs.
They are the lighting of the future, available today.

[frkelly74]

We put 4 double LED fixtures in the Kitchen that are 4' flourescent replacements. It's bright! and they use about half the power of the Flourescents they replaced.

[retread]

174661I replaced my shot lights with bathroom vanity light with 60W Equivalent Soft White A19 LED Light Bulbs. I mounted them directly on the ceiling. Might seem like a crazy idea but what an improvement over florescent. Power bill dropped a bunch. Warning you might have an urge to put on make up!! LOL The vanity light shown if from Home depot for around $15 and the light bulb for there were $12 something for an 8 pack. Cheaper than the old shop lights.

[Blackwater]

When I closed in our carport recently, I went with LED's in what's to be my new, larger reloading room. What a difference! It's a "whiter" light than fluorescent or incandescent, and aids critical viewing significantly. We got the same wattage bulbs in LED's we'd been using in our light fixtures in the house, and it was amazing how bright they were. Had to reduce the wattages to keep it from being TOO bright inside! They're cooler, run SO much longer without blowing and needing replacement, and use much less power to run. It's a win-win-win situation! Incandescent light tends to be "warmer" in color (more reds) and is nice when you still want that. The LED bulbs are expensive to buy initially, but rarely need replacing, so they're cheaper in the long run, especially when you take into consideration the power amount they use. Great stuff!

[Echo]

I got tired of replacing a pocket light in my computer room every couple of months (there were 6), and replaced them all with dimmable LED's. Expensive, but I'll bet I NEVER have to replace one before I croak over, and they use about 1/4 the power of the old incandescents.

[KYCaster]

I recently learned there is LED bulb available to replace the standard 48" 32 watt T8 fluorescent tubes.

You have to rewire the fixture to bypass the ballast and run power directly to the sockets on one end of the fixture....no biggie for anyone reasonably handy.

13 bucks each at my local electrical supply emporium. About 3 times the cost of fluorescent tubes...about the same cost as a ballast, but....no more buzz, no more flicker, bulb life is infinitely longer and the quality of the light is far ahead of the "day light" fluorescents.

Jerry

[RogerDat]

I replaced the lights in my old motorhome and it reply increased the runtime for the batteries. Also replaced most of through the lights in the house and garage with less. Bill went down about $30 a month.

Using LED in campers is certainly the way to go. Give off way less heat and give a lot longer battery life.
I have gone to compact fluorescents for a lot of lights in the house. Problem is they last a long time so any transition will take time (I am too cheap to throw out a working bulb that was sold with it lasts a long time as a reason for the higher price) Even those have gotten better, they come on quickly, work outside in cold temperatures, are available in different color temperatures. Stuff the first gen ones could not do. Number one thing I love about them? I can just change the garage and porch lights and forget them, incandescent bulbs I was always out there at least once, maybe twice in the winter on a step ladder changing bulbs.

Love the LED flashlights, and did you know they make compact fluorescents about the size of a football. A 40 watt CFL is a lot of light. Used for SAAD or photography. Great in pole barn or garage. With possible exception of if you have a lathe then put a non-flickering light as a supplement. Do same for reading lamp if room you read in has CFL bulbs, a steady light from LED or even incandescent masks or drowns out the flicker.

[MaryB]

I put 4 led shop lights in the new garage. Rarely need more than 2 on but if I want really bright for working on/under a vehicle they sure help. With the white inside steel liner panels it reflects light well under the truck.

[Fishman]

I recently learned there is LED bulb available to replace the standard 48" 32 watt T8 fluorescent tubes.

You have to rewire the fixture to bypass the ballast and run power directly to the sockets on one end of the fixture....no biggie for anyone reasonably handy.

13 bucks each at my local electrical supply emporium. About 3 times the cost of fluorescent tubes...about the same cost as a ballast, but....no more buzz, no more flicker, bulb life is infinitely longer and the quality of the light is far ahead of the "day light" fluorescents.

Jerry

Sir, you answered the question I had before I asked it. Great news to me and thanks for sharing. The lighting in my reloading room uses flourescent bulbs and it is problematic.

[beezapilot]

I built a display cabinet a while back and used LED lighting, each bulb drew .4 milliamp and is surprisingly bright on maximum intensity with a nice dimmer arrangement. Nice to work with. Also a friend in Montana built a very nice cabin with solar- charger / battery / LED lighting- amazing light!!! I really like LEDs

Also there was a comment about the frequency that florescent lights flicker VS rotational speed, had a shiny chrome blade on the table saw (bad idea in the first place) and almost ran in to trouble with that very scenario, remember your A-B-C's and Always Be Cautious

[NavyVet1959]

I have a 2-bulb 40W fluorescent shop light hung right above my reloading press. I have no complaints about the light it generates. It illuminates my clutter very well. Of course, I still can't find what I'm looking for.

I've started replacing the compact fluorescent lights with LEDs as they go out. The CFLs last pretty long, except in ceiling fans, so that's where they end up getting changed out most often.

I had a house once that had the typical high wattage flood lights on each corner outside for security. The problem that I had with them though was that the light was so bright that at night, it would blind you and it was possible for someone / something to be on the other side of the light and you not be able to see it due to the glare of the light. What I ended up doing was adding a few more lights along the eaves of the house and using the lowest wattage bulbs I could find. They provided a dull glow that you could still look directly at and not be blinded while also illuminating anything that you might need to address (i.e. shoot). If I was doing this these days, I would probably use some of the LED strips under the eaves of the house instead. Maybe recess them into a trim piece so that the light would be directed downward, but the actual LEDs light sources not be directly visible... Now, if you were ambitious, you could get one of the RGB LED strips that allows you to remotely vary the light color and it during the holidays, you would have your color lighting and still have white lighting for the rest of the year AND never have to take your lights down. :)

[frkelly74]

Home Depot has 4' LED tubes that are direct replacement to 4' flourescent tubes. They did not require re wiring around the ballast and are bright. They are the ones that we put in our kitchen. They also had some that did require re wiring the fixture but they were a lot more money. Home Depot may not be the cheapest place to buy, but they've sure got a lot of stuff there.

[NavyVet1959]

Home Depot has 4' LED tubes that are direct replacement to 4' flourescent tubes. They did not require re wiring around the ballast and are bright. They are the ones that we put in our kitchen. They also had some that did require re wiring the fixture but they were a lot more money. Home Depot may not be the cheapest place to buy, but they've sure got a lot of stuff there.

I recently spent a month in the UK and Ireland and checked out their building supply / home improvement stores. I think Wickes is probably their largest, but it seemed a bit smaller than the typical Home Depot or Lowes that we see around here. Maybe because land is more expensive over there?

There is also another store called "B&Q". I originally thought that they might have been related to Home Depot since they also have a fondness for the color orange. :)

[jonp]

LED's are the future.
but they are here now, take advantage of them wherever you can.

I've switched all of the lights in our house to LED's since the price came down and you can now get natural light ones instead of the operating room types. A small 2300 watt generator will run every light on the property

[MaryB]

Working on my 24 volt backup lighting... was debating what to use for a diffuser... cat was batting a canning jar ring around that he got off the counter. Bingo! Perfect fit for the heatsink and fan! About as bright as a 40 watt bulb and perfect for smaller rooms in the house like the bathroom.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd248/maryalanab/5d3caf2c-d876-4e72-b40c-ab6d04ef16a5_zps7a052rl3.jpg

[44man]

How did our ancestors live with an oil lamp or torch? But they died real early too. 30 was ancient.
How were the pyramids built with passages that show no carbon or signs of torches? Rock carvings showing electric lights. The world is a mystery.
As we age we need more light but my cataract surgery has helped and it has been found the surgery was done in the stone age.
The church suppressed advancements. What has been lost?

[ghh3rd]

A few years ago my son bought me a 3 D cell flashlight from Home Depot. It doesn't have any name or model number, but I wish it did so I could get a few more of the same.

It is the best flashlight that I have ever owned. It cannot be focused but throws a very strong beam an incredible distance. The best part of all is that the batteries seem to last forever.

I use it a lot, and have stopped being careful about conserving the batteries. I am on the second set of batteries, which have been heavily used, and I recently found the flashlight laying on my bed turned on. I asked my wife about it, and the 2 yr. old grandson had played with it and left it turned on almost three hours earlier! The same batteries are still going strong.

Oh yeah... it does have a LED bulb, and some circuitry that must really conserve batteries.

Randy

[44man]

It is alien technology. Now to figure out how they use light to transport people through walls and from the ground into their ships!
I understand LED's since I worked with electronics but the circuits in the lights limit voltage and amps to prevent burn out. Many LED's needed ballast resistors but some did not. Now they have progressed to amazing. How do they make a 4' bulb??? How do they make a laser out of them?
Watching TV to see light beams stopped at a certain distance. How would you stop light?
We are barely out of the crib.
I watched a flashlight add on TV but found the atomic light is only 200 lumens. My friend has a little light that will light my whole basement or yard.

[DLCTEX]

The led bulbs that replace florescents but use the ballast are not as efficient as the ones that bypass the ballast, and if the ballast goes bad you have to replace it. Ace has one that wires direct to 120 V and fits in the original lamp holders. I am converting a grocery store chain flouescents any time the ballast is bad. Less heat produced, less electricity used, and they last for years.

[Handloader109]

If you guys are using direct screw in replacement for incandescent bulbs, and have a dimmer, make sure that the led bulbs are dimmer rated. The cheapest ones are not.. And they will flicker if you dim them.... Just an FYI and I am slowly Changing them out

[white eagle]

We did our kitchen remodel and all our can lights
are l.e.d while they did cost more initially I believe that
in the long term they will be less costly as conventional
bulbs would have been
so if you can bite the bullet and go with led's

[MaryB]

My first LED bulb is on its way out after 5 years of 24/7/365 operation. It was getting dim so I swapped it with the porch light that rarely gets used.

[Storydude]

Every exterior light on my work trucks are LED. Tickets for a bad plate light suck.

[44man]

They are amazing today. I bought many for things for fun, dirt cheap but they were not like today. They are just a light emitting diode and any diode will give out light except for the cover. But to make them lase is unreal.
I shot a gun today with a green laser. How do they lase in 1/16"???

[NavyVet1959]

Every exterior light on my work trucks are LED. Tickets for a bad plate light suck.

Some cars these days will even have a warning light on the dash to tell you when one of your lamps have burned out. IIRC, my pickup makes a different type of sound when it is flashing if one of the turn signal lamps are out. Of course, the more complex a system, the more chance of something going wrong. Sometimes, the problem is not with the item being monitored, but with the monitoring system itself and the item is still working properly.

[NavyVet1959]

They are amazing today. I bought many for things for fun, dirt cheap but they were not like today. They are just a light emitting diode and any diode will give out light except for the cover. But to make them lase is unreal.
I shot a gun today with a green laser. How do they lase in 1/16"???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_diode

Or, as we used to say when someone asked a question that would require a really long answer and you knew that there was no way they would understand the explanation anyway:

PFM...

:)

[Storydude]

Some cars these days will even have a warning light on the dash to tell you when one of your lamps have burned out. IIRC, my pickup makes a different type of sound when it is flashing if one of the turn signal lamps are out. Of course, the more complex a system, the more chance of something going wrong. Sometimes, the problem is not with the item being monitored, but with the monitoring system itself and the item is still working properly.
yep, CanBus. And IMHO, Tech for Tech sake. Networking has no reason to be in my car.
The Daughter has one of those and wanted to put in an aftermarket stereo.

When I found out you'd need a 200 dollar adapter to NOT toss a CEL from the new stereo,she decided to keep the stock one.
When I pulled the dash off, the wiring harness looked like 28G bell wire....It made my old Subaru wiring look beefy...

[NavyVet1959]

yep, CanBus. And IMHO, Tech for Tech sake. Networking has no reason to be in my car.
The Daughter has one of those and wanted to put in an aftermarket stereo.

When I found out you'd need a 200 dollar adapter to NOT toss a CEL from the new stereo,she decided to keep the stock one.
When I pulled the dash off, the wiring harness looked like 28G bell wire....It made my old Subaru wiring look beefy...

I currently have the ABS and brake lights come on periodically on my pickup and from what I've been able to gather, it's just a sensor problem. It irritates the **** out of my wife when it beeps, but it doesn't bother me enough to either crawl under the truck to look at it or take it to the shop just for that. Besides, every time I'm near the shop, the light goes off or it is after-hours and the shop is not open. It's like the damn sensor knows when the shop is open or when I'm close to it.

[44man]

This stuff came from Roswell. The explanation in molecules and photons puts me in the stone age. Anyone need a rock?

[NavyVet1959]

This stuff came from Roswell. The explanation in molecules and photons puts me in the stone age. Anyone need a rock?

OK, then... PFM...

[mold maker]

NV I'm glad you posted that. It let me know just how little I know about the newer technology.
On a China-sourced buying site, I saw lots of LED tech lights at reasonable prices and sampled a few. When they finally arrived I only had one that would fit the application intended. My press now has enough light to blind you with the reflection off my bright clean cases.
While they may be the future of lights, there is a lot to learn about the exploding technology.
The local Power Co. sent out coupons for extremely reduced costs on LED bulbs. Problem being I had already taken advantage of too many of the fluorescent bulbs when they were the latest and greatest. Duke Powers incentive being to make existing infrastructure last longer and still handle growth.

[44man]

I was well versed in TV and radio back then and got into the tube to chips. Even fixed computer tuners and Chevy computers. But then it went out of sight.
The cost and time to keep up with throw away electronics and the loss of parts was bad. Your phone is a million times more then what we sent to the moon! Can't be fixed, toss it.
I could fix a transistor radio but there are a million on a chip today. Parts are not to be removed today. Back then I could remove a resistor or capacitor. Now you can't tell one from another and they cant be removed. An LED was simple and if you can figure an LED laser, Why are you even here? Do understand PNP and NPN is tough enough. To understand a laser from that site will mean you have the stone.

[MaryB]

I repair surface mount all the time including cell phones. Takes the right tools is all.

My solar system is 24 volt, not many light fixtures available at that voltage and they few that are are crazy expensive. So I bough $15 worth of LED chip, power supply, heatsink, and fan and started building my own. This is a 7 watt 500 lumen chip (about a 40-60 watt equivalent). I needed a globe and my cats were batting a canning jar ring around, I picked it up and dang, this looks just the right size... yup it fits! So I will have ball jar backup lights in each room! I have frequent power failures here, like 15 in the last month so I needed something! In the winter I don't mind the Aladdin kerosene lamps kicking out heat but in summer this is better. I need to order some brass strap to make some wall sconces...

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd248/maryalanab/5d3caf2c-d876-4e72-b40c-ab6d04ef16a5_zps7a052rl3.jpg