Better light set up?

EzyBrzy

EzyBrzy

New member
Hello, all! I stopped by Lowes hardware store the other day and picked up a new bulb for my portable light:

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The bulb is a 17-Watt (120W Equivalent) Par38 LED 5,000k bulb. I'm a little under whelmed with the output. Is there a better bulb or should I buy another portable lamp and bulb?

Also have 2 fluorescent lights on the ceiling, should I opt to change those out for daylight bulbs? Recommendations?

I do this on the side and just starting out, so I would like to gradually build up as I get more clientele.
 

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One aspect/advantage that everyone "overlooks" to LED lighting is the cost-savings in electricity over a 10-year lifespan of an LED bulb. While most light bulb manufacturers print some type of electrical cost savings on their packaging, real-world usage and, hence, cost savings do NOT come close to those values. Plus, IF you have to replace an LED bulb due to premature lifespan failure (a common fault in LED bulbs of higher wattage and lumen (brightness) output) the "cost-savings" are negated. ( I can buy a lot of electricity at $0.15 for kilowatt-hour for the $25.00 cost difference be a 1000-watt halogen bulb and a high-output LED bulb)

Keep in mind that LED lights will loose their brightness over its lifetime, to the amount of 1% to 3% per each year of its life. You may not notice this until 5 to 6 years into the life of an LED bulb. Newer high-end LED light fixtures have programmed voltage regulators that "adjust" for this so that an LED light bulb puts out a more constant brightness over the lifetime of the bulb; IE, its actually set to be not-so-bright at its initial usage, but adjusts the voltage to allow it to compensate for the loss of brightness and appear to be more constant over the lifetime of the bulb.
 
I get great performance and value out of the Home Depot, Husky brand LED lights

Their return policy would allow you to do a test run and determine if they work well for you
 
EzyBrzy said:
..Also have 2 fluorescent lights on the ceiling, should I opt to change those out for daylight bulbs? Recommendations?
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I'd just turn the fluorescents *off* when using point-source illumination (e.g., the LEDs) for swirl-spotting. I like for the shop to be dark other than the swirl-spotting illumination.
 
blkSRT said:
Have a look here

DIY LED Work Light (much better than halogen!) - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum
Click to expand...

Been a while since I posted here (been lurking tho - captured by FaceBook groups mostly). Anyway, I built the same setup as above and will be re-doing it because what I found is the Leds are to heavy for the dual bulb 'base' and it's nearly impossible to adjust the tilt 'cause of the weight they keep falling/pointing towards the floor. I'm hoping that when I buy the single bulb base that they can be tightened enough so the adjustment holds.
 
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