Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ranch

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JR.
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

Post by JR. »

I just added another LED fixture for a kitchen counter. I was using some cheap small fluorescent fixtures, and two of them crapped out after only a few years. As a short term fix I moved the small LED fixture from my computer desk over to the kitchen counter and liked. I bought a new 24" long LED lamp to replace the shorty and my immediate reaction is that it isn't much brighter, but somewhat brighter and more diffuse, so progress.

I need to get a bright lamp for my work bench... something like the old fluorescent round magnifying lamp but perhaps with LEDs. I was recently struggling with swapping out a SMD processor that is less than half the size of my pinky finger nail. My perception is that bright LED light reflects off the shiny solder making it harder to troubleshoot solder joints.. Does anyone have any observations about that phenomenon, or am I just imagining things?

JR
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

Post by mediatechnology »

I dunno about checking SMT joints but I haven't had any problems with seeing through hole.

Where LEDs really "shine" on the bench (sorry about the pun) is reading laser-marked parts. It's much easier.
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

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Thanx, It may be the nature of LED being small point sources of light... and my tired 65YO eyeballs.... I'm too old for SMD, but can't afford to ignore it either. How else can I perform FFT inside a chip that tiny... :D

HNY...

JR
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

Post by mediatechnology »

I do find in wiring prototypes that the eyes seem to fatigue less with LEDs on the bench and it may just be cleaner light.

Right now I've got two of those ~800 lumen "60W" Feit's on the bench in Luxo arms (a few posts earlier) and I really like them. I was at Lowe's today and they're $10.95 each.

HNY to you as well.
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

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Your lowes is cheaper than mine.. :oops: I can't even find those on the lowes website. I was just perusing the lamp section about 2 weeks ago. i ended up ordering the LED counter light from lowes over the web,,, maybe a personal problem with my local store.

I need to change how I have my 4" fluorescent bench light mounted. Now it is too high and too close to the back of the bench to it casts a shadow on my work area. I don't want to poke more holes in my plaster ceiling... The new LED lamps are lighter weight too... A few watts of LED immediately over the work area would be better than my old school fluorescent tubes.

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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

Post by mediatechnology »

The local Tom Thumb (Safeway) grocery store is even stocking those Feit's but they're $13.95.

Looks like Lowes still do have the LA19DM800LEDG2 at $9.98 but under a different SKU: http://www.lowes.com/pd_424722-75774-LA ... d=50107626

This is the Amazon link but their pricing isn't competitive: http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-A19 ... 267&sr=8-2
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

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Thanx... I used something like that in the x4 fixture I have screwed to the ceiling over my shipping bench. (probably less wattage but similar looking heat sinks on the lamps).

I may need to build a wood shelf that sits on top of my workbench that I can mount an under counter light fixture to the bottom of the shelf. I can always use another shelf to load up with stuff,, I don't want to stare at bare lamps but the under counter fixtures kind of points mostly down.

Hmm... no I need to do other stuff right now... I feel another DIY project coming on I need to soak this in beer for a few days then do this next year... :D

JR

{edit- Ok I have a plan.. time to order another 23" under counter LED light bar that I can bolt underneath an old steel shelf that is already on my bench... In fact I had one of the two small fluorescents bolted to it before the first kitchen one burned out and I moved the bench light to my kitchen counter. This will work even better than the small old fluorescent...I may just leave the big 4' fluorescent overhead turned off. /edit]
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

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I should have just ordered another from their website... I went to the local Lowes brick and mortar store and bought their 24" LED under counter light, and upon getting it home opened the box and discovered it was a different bird... It used a string of LEDs like the other one but this one came with the works inside a metal channel, with an opaque plastic cover... and no line cord.

But I stuck to the plan and mounted it to bottom of a steel shelf sitting on top of my work bench. Now I have a 6w LED fixture about a foot above my work area making better light than the old double tube 4' long fluorescent fixture hanging from the ceiling ... So greener and brighter... win-win..

I took down the fluorescent fixture and put it back in storage. :D

JR
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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

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I see lotsa crapola via late nite infomercials, but this one Takes The Cake.

"100,000 hours" and "made from Genuine Metal!!":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDR6Vcu3oUc

Geez and I really believe this is a bunch of crap. I've stockpiled incandescent bulbs in various wattages. From experience, the "new" bulbs last a tiny fraction of the "promised" results. I have stuck so many of the CFLs in the trash as they died or caught on fire after (yep..I have had those junkers catch on fire) at times FAR less than promised 1000000000000000000 hours.

I read Consumer Reports, and they fail to convince me that $50 light bulbs will last much longer than the companies that "champion" them. What is a warrenty worth when the company disappears?

I suspect the LED's are just junk as well.

Phooey!! JUNK and BS!!

BLAH....a way to make Al Gore happy and various junk companies rich. The most stupid thing I've seen in 60 years as these Weasels promise the world with no guarantee their zillion dollar bulbs have ANY sort of guarantee that can be used in the future. When was the LAST time you saw ANYONE predicting that any company will even exist 10/20/whatever years in the future?

OOPs...the $50 bulbs die..and so did the company that made them.

It's a HUGE ripoff. BS!!! So i stockpile Edison bulbs. Better THAT than then unknown crapola.

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Re: Residential Lighting with LEDs: Retrofitting the Pink Ra

Post by JR. »

brianroth wrote:I see lotsa crapola via late nite infomercials, but this one Takes The Cake.

"100,000 hours" and "made from Genuine Metal!!":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDR6Vcu3oUc
More than a few misleading statements in that commercial.. While the LEDs may work 100k hours, that batteries surely won't hold a charge that long.

Geez and I really believe this is a bunch of crap. I've stockpiled incandescent bulbs in various wattages. From experience, the "new" bulbs last a tiny fraction of the "promised" results. I have stuck so many of the CFLs in the trash as they died or caught on fire after (yep..I have had those junkers catch on fire) at times FAR less than promised 1000000000000000000 hours.
The CFLs always were an interim solution until the LED technology became cheap enough. In fact CFLs are not power factor correct so undesirable for wide scale usage. The benefit of drawing less current was assumed to out weigh where on the waveform they draw their current.

Now LEDs are quickly dropping in price, and should continue to get cheaper.

I read Consumer Reports, and they fail to convince me that $50 light bulbs will last much longer than the companies that "champion" them. What is a warrenty worth when the company disappears?

I suspect the LED's are just junk as well.

Phooey!! JUNK and BS!!
I too have a pile of dead CFLs, but so far not one failed LED. The CFLs seem very sensitive to ambient temperature so they do not do well inside closed globes, or the like. BTW they use mercury inside IIRC so need to be disposed of properly as hazardous materials.
BLAH....a way to make Al Gore happy and various junk companies rich. The most stupid thing I've seen in 60 years as these Weasels promise the world with no guarantee their zillion dollar bulbs have ANY sort of guarantee that can be used in the future. When was the LAST time you saw ANYONE predicting that any company will even exist 10/20/whatever years in the future?

OOPs...the $50 bulbs die..and so did the company that made them.

It's a HUGE ripoff. BS!!! So i stockpile Edison bulbs. Better THAT than then unknown crapola.

Bri

I do not appreciate government forcing consumers hand about such choices. I do agree with your disdain for CFL lamps, while I expect LEDs will continue to get better and cheaper,

YMMV

I have a few spare 60W IC lamps for my leg warmer, but no plans to stockpile more.

JR

{edit} I recall about a year ago I repaired my UPS drivers LED flashlight. It had a bad solder connection inside.. [/edit]
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