Quality LED desk lights?

[mkozlows]

Ever since my wife melted our clock with a halogen lamp, I've used an LED light on the nightstand. But the one we have now is frankly awful -- it's a grid of like 24 dim LEDs that are only barely bright enough to read by.

What I'd ideally like is... well, a Quark in desk light form -- something adjustable from moonlight to omgbright, with useful stops in between. But I'd settle for a lot less than that, but I haven't even found THAT when I've looked.

Any recommendations for LED desk lights?

[LEDninja]

Your wife just melted a clock. You lucky you. I melted the top of my computer monitor.

Stay away from 5 mm LED arrays. See
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=220441
and similar threads.

I just use LED bulbs in regular desk lamps.

The JDR Cree 1x3W Frosted Lens has a narrowish but fairly smooth beam. 100 lumens warm white.
The Cree 3x1W Frosted Lens has a more flashlight type beam. Narrow hotspot + spill. I smoothed the beam out by turning the optic inside out. Cool White (6000K) 200 Lumen; Warm White (3000K) 180 Lumen.
The 1x3W is adequate as a keyboard light, the brighter 3x1W is better suited as a general purpose desk lamp bulb.
Similar bulbs by GE 4W & 7W and Osram Sylvania 2W & 4W are available in B&M stores now.
Warning: watch out for beam pattern and beam angle on the spot style bulbs.

For a wide angle beam get a globe type bulb.

Cree 1x2W LED Bulb - G45 is on the dim side for reading purposes. 90 lumen warn white; 100 lumen cool white.
Philips LED Lightbulb at 155 lumens warm white is more than adequate in a desklamp. The 155 lumens is brighter than the 180 lumens of the 3X1W spot!!!
Sylvania 8w and the Zetalux have a higher lumen # but I do not have experience with them.
Warning: Check for bulb size, especially length. The G45 is 3" long; the Philips is 4" long. The Zetalux is 5-1/2" long so may stick out 1-1/2" past the lamp shade of a desk lamp - you don't want to be looking at the bulb itself!!!
For reference a 40W or 60W A-19 bulb is 4" long.

[KLowD9x]

I picked up one of these (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658) from IKEA about six months ago and I love it. The light output is great, the color is nice and not blue at all. It does get a little warm but not hot to the touch.

My only complaint that the switch is of poor quality and doesn't seem like it will last long at all. The lamp itself feels like it is very high quality.

It's not listed on the site but using a completely subjective rating using my experience with flashlight ratings, I would say that it has between 50-70 lumens of output, but I am not exactly sure on the output.

[carrot]

I have that same Ikea lamp and it is excellent for reading, not so good for room lighting. I'd also place it around 50-70 lumens. It has a very warm color to it (like the neutral white tints) and appears to be using an SSC LED.

[swxb12]

I picked up one of these (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658) from IKEA about six months ago and I love it. The light output is great, the color is nice and not blue at all. It does get a little warm but not hot to the touch.

My only complaint that the switch is of poor quality and doesn't seem like it will last long at all. The lamp itself feels like it is very high quality.

It's not listed on the site but using a completely subjective rating using my experience with flashlight ratings, I would say that it has between 50-70 lumens of output, but I am not exactly sure on the output.

Heads up! Price has dropped to $9.99! Confirmed in newest catalog.

[Colorblinded]

I was at Target a while back and saw a LED clip on desk/bed lamp. For $20 I picked one up and brought it home to try. I wanted a LED reading lamp for my bed and had been thinking of cannibalizing something for the purpose.

It works well though, good even output and not a really blue tint.

Here's a really lousy shot I took of the emitter on it with a little P&S I had by me.


http://www.target.com/Room-Essential..._qi_detaillink

[purduephotog]

I've seen and been impressed with KONCEPT lights. 5 LEDs, 4 light levels. The color temp is OK. The QC on the individual lights leaves something to be desired, but I'm REALLY picky.

[milkyspit]

Looks like the 'C6060' labeled part is an Intematix C6060 LED. Take a look over here.

After reading the data sheet for the LED itself, my guess would be roughly 60 lumens output from the LED as implemented in that particular desk lamp. Since LED is forward-firing only, unlike incandescent, and assuming 10 lumens per watt for an incandescent lamp in general, plus taking into consideration the 110 degree viewing angle for this particular LED, I'd take a wild guess that this desk lamp is probably the equivalent of a 20W incandescent lamp as far as reading and writing go.

[Colorblinded]

Looks like the 'C6060' labeled part is an Intematix C6060 LED. Take a look over here.

After reading the data sheet for the LED itself, my guess would be roughly 60 lumens output from the LED as implemented in that particular desk lamp. Since LED is forward-firing only, unlike incandescent, and assuming 10 lumens per watt for an incandescent lamp in general, plus taking into consideration the 110 degree viewing angle for this particular LED, I'd take a wild guess that this desk lamp is probably the equivalent of a 20W incandescent lamp as far as reading and writing go.

I looked in to the specs as well and came away suspecting something similar. 60-80ish lumens probably, depending on the exact bin. It's a fairly nice light to read by, and if I point it up it provides a reasonable amount of light to navigate a room from the ceiling bounce but it certainly won't make your room bright!

[Canuke]

I looked in to the specs as well and came away suspecting something similar. 60-80ish lumens probably, depending on the exact bin. It's a fairly nice light to read by, and if I point it up it provides a reasonable amount of light to navigate a room from the ceiling bounce but it certainly won't make your room bright!

I've got several of the Target lights, and the descriptions here are accurate. I use them as spot lights around my computer tower (a steel shelving unit that contains all my computing hardware, CPU's, external drives and networking infrastructure). They are extremely handy for this, as they can be positioned anywhere I want. When not being used for working on stuff, they simply illuminate the tower in a video-gamish way, perfect for late night game sessions.

[moldyoldy]

I have that same Ikea lamp and it is excellent for reading, not so good for room lighting. I'd also place it around 50-70 lumens. It has a very warm color to it (like the neutral white tints) and appears to be using an SSC LED.

I spotted those little single-LED desk lamps at the Ikea store near the Mall of America in MN. For $9.99 I thought I would try it out. I liked the light output enough that I purchased 2 more of them. As already reported, the light output provides a warm flood light sufficient for reading, but not for an area light. The neck is long enough to provide just about any reasonable angle and height needed on a desk. If the LED is pointed straight down more or less at the limit of the goose neck arm, the smooth flood light circle is about 18 inches across. There appears to be an optical lens in front of the LED. The switching power supply provided outputs of 4.0V, 0.75A, and 3W and runs rather cool. The LED runs warm enough that you would not want to leave your fingers/hand touching the LED hood for very long.

[so 650]

I haven't had the plesaure of appliance melting, but I enthusiastically second the sentiment of the second paragraph.

DO any of CPFs esteemed customizers build desk lamps/reading lamps? I see Milky weighing in here (hint hint).

Ever since my wife melted our clock with a halogen lamp, I've used an LED light on the nightstand. But the one we have now is frankly awful -- it's a grid of like 24 dim LEDs that are only barely bright enough to read by.

What I'd ideally like is... well, a Quark in desk light form -- something adjustable from moonlight to omgbright, with useful stops in between. But I'd settle for a lot less than that, but I haven't even found THAT when I've looked.

Any recommendations for LED desk lights?

[purduephotog]

I haven't had the plesaure of appliance melting, but I enthusiastically second the sentiment of the second paragraph.

DO any of CPFs esteemed customizers build desk lamps/reading lamps? I see Milky weighing in here (hint hint).

This was the light I saw-

http://www.konceptech.com/ibarmini.html

http://www.konceptech.com/highpowerzbar.html

[milkyspit]

I haven't had the plesaure of appliance melting, but I enthusiastically second the sentiment of the second paragraph.

DO any of CPFs esteemed customizers build desk lamps/reading lamps? I see Milky weighing in here (hint hint).

I can work on something for you, just PM or email if you want some assistance...



The main problem I've seen is economics: with pricing on many of the stock LED lights so low, most people don't want to get into the sort of budget it would entail to do custom work, which is after all fairly labor intensive. Granted, the stock offerings are generally pretty wimpy... IMHO it's mainly a psychological barrier, that it's tough to look at a $100 expenditure (for example) when Target or Ikea sell stock LED desk lamps in the $10-20 ballpark.

That said, I've built some things for myself and am more than up for the challenge!

[ama230]

I had this dilemma for myself and my aunt and had found the perfect one with awesome run time. It lasts me two weeks and I use it every night for a few hours. I use lsd rechargeables as with all my lights. I had wanted something that was battery powered and had two or three modes.

The light is the Sylvania Golden Dragon Puck light. It has an 1 hour auto shut off, which is nice if you always forget to turn it off. Then it had a Photo diode that senses when you wave your hand in front of it to turn it on.

One wave turns it to high: 80lumens real output as the others are maybe 20lumens and not very useful. This is actually a small light that can light up a room pretty good.

Two waves to low: 40lumens, perfect for night reading and has a great flood.

No rings due to a frosted lense that makes the light output ultrasmooth and white. It has a magnet to attach it anywhere that has adhesive one one side. Then the light is metal to attach to the magnet and is removable from the magnet to move wherever else.

For thirty bucks you can pick up a three pack shipped on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=263602_263622

I had only got a couple in the individual packs from wally world and they costed me 13 bucks each. They are of great quality and look really slick and no hints of cheapness.

Im tired of plugging crap in the wall too.

Hope this helps...
Eric

[blasterman]

IMHO it's mainly a psychological barrier, that it's tough to look at a $100 expenditure (for example) when Target or Ikea sell stock LED desk lamps in the $10-20 ballpark.

Oh yeah....I hear that. Plus, the color and intensity of these lights tend to suck as well. $100 allows you to put together a pretty nice task light, or even room light with LEDs with awesome color, and it will last a long time as well.

Been trying to figure out how to retrofit a bankers lamp by firing LEDs upwards, but the heatsinking has me baffled. Ideally, SMD's mounted on a narrow piece of aluminum would seem the only practical way to do this.

[purduephotog]

Oh yeah....I hear that. Plus, the color and intensity of these lights tend to suck as well. $100 allows you to put together a pretty nice task light, or even room light with LEDs with awesome color, and it will last a long time as well.

Been trying to figure out how to retrofit a bankers lamp by firing LEDs upwards, but the heatsinking has me baffled. Ideally, SMD's mounted on a narrow piece of aluminum would seem the only practical way to do this.

The KONCEPT unit I measured, at 32" from the desk table, over 100 fc at medium high.

I personally thought the light was a little weak, but thats me. It was done up nicely though- the reflectors were about the best I'd ever seen- unless you could see the die, they appeared black even when on.

[purduephotog]

I can work on something for you, just PM or email if you want some assistance...



The main problem I've seen is economics: with pricing on many of the stock LED lights so low, most people don't want to get into the sort of budget it would entail to do custom work, which is after all fairly labor intensive. Granted, the stock offerings are generally pretty wimpy... IMHO it's mainly a psychological barrier, that it's tough to look at a $100 expenditure (for example) when Target or Ikea sell stock LED desk lamps in the $10-20 ballpark.

That said, I've built some things for myself and am more than up for the challenge!

Milky-

The biggest issue isn't pricing for us- it's education. No one offers a 6500K light for wall wash. I've contacted manufacturers in England, Germany, and a few other places... never any followup.

Not that you would be able to produce thousands of linear feet of lighting, but it is a nice thought now and again.

Ahhhh... to have a machine shop and access to cheap anodized aluminum profiles...

[blasterman]

Ahhhh... to have a machine shop and access to cheap anodized aluminum profiles...

I hear that.

......You take a concave sheet of aluminum 'bout .125 thick, and then fold a lip back just wide enough to mount some LEDs. You then powdercoat the underside bright white, and the upfiring LEDs which are nearly invisible in the seam cast a reflective glow on the entire underside. The aluminum sheet acts as both a sink, and reflector, and it's one piece. The surface area of the aluminum should allow for some pretty high light levels.

I just don't like bare LEDs as task lights. I find it fatiguing and like I'm trying to work on a bus or airplane. So, I'm trying to come up with fancy but simple ways to diffuse the light.

[koala]

I use their M2 monitor arm. It's solid for my 24". I have seen their lights, well build to last, they are good.

http://www.humanscale.com/products/c...egory=lighting

10 year warranty.

[PCC]

I picked up one of these (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658) from IKEA about six months ago and I love it. The light output is great, the color is nice and not blue at all. It does get a little warm but not hot to the touch.

My only complaint that the switch is of poor quality and doesn't seem like it will last long at all. The lamp itself feels like it is very high quality.

It's not listed on the site but using a completely subjective rating using my experience with flashlight ratings, I would say that it has between 50-70 lumens of output, but I am not exactly sure on the output.

I have that same Ikea lamp and it is excellent for reading, not so good for room lighting. I'd also place it around 50-70 lumens. It has a very warm color to it (like the neutral white tints) and appears to be using an SSC LED.

Heads up! Price has dropped to $9.99! Confirmed in newest catalog.

I spotted those little single-LED desk lamps at the Ikea store near the Mall of America in MN. For $9.99 I thought I would try it out. I liked the light output enough that I purchased 2 more of them. As already reported, the light output provides a warm flood light sufficient for reading, but not for an area light. The neck is long enough to provide just about any reasonable angle and height needed on a desk. If the LED is pointed straight down more or less at the limit of the goose neck arm, the smooth flood light circle is about 18 inches across. There appears to be an optical lens in front of the LED. The switching power supply provided outputs of 4.0V, 0.75A, and 3W and runs rather cool. The LED runs warm enough that you would not want to leave your fingers/hand touching the LED hood for very long.

I just bought two of those lamps for $9.99 each. It looks like they've changed the emitter to a warm white Luxeon Rebel LED and it's driven at 700mA. There's a clear plastic lens retaining ring that clips on holding a small lens. The white plastic "reflector" holds it all together. Under the reflectors is a pair of AMC7135 chips and what appears to be a SMD resistor.



I originally planned on swapping the LED or even making a new head for it altogether, but, I might just leave it alone or swap out the reflector/lens for an optic. The Carclo 10003 20mm optic looks like it'll fit with a minimum of mods to this light and will give me a better beam. I could always swap the emitter for a cooler white emitter from one of my Rebel Mag LEDs for more output, too.

[srfreddy]

I just bought two of those lamps for $9.99 each. It looks like they've changed the emitter to a warm white Luxeon Rebel LED and it's driven at 700mA. There's a clear plastic lens retaining ring that clips on holding a small lens. The white plastic "reflector" holds it all together. Under the reflectors is a pair of AMC7135 chips and what appears to be a SMD resistor.



I originally planned on swapping the LED or even making a new head for it altogether, but, I might just leave it alone or swap out the reflector/lens for an optic. The Carclo 10003 20mm optic looks like it'll fit with a minimum of mods to this light and will give me a better beam. I could always swap the emitter for a cooler white emitter from one of my Rebel Mag LEDs for more output, too.

You could piggyback two more 7135's on top for 1.4 a to the rebel, not sure about heatsinking though. Maybe just one 7135.

[PCC]

It gets warm with the 700mA that it's getting now. It's dark now so I'm going to see how it works. I've installed one right onto my lathe to light up what I'm working on and the other is on my nightstand. The optic was installed onto the one on the lathe and I had to put a bit of diffusing film on it to both spread and smooth out the beam.

[Norm]

I picked up one of these (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20169658) from IKEA about six months ago and I love it. The light output is great, the color is nice and not blue at all. It does get a little warm but not hot to the touch.

We have two of these in the guest room, great reading lights with nice warm tint, very pleasing to the eye.

The bed lamps in our bedroom which match the ceiling lights take a fancy round globe which is a tight fit height wise I haven't found anything to fit until I came across these Ikea Bulbs warm white (2700 Kelvin) the only down side is that they do produce some RFI.

Norm

[Novia]

See Rule #3 Do not Hot Link images. Please host on an image site, Imageshack or similar and repost – Thanks Norm


this two LED lamp is more useful

[PCC]

Here's a picture of the Ikea Jansjo LED lamp mounted to the backboard on my lathe stand.