Alabama_Man
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2020
- Messages
- 3
Hi folks!
I wasn't sure wheter posting this here or in other forum areas, but these bulb lamps are cheap as dirt, so let's have a look at them.
I found these bulb on a popular online store. They sell for some 2-4 bucks each, depending on their listed power. Models available were 3W, 6W, 7W and 9W, offered in both 3000 and 6000 K gradation.
I ordered one of each in the 3000 K range, and soon tested them.
To make a long story short: I think they're awesome for camping purposes.
Now, a few details:
As far as technology goes, all lamps are COB LEDs encased in a bulb-like frame. There is no glass, and the opaque surface helps shedding smooth light. Also, being all plastic makes them less fragile and good for backpack / camping transportation.
Basically, the higher the Watts, the more LEDs are on the circuit board.
All bulbs come with a nice length of DC wire (about 1 metre / 3.50 feet), ending with useful clamps.
These bulbs require 12V, which you can easily get from any car battery or -even better- a series of 3x 18650 lithium battery cells: they are so lightweight and easy to recharge that they should never miss any backpacker's inventory.
I have been using these bulbs for two years now in my mountain cabin, with no issues so far. Should they last a meager 1000 hours, they're still a great bargain for the price. I even built a small 12V power supply out of salvaged 18650 cells (18 cells in 6 parallel rows of 3x series), and gets scores of hours of light before needing a solar recharge.
Last month I went camping with friends: coffee was ready, poker cards were being shuffled, but flashlights kept blinding each other. So I took a 7W bulb, 3x 18650 cells, 4x rubber bands, 2 small sticks and 2 nails to set up a jury-rigged 12V battery (see pic below). We hanged everything on a pine branch and kept playing for hours under that smooth, warm light.
Unfortunately I can't tell anything about their actual Lumens output, but compared to 220V AC LED bulbs I have at home, these seem to yield about 90 Lumens per Watt, give or take.
9W models do not seem to overheat cells, as current should be flowing around 750 mA, a very safe amount for 18650s.
Though they are listed for 12V, they can runa s low as 8.4V, with reduced brightness output: this leads me thinking that the COB LEDs might be on the 9-24V range type.
I should try to risk killing one and overcharging it to some 16.8-21V, and see if it holds or misbehaves.
More news on this in the future.
As a side note, I tested a 3W bulb on a 3x18650 series. Cells had been harvested from a dead laptop computer battery, so they had seen lots of abuse. Nominal capacity should have been 2200 mAh, but was actually lower due to mileage.
That said, the fully charged cells ran the battery for 12 hours of full-intensity light, plus 3 more hours of dimmer light. Readings on the cells after the test revealed they still had 3V on each.
I think this is a great product for the money, its main drawback being clearly not waterproofed, though this can be easily achieved with a few minutes of toolshed tinkering.
I wasn't sure wheter posting this here or in other forum areas, but these bulb lamps are cheap as dirt, so let's have a look at them.
I found these bulb on a popular online store. They sell for some 2-4 bucks each, depending on their listed power. Models available were 3W, 6W, 7W and 9W, offered in both 3000 and 6000 K gradation.
I ordered one of each in the 3000 K range, and soon tested them.
To make a long story short: I think they're awesome for camping purposes.
Now, a few details:
As far as technology goes, all lamps are COB LEDs encased in a bulb-like frame. There is no glass, and the opaque surface helps shedding smooth light. Also, being all plastic makes them less fragile and good for backpack / camping transportation.
Basically, the higher the Watts, the more LEDs are on the circuit board.
All bulbs come with a nice length of DC wire (about 1 metre / 3.50 feet), ending with useful clamps.
These bulbs require 12V, which you can easily get from any car battery or -even better- a series of 3x 18650 lithium battery cells: they are so lightweight and easy to recharge that they should never miss any backpacker's inventory.
I have been using these bulbs for two years now in my mountain cabin, with no issues so far. Should they last a meager 1000 hours, they're still a great bargain for the price. I even built a small 12V power supply out of salvaged 18650 cells (18 cells in 6 parallel rows of 3x series), and gets scores of hours of light before needing a solar recharge.
Last month I went camping with friends: coffee was ready, poker cards were being shuffled, but flashlights kept blinding each other. So I took a 7W bulb, 3x 18650 cells, 4x rubber bands, 2 small sticks and 2 nails to set up a jury-rigged 12V battery (see pic below). We hanged everything on a pine branch and kept playing for hours under that smooth, warm light.
Unfortunately I can't tell anything about their actual Lumens output, but compared to 220V AC LED bulbs I have at home, these seem to yield about 90 Lumens per Watt, give or take.
9W models do not seem to overheat cells, as current should be flowing around 750 mA, a very safe amount for 18650s.
Though they are listed for 12V, they can runa s low as 8.4V, with reduced brightness output: this leads me thinking that the COB LEDs might be on the 9-24V range type.
I should try to risk killing one and overcharging it to some 16.8-21V, and see if it holds or misbehaves.
More news on this in the future.
As a side note, I tested a 3W bulb on a 3x18650 series. Cells had been harvested from a dead laptop computer battery, so they had seen lots of abuse. Nominal capacity should have been 2200 mAh, but was actually lower due to mileage.
That said, the fully charged cells ran the battery for 12 hours of full-intensity light, plus 3 more hours of dimmer light. Readings on the cells after the test revealed they still had 3V on each.
I think this is a great product for the money, its main drawback being clearly not waterproofed, though this can be easily achieved with a few minutes of toolshed tinkering.
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