Looking for an LED trouble light

LEDBE
C

CPFnoob

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
13
Location
Rockville, MD
Does any one have a recommendation for an LED trouble light, either battery operated or corded? I did a little search, and I found one called nanolamp. It's not expensive, and uses an electrical cord, but it doesn't look very bright.
 
All of the LED trouble lights I've seen are based on an array of around 30 standard 5mm LEDs. They're certainly bright enough for most automotive work. I picked one up from Sam's Club for about $20. They have similar ones at Wal-Mart.
 
Had to google trouble light before it became clear what you were looking for (and thanks to carrot for the explanation too). Any day where you learn something new is a great day.

Off hand i cannot think of any but this is a great reason (not an excuse) to down tools and do something else besides work lol, it all stems from the desire to assist and a need to take a break from work.

On another note, would a bright, floody headlamp be of use to you? The Zebralight H60 looks pretty decent, i own the H501 (runs off an AA) and its plenty bright enough for my uses.

EDIT: found the Nanolamp, its $19.95 on the site i found, but i also found this other LED work light at $24.95, it seems to be brighter than the Nanolamp but i cannot confirm. But i am sure that others will be able to provide better guidance.

Oh, and a belated :welcome:
 
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It is not at all surprising that the concept of a trouble light is not well known here.

The same can be found on knife forums where a tactical folder is often mistaken to be a "gentleman's knife" or a "utility knife", the former being a traditional style like a slipjoint or old-style lockback, and the latter being a folding boxcutter.

That said, CPFers have enough flashlights where the need for a trouble light is somewhat obviated, when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.
 
I had a quite cheap LED trouble-light.
It had 8 AA nimh batteries, runtime was moderate. Batteries lasted in very random use 2+ years :thinking:
I had to break it to change batteries and did not have inspiration to glue bits and pieces together again :(

So... I would go for something with easier ways to change batteries.

It gave quite blue light, 50-80 lumen tops...
 
If you have Aldi/lidl supermarkets in your neck of the woods,they often have Led Inspection lights which we call them in the UK for about the £10 to £15 mark with a 3 year ticket.

I sell a pro quality one from our tool range but ours are £100 plus vat.
 
You might check out Griot's Garage. Some of their products are custom made for them and others are common brands available elsewhere for cheaper, but anyway you slice it they have some useful stuff.

Here's a cordless that would probably fit your needs:
13091


Years ago I bought an LED work light from them to replace a standard incan trouble light, and it's still performing as new after many drops in the garage. They've also got some higher power floor lights.
 
I have one of the Lidl ones and I'm not impressed. It's reasonably bright, but the LEDs have a narrow beam angle so the lamp produces a thin rectangular beam - for a work lamp (never heard the expression "trouble light") you really need maximum flood. It's OK if you can actually point it at what you're looking at, but nearly useless if you hang or prop it close to the job.

The Snap-on one is pretty good, but of course stupidly expensive as ever.
 
Thanks for the welcome, hyperloop. I went ahead and ordered the nano lamp. It's compact and can be plugged in the cigarette lighter of a car, but also can be used with 120 V by using the included adapter.
I have a fluorescent trouble light,
images
but it only works on 120 V. If this little LED light puts out a decent amount of light, It should be very handy when doing repairs.
 
carrot said:
when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.
Click to expand...

ROFLMAO, well said well said, i use my lights even when there isnt a need e.g. shining it on a friend's visa bill even though he had no trouble reading it.
 
well if a "trouble light" is an EDC then the possibilities are limitless. if a "trouble light" is something you keep around, whether that be in your car or next to your bed then mine is an Energizer Night Strike. they have 3 models i know of, mine is the swivel version. its not extremely bright but is easily capable of the 100 lumens Energizer claims. it also has green, red, blue and UV emitters. every emitter is capable of being operated independent of the others w/ exception to the UV. all emitters have three output levels, again w/ exception to the UV. all around its been a very cool and practical light.
 
Dodge said:
I have one of the Lidl ones and I'm not impressed. It's reasonably bright, but the LEDs have a narrow beam angle so the lamp produces a thin rectangular beam - for a work lamp (never heard the expression "trouble light") you really need maximum flood. It's OK if you can actually point it at what you're looking at, but nearly useless if you hang or prop it close to the job.

The Snap-on one is pretty good, but of course stupidly expensive as ever.
Click to expand...

But the Aldi/lidl ones are just a fraction of the price of industrial quality.Most garages go through on average of 3 to 4 per year at an industry standard price of say the 30 quid mark.
 
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