Tech Week/Drop Light Bulbs

A simple but often frustrating shop issue for me has been DROP LIGHT BULBS.
The rough service bulbs don't really live that well and are hard to find in wattages that won't burn your face. Ie. anything over 40 watts. 40 watters are hard to find and don't illuminate much,they're also expensive$3.5 to $4+ per unit.
Regular lamp,garage door or appliance bulbs frequently don't last to the first drop.LOL And the bulbs for trick flourescent droplights are hard to come by and see by for that matter.
I offer my solution.....(P.S.)75 watts are the biggest that will fit a standard droplight guard.

About $4.95 A 3 Pack and they stand up to clumsiness and grinder shrapnel.They don't generate any heat to speak of and loads of light.
They don't like heavy slag form a cutting torch or close range slag from the mig welder,but by and large the bestest and cheapest solution I have found to date.
I love Wal Mart.

 

Good idea!

 

Thanx.

 

Great Idea! I got sick and tired of changeing light bulbs every day!
Eddie

 

I thought of those but I didn't think they would hold up to a drop.... I stopped buying "rough service" bulbs and had been using cheapo 'regular' 60W 8-packs that I found on closeout at the hardware store for $1.89/pack

heck I went through 3 bulbs in one day on a bad streak a couple weeks ago... I've even got a couple of these in the house...

P.S. they come in 100W "equivalent" too!

 

i've had bad luck with ruff service bulbs too..until i bought a 4-pack of them from Napa. part # 582-7016...60 cents each! the pack still has 3 of them in it and that's been a couple years

 

I feel like a dumb shit but what the hell is a 'Drop Light?'
Maybe we call em' something different over here?

 

Trouble light, hand held shop light, light-on-a-cord....you know, the lights you burn yourself on everytime you work underneath the car. THOSE lights.

The new LED lights are cool & long-lasting, but $$$.

 

I've always called 'em trouble lights. they call em' Drop lights cause you can't help but drop them

 

their just a trouble light(hand held light fixture)- for taking underneath a car so you can see- regular bulbs last about 2 seconds. I use the ikea ones that are even cheaper if i remeber. Short of droping a grinder on them they will survive a long time. I went through 3 normal ones in an hour one night with a insect bulb being the last to pop and use one them as a last result- Lasted a year till the grinder jump off a frame and landed on it.

Good tip-

danny

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh (Clank as the penny drops) Yeah we call em lead lights. Yup I was right, I feel like a dumb shit.

 

Don't feel bad Doc, I've called it a lead light for going on 40 years.

 

I discovered this on my own too. Good idea. They have the bulbs for real cheap at Ikea too...

 

I wound up using those in the bead blast cabinet. It ate incandescents like there was no tomorrow.

 

If they're called "drop lights" you'd think they would still work after ya dropped 'em.

 

There was talk of banning incandesant light bulbs in California. So buy as many of those before they're all gone. Because you're gonna miss them.

 

i just tried this. i'll let you know how long it lasts.

 

I have had those bulbs outlast my drop lights if that makes any sense.

they are pretty durable, BUT they do generate less light it seems to get a watage rating above what you normally use and in cold weather, they take a little while to "warm up"

i use them all throughout my house and it saved a significant amount of electricity too.

 

Yeah the nice thing is you can use a higher wattage without roasting your face or beatin' the crap outta youself under a dash or a car tryin' to get away from 'em.lol
It seems like I tied to get a 100 watt in my light but it woudn't fit.It was too long.Each ring generates more watts and 75 was the end of the road.

 

I don't get it- is there a picture not showing up, or what am I missing?

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Ha ha, now it showed up when I clicked back to the 1st page. "GE energy smart" 60W fluorescents in the shape of an incandescent bulb, in case the picture disappears again.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Fine, but why is the light always behind me so I can't see, shining in my eyes or directly between me and what I want to work on?

 

Well, it is called a drop light because I always had to hold the light for my Dad. When I shined it in his eyes or touched his arm with it, SMACK, and then I would drop the light. Thus the name Drop Light.

Now you know the rest of the story.

 

Me thinks a mod was resizing it.LOL
Sorry about the size,I'll do better next time.

 

I'd have never suspected those would survive in a drop light. I always figured the glass swirl was too darn delicate to hold up.
And no, I havn't got any of these things in the house.

Alex.

 

How in the hell is Dad suposed to see anything if you don't hold the light so it shines in his eyes?!

 

thanks for the info, i tend to handle the trouble light like its a faberge egg, pain in the ass. Even when i try not to drop it, i always do. I will give this a try for sure.

 

You need to find "warm white" ones. Cool white or daylight temperature bulbs have too much UV in them.
I have them all over my house. Also if you have them in fixtures an off white shade or globe will warm the colour a bit too. I agree they aren't as flattering to the eye as incandescents so I won't use them in the bathrooms ( I need all the help I can get!) They do flatter the wallet when the Hydro bill comes though!
They are starting to make more that have globes surrounding them so that may also add a layer of protection from slag and spark.

 

The 23watt(replaces 95watt incandescent) fits my NAPA drop light!

LEE

 

Anybody see Mike Rowe on "Dirty Jobs" spit and it landed on the trouble light and popped the bulb, while it was in his lap, while he was sitting inside a small boiler? I thought he was gonna shit!!!!!