Okay, I've had three of them.
One was a Chinese drop light that I burned my arm so many time I threw the thing away.
Then I got a flourscent light with a retractable cord.. The bulb was shaped like a long letter U which keeps falling out..
Third one was another hanging flourscent bulb but I didn't notice the color until I got it home, and it was a ugly yellow.
What kind of lights do you have?
I'm still looking for the best one.
Thanks, Cliff

I have one from Harbor Freight that uses the U shaped flourescent--it has trouble getting lit up if the temp is below 30 degrees (but then so do I !)

My brother uses one of the old fashion kind that uses a regular screwed in bulb. But he uses a compact flourescent bulb--it stays a lot cooler and the bulbs have gotten seriously low in price at Lowes, Homer's De-pot, or Walmartz (not to mention Meijer--remember when they were Thrifty Acres?) I like his old style work light, gives good light and compact flourescents are at least as break resistant as those shock/shatter resistant incandescent bulbs.

Mine is a yellow shop light stick that has about 20 LED's in it. Brighter than any fluorescent lamp and thin to get stuffed in tiny spaces. I got mine at Harbor Freight. takes lots of abuse and works great. runs off 110v

Looks like this... but Yellow....

[This message has been edited by timgray (edited 01-15-2007).]

Thanks for the help.
Will try another one soon.
Brian-Sure do remember Thrifty Acres.
I think they had 5 or 6 stores then.
Now they are in several states.
Mr. Meijer has been very generous with his money in this area.

I've been using those inexpensive rectangular halogen lights - got mine at Harbor Freight, of course. They're plenty bright, don't have to hang them right in the middle of what I'm working on, just set them on the floor / shelf / whatever and point them at the work zone. So far I've had one bulb burn out; they're very reliable.

Setting one on top of the hump in the decklid and facing the rear window is a great way to light up the inside of the car...

I went through this story for years, and finally got off my ass and went to sears this year and got myself the greatest light ever, its 2 bulbs halogen style with 2 switches for those rare times when the light is too bright, has a plastic/rubber handle I've dropped repeatedly with no dire consequence yet, long cord, hook on the top part and giant magnetic part in the center which is reversable, which means you can pretty much get it positioned where you want. They were on sale for less than $30 I think and they seemed to have smaller and larger versions of them.

I bought a craftsman florescent, about 24" long with red caps and a red reel. That thing lasted about 6 months before there was nothing left of the handle. I have no idea what happened to it, but when it started shorting out, I found as many of the pieces as I could and did some reconstructive surgery with duct tape. Its held together now okay.

The light and reel were fine, just the casing was in no way built for shop use. First time I've really had a gripe about a craftsman tool.

Dollar General has a kinda 1/2 handle 1/2 long florecent bulb, 1/2 plastic 1/2 vinyl , clear front plastic on it, which usually falls off in 3-4 months, trick is to secure the bulb with the rubber insert they give you, and longer screws, so it won`t fall out, take out the cheap screws that hold the plastic front on, then run a little tape around the plastic front as well. Then let er rip, I beat the hell out of that thing, it will light up the sky at night, doesn`t over heat and the bulb hardly ever goes out. I think the wife gets them for 3---5.00 bucks, have a couple in the house too, swipe from the house (as needed). Ohh they fit anywhere--as their angled.

I agree with the LED lights. Pricey yes, but I have gone through so many other drop lights that it is well worth the price. Regular incandescent bulb droplights aren't even allowed at most shops due to the serious spark hazard around flammable fuels. Most of the time I just use a LED headlight, it is always shining light where you are looking. People make fun of me at the shop, but at least I can see....

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carpe diem

One of those things ya love to hate. I just bought a cheepy from home depot got it home only to find that the lights shines back thru the reflector so as to effectively blind you. Got tinfoil stuffed in for the time being. Last one was a screw in that blew the bulb every single time I dropped it, of course always when I needed it the most and was out of bulbs. Also you know the hook they use.....well that one would spin around so that no mattter how you hung it it was always shining in my eyes. I wish someone would invent a work light that actually worked. I have swung a few of them by the cord until they violently contacted the garage floor......stupid I know but satisfying in its own perverse way. I'm open to suggestion and actively seeking one.

Not something you want all the time, but I have used a heat lamp with a lot of success. This is good when the temps are low and you just need to work on something for a little while. They are very hardy when it comes to dropping also.

J.

I've got this one now. I got it at Sears, and was on sale for $19.99 at the first of the month.



I had the 13 watt fluorecent on a cord reel, and the handle was messing up. I bought this one, and wired it to the end of my overhead cord reel. It is not quite as bright as the last one, but it will fit anywhere! It is bright enough to see with, and the clear case you see around the leds, the box shows you can run over it with a vehicle. I tried to bend it over my knee, and could not budge it a bit. I'm happy with it so far.

Kevin

I have one regular drop light but instead of a regular bulb, I use one of those spiral flourescent bulbs that screw in like a regular bulb.

I like th fact that with that type of bulb, you can bump it around a little (or sometimes a lot) without the bulb blowing. It also stays cool. I use the one that lights up like a 150watt bulb. I think the rating that is something like 15 watts Flourescent.

I also have another drop light from harbor freight with a small tube like in the above post and works well.

Been happy