Corded lights....obsolete these days?

[Skellyii]

I have and use a little bit of everything, depending on what I'm doing, i.e corded drop lights, headlamp, stick lights a puck light, a Braun underhood light(Not recommended) and an ancient Craftsman underhood florescent light.

I've been looking at the Milwaukee underhood lights, but haven't pulled the rigger yet.

 

[Skellyii]

I use both in my shop. I have a homemade underhood light that is spring loaded and clamps to the sides of the hood (cost me $40 to make). It uses a corded LED shop light. And I made a light to use under the lift by mounting a corded LED light array to an old shop stool I don't use anymore. And I upgraded the casters. For targeted areas, I have several magnetic battery lights.

@TobeyA
The homemade underhood light is interesting, how did you spring load it?

 

[John T]

Just ordered one of these. Not in my possession yet.

2000 lumen, led, corded.

I've had one of those for years... it's great but funny enough Sometimes it's too Bright.

 

[John T]

I still use my fathers old Corded drop light from the 70's

works good. and it's fun when you drop it or bump into something and the bulb dies.

 

[Rinspeed]

After buying a Neiko battery LED last year I don't use my corded Craftsman much anymore. It's been a pretty good light so far and I should probably get another for backup.




Neiko

 

[micromind]

I still use my corded drop light quite a bit.

Rough service incandescent bulb.

I don't know where you'd find them these days, years ago I hooked an air compressor for a pal who has a warehouse that distributes stuff likemthis. I traded 3 cases of RS lamps and some other stuff for my work.

 

[Wrench97]

Today you just use led bulbs.

 

[Shiftless]

I don't know where you'd find them these days, years ago I hooked an air compressor for a pal who has a warehouse that distributes stuff likemthis. I traded 3 cases of RS lamps and some other stuff for my work.

Quite a few eBay sellers have those but they aren’t a buck each like they used to be at the hardware store.

 

[Shiftless]

Today you just use led bulbs.

Do those hold up when the cage is dropped onto concrete?

 

[Wrench97]

Better then filament bulbs did.

 

[cody1325]

I'm gonna put an LED bulb in mine.

That being said, most work I do is with a Coast LED headlamp.

 

[sparky 1971]

I have both but couldn't tell you the last time I used a light with a cord. I have many, many varieties of cordless from small up to two underhood lights but there is one light that I seem to use every single time and it's probably the biggest POS I own. It's also the first.

There is also a retractable on the ceiling and at least two trouble lights with a mile long cord wrapped around the handle and a stand light with two LED floods and another two or three old 500 watt halogens that sit on the floor. Those all probably have a minimum of an inch of dust on them.

 

[LOW1]

I keep one in the crawl space of our cabin. Very useful when draining the water system in the fall and opening it up in the spring.

 

[kbeefy]

Theres a drop light under the stairs in my basement where the water heater lives. It came with the house and I'll probably leave it there when we sell.

I have a corded underhood light that I set up for longer projects.

Aside from that everything I use is cordless. I have several astro 40sl, they last about 4 hours. I like to set up a couple of them when I need good lighting on a project. They are also great for illuminating a mill, drill press, etc.

I also have multiple headlamps, flashlights, and lights that use tool batteries.

 

[blown94conv]

The only corded lights I still use is the under hood light, and a drop light that I’ve had forever I just won’t seem to die. I like to put it on the hood light because I don’t have to worry about it going dead, it’s not something I’m moving around at all so the cord is irrelevant. The other 20 lights are all battery.

 

[BonzoHansen]

I haven't used a cored light in the garage in 10 years...

I have 2, cannot remember the last time I used one

 

[Shiftless]

two or three old 500 watt halogens that sit on the floor.

Those make excellent infra red heaters.

 

[OccupantRJ]

For those who want an incandescent rough service bulb Autozone has them two for $2.99 for 75 watt.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

The base is very heavy and doesnt tip easily. The top is an old desk lamp.

 

[Skellyii]

The base is very heavy and doesnt tip easily. The top is an old desk lamp.

Is that a Pinto??

 

[Pexto]

Is that a Pinto??

Yes, it's a Land Grenade!!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Yes, a 77 pinto, 2.8 v6 auto.

 

[Wrench97]

Don't leave the spot light on it too long it'll over heat.......

 

[The Cobbler]

Corded lights or tools or whatever are not obsolete. They get used regularly in my shop. However I also have some battery powered hand tools. Just because you have a choice nowadays does not mean that you have to trash the corded tools and replace them with the latest and greatest battery tool.

lg
no neat sig line

bang on

 

[JerseyBoatBuilder]

I keep all three corded Halogen/led and cordless led depends on when and where. I will still use corded Halogen when it is cold out for some warmth. Cordless LED still rules for most things though

 

[CoogarXR]

I like my LED battery lights... Until they die. I wish they would be able to run while charging, but literally none of mine will. They are unusable until they are charged back up.

I do have an old corded light with a modern LED bulb in it, for those cold days when all my batteries die in quick succession.

I do find that I use the corded light as an extension cord more often than I use it for a light though (it has a single receptacle in the handle). It's handy for that. It's nice when I have a temporary wood working table set up or something, I can hang the trouble light under the edge of the table, then I can switch plugs from my miter saw, jig saw, etc, easily. Sure, I could tie an extension cord to the leg just as easy. But, you know, that hook saves me like 4 seconds, so I use it.

 

[Nutria]

Corded drop light with LED bulb plus strong LED headlamp for me.

 

[AEAdam]

Just ordered one of these. Not in my possession yet.

2000 lumen, led, corded.

Where did you get it? I bought 2 of these at Costco when they were $39. Just looked and prices were scandalous!

I mounted these on light stands and use them sometimes in my garage, but mostly for carpentry. They light up a room.

For automotive, I really only use the little battery lights. The key is to have several. 2 probably isn't enough and wasn't enough for me. I probably have a half dozen.

And note: Some of these, when they die, you can plug them in and they turn back on while they charge. So they can function as corded lights. I'd think of them therefore as optionally corded. I think buying a corded trouble light in this day and age is kinda dumb. That said, not all cordless lights will allow you to turn them on while charging. So that's something to think about. The little octagonal Snap on ones work plugged in. The Bluepoint lights are nice. They have a round bayonet type plug with an ac adapter I mustn't lose. The Snap on versions use micro usb. Theoretically, you could make a shop cable with an iPhone charger and probably any length you needed. As great as this sounds, it probably wouldn't be durable enough for pros.

And by the way, I had the exact experience as @Hakeem. I lost one of my cordless lights on a test drive. It was on a Mac strut coil. It died and I didn't see it. Put the wheel back on and heard it fall off during the test drive but couldn't pull over to recover it. I'm so smart for choosing cordless lights

 

[finn]

I still use corded lights and even have a drop light or two, although they’ve been upgrades to the latest 1990 technology curly CFL bulbs that don’t create a fireball when you drip gasoline on them.

Likewise, I replace those short lived and extremely hot halogens with drop in LEDs.

I have a couple of LED headlamps and a ten year old LED Craftsman battery light that I hate, plus a 20 v Dewalt that I like.

I won’t be buying any more corded lights, but will continue to use the ones I have already

A M18 light has been on my radar screen, but never seems to get near the top.

 

[Sumboodie]

I have a couple but I haven't used them in years. My goto is now my LED headlamps. Brighter and always shine where I'm looking (not in my eyes).

Even in fairly bright light I'll use them.
Could have 10 lights on the ceiling, over the bench, wall, etc and still ill be working in a shadow

 

[zendriver]

I guess why they called it a “drop light” I’ve dropped this several times and it still seems to work fine

I got it on black Friday sale last year for $14

https://www.harborfreight.com/1600-lumen-corded-handheld-work-light-59222.html?hftm_sc=&hftm_source=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739174&campaignid=21901739174&utm_content=171677807662&adsetid=171677807662&product=59222&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21901739174&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4dpLjhEROqAaMFMriVM1f39Q&gclid=CjwKCAiAlrXJBhBAEiwA-5pgwqW_3T94yVjPHUuFikRW-VD2SgSBmq-QZjjwt9II0e1-MDcWH3lYshoChcEQAvD_BwE

I like there earlier less bright drop light, but the cord seemed like it was 3 inches long

This one has a nice long cord

 

[finn]

I guess why they called it a “drop light” I’ve dropped this several times and it still seems to work fine

I got it on black Friday sale last year for $14

https://www.harborfreight.com/1600-lumen-corded-handheld-work-light-59222.html?hftm_sc=&hftm_source=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739174&campaignid=21901739174&utm_content=171677807662&adsetid=171677807662&product=59222&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21901739174&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4dpLjhEROqAaMFMriVM1f39Q&gclid=CjwKCAiAlrXJBhBAEiwA-5pgwqW_3T94yVjPHUuFikRW-VD2SgSBmq-QZjjwt9II0e1-MDcWH3lYshoChcEQAvD_BwE

I like there earlier less bright drop light, but the cord seemed like it was 3 inches long

This one has a nice long cord

Nah. A drop light to me is identified by the metal shield with the wire cage around an incandescent bulb. They generally came with a “rough service “ bulb, but you never had one around when the rough service bulb decides it wasn’t quite up to your definition of rough service. You then replaced it with whatever cheap incandescent bulb Kmart had on sale and you had a closet full of. Those “standard service” bulbs had a short life in a garage environment.

Eventually the curly CFL bulbs came available and worked quite well after they figured out how to shorten the warm up period.

 

[zendriver]

Nah. A drop light to me is identified by the metal shield with the wire cage around an incandescent bulb. They generally came with a “rough service “ bulb, but you never had one around when the rough service bulb decides it wasn’t quite up to your definition of rough service. You then replaced it with whatever cheap incandescent bulb Kmart had on sale and you had a closet full of. Those “standard service” bulbs had a short life in a garage environment.

Eventually the curly CFL bulbs came available and worked quite well after they figured out how to shorten the warm up period.

It was a joke. I used to use that old-school **** as well.

I remember I had a rough service bulb. The light fell and hit something sharp. It broke the glass, but the filament continue to burn for like 10 seconds or so.

I remember thinking “ that looks real safe”

 

[finn]

It was a joke. I used to use that old-school **** as well.

I remember I had a rough service bulb. The light fell and hit something sharp. It broke the glass, but the filament continue to burn for like 10 seconds or so.

I remember thinking “ that looks real safe”

Wonder how many times I burned myself on that hot metal hood…

 

[AEAdam]

Been wanting to ask this, but have been afraid of showing off my ignorance too much. Is it called a "drop light" because it hangs from the ceiling, or because that's what happens to it when you use it?

 

[AEAdam]

Yes, a 77 pinto, 2.8 v6 auto.

Its a car for people who hate to drive

 

[finn]

Its a car for people who hate to drive

I had a couple back when. Good little cars that got overwhelmed by lemmings who fell under the spell of mass media hype and sensationalism.

 

[impactims]

Where did you get it? I bought 2 of these at Costco when they were $39. Just looked and prices were scandalous!

eBay, $40 shipped

The plugs and cords for battery powered chargeable lights tend to be pretty short, flimsy and not so durable. Not so sure I would choose to go that route.

 

[NHtoolguy]

Better then filament bulbs did.

I learned about rough service bulbs, and plastic coated rough service bulbs, after dropping a few standard ones and ruining them. I still have a stash for the rare times I use a corded light. Rough service bulbs incorporated a filament support, and the coated ones kept glass from flying everywhere if they broke.

 

[Wrench97]

I learned about rough service bulbs, and plastic coated rough service bulbs, after dropping a few standard ones and ruining them. I still have a stash for the rare times I use a corded light. Rough service bulbs incorporated a filament support, and the coated ones kept glass from flying everywhere if they broke.

RS are still filament bulbs LEDs are plastic, the diodes don't stop working when dropped/bumped just like RS bulbs and they are cooler to the touch so no burns on the arm.