Rough Service Bulbs

[threeputt]

Can I use a regular 60 watt LED bulb instead of the Rough Service Bulbs in my shop drop light ? or will I have to buy a rough service version of the LED ?

They don't get hot and burn my skin and I like the light. I have been using one already but just wanted to ask do others use one ?

 

[Jim greengo]

You can use what ever you want

 

[MattT]

Pretty much any LED lamp is rougher service than a rough service incandescent. Getting one with a plastic "bulb" would be better than glass.

And FWIW the drop light is rated for lamp wattage not equivalent so you can put a 100w equivalent LED in there if you want more light.

 

[BD1]

Some of the older rough service bulbs had a thin skin coating over the bulb. If dropped the bulb could break but it would still be intact. No glass flying all over.

 

[Mike.ASC]

Yes. I have been using the Phillips #452978 bulbs for about 3 years now without a single failure even after several dozen drops to the floor. Very good bulbs.

 

[Jim greengo]

Some of the older rough service bulbs had a thin skin coating over the bulb. If dropped the bulb could break but it would still be intact. No glass flying all over.

The bulbs with the rubber coating never seemed as bright to me anyway.

 

[bwringer]

Yes. I have been using the Phillips #452978 bulbs for about 3 years now without a single failure even after several dozen drops to the floor. Very good bulbs.

Same here. These are sort of a flat bulb shape, not a full 3D bulb shape. The LEDs are molded into hard plastic around the rim, and so far they've proven incredibly durable.

To be fair, I've used other LED bulbs too with the 3D shell shape and never had an issue.

Even the rough service incandescent bulbs would fail if dropped more than a few inches. Very annoying and stupidly expensive.

There are times I miss the warmth, but many more times I appreciate not burning myself on a blazing-hot light.

 

[threeputt]

Thanks for the great info. This 60 watt seems plenty bright for me plus no more burns.

 

[rlitman]

Pretty much any LED lamp is rougher service than a rough service incandescent. Getting one with a plastic "bulb" would be better than glass.

And FWIW the drop light is rated for lamp wattage not equivalent so you can put a 100w equivalent LED in there if you want more light.

Agreed 100%. Just remember that many LED bulbs still have glass envelopes, so you can still have dangerous shards of broken glass if you drop one of those.

Some of the older rough service bulbs had a thin skin coating over the bulb. If dropped the bulb could break but it would still be intact. No glass flying all over.

Right. Rough service bulbs have two features. One is the coating on the glass that retains the shards, and the other is a heavier and better supported filament that is less likely to break when shaken.

But LED bulbs don't have filaments that fail when shaken, and many come with plastic covers that cannot shatter. It's the best of both worlds. I'm so glad I never switched from arm burners to fluorescents.

 

[bwringer]

Agreed 100%. Just remember that many LED bulbs still have glass envelopes, so you can still have dangerous shards of broken glass if you drop one of those.

Good point. I've seen some with glass, but all the ones I have in my house and garage have the tough plastic shells.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

They do make "garage door opener" LED bulbs but I just use regular LED bulbs in my openers and have never had a failure.

 

[Bert_]

The bulbs with the rubber coating never seemed as bright to me anyway.

They usually aren't.

A good ol' standard service 100W bulb is about 1750 lumens. Rough service lamps have extra filament supports the lower the filament temperature, many are rated for 130V so on 120V they run cooler yet. Then if you add a coating it absorbs more light. I looked one up and a 130V rough service silicon coated lamps is 1100 lumens. That's about the same as a standard 75W

 

[Mike.ASC]

Good point. I've seen some with glass, but all the ones I have in my house and garage have the tough plastic shells.

In reference to the Phillips bulbs I mentioned above , they are indeed plastic shells and so durable you could almost drive a nail in a pine board with them without breaking them .

 

[rlitman]

In reference to the Phillips bulbs I mentioned above , they are indeed plastic shells and so durable you could almost drive a nail in a pine board with them without breaking them .

For those that aren't familiar with them, they look like this:

Yeah, they're pretty indestructible, and I'm sure they'd pass the "run over by a car" test. I have them in most of the lamps in my shop, and in my drill press, but I prefer a brighter bulb in my drop lamps (though it's certainly up to the task).

 

[bwringer]

For those that aren't familiar with them, they look like this:

Yeah, they're pretty indestructible, and I'm sure they'd pass the "run over by a car" test. I have them in most of the lamps in my shop, and in my drill press, but I prefer a brighter bulb in my drop lamps (though it's certainly up to the task).

Yep, those seem to be the most "indestructible" form of LED lamps compatible with old-style fixtures.


I need to be somewhat vague here, but I once assisted in a situation where a person had a mental disorder that led to very specific types of self-harming.

When they got upset, they would remove light bulbs, shatter the glass, and cut themselves with the shards. They didn't really bother with other sharps, just light bulbs.

After a while, their house was dark, and, well, living in the dark doesn't help your mental state at all.

We ended up installing these Phillips plastic LED bulbs with the goofy puck shape, specifically because they don't look anything like glass and didn't trigger this behavior.

Not something the designers ever considered, but a neat unexpected benefit.

 

[ForceFed70]

No problem using LED - only concern I would have is light pattern. Some retrofit LED lamps have a light pattern that directs the majority up through the top of the lamp where you want the light from the side of the lamp.

Even a CFL lamp works well in a drop light - as good or better than the incandescent rough service lamps although it's a little nasty when you do break them.

 

[Mike.ASC]

Yep, those seem to be the most "indestructible" form of LED lamps compatible with old-style fixtures.


I need to be somewhat vague here, but I once assisted in a situation where a person had a mental disorder that led to very specific types of self-harming.

When they got upset, they would remove light bulbs, shatter the glass, and cut themselves with the shards. They didn't really bother with other sharps, just light bulbs.

After a while, their house was dark, and, well, living in the dark doesn't help your mental state at all.

We ended up installing these Phillips plastic LED bulbs with the goofy puck shape, specifically because they don't look anything like glass and didn't trigger this behavior.

Not something the designers ever considered, but a neat unexpected benefit.

When I try to describe the shape of these bulbs to other people I call them "lollipop" shaped.

 

[rlitman]

No problem using LED - only concern I would have is light pattern. Some retrofit LED lamps have a light pattern that directs the majority up through the top of the lamp where you want the light from the side of the lamp.

Even a CFL lamp works well in a drop light - as good or better than the incandescent rough service lamps although it's a little nasty when you do break them.

This is true. Those flat bulbs have a beam pattern that pretty much matches an incandescent, but I agree that not all LEDs light up around the sides very well. Certainly older LED bulbs had that problem, but more and more today are suitable.

I had CFL bulbs in drop lights. The problem is that the weight of the glass supported at the two points where it passes into the base would be the weak spot, and would break when I dropped the lamp, even if nothing hit it.

When I try to describe the shape of these bulbs to other people I call them "lollipop" shaped.

Yeah, I can see that. The actual LED elements are in a horseshoe shape, and that's how I picture them.