This ought to shed some light......

[BobT-47P15]

......on the subject.

Finally got around to setting up the halogen light received for Christmas. Seems pretty bright, but have not used it yet. Generates a lot of heat.

[Norm's Coupe]

Bob,

Those do work great. I have one of those, only with just a single light on the stand. Even use it for doing work out in the yard at night sometimes. Really lights things up out there. You are right about generating a lot of heat. When I was doing the floors in my coupe it was still cool outside when it came time to paint the floors with the XO Rust paint. I just pointed the light through the open car door to heat the floors up. Almost made it too warm inside the car to work. Then left the light shinning in there while the paint cured. So, those lights have several functions.

[Jim Saraceno]

We use those halogen lights on construction sites all the time. I personally don't care for them. They tend to be so bright and concentrated that if the light is shining towards you it is blinding, if it is behind you, you will cast a harsh shadow on anything you are working on. And as you both have mentioned, the heat is too much.

It is, however, perfect for painters and tapers as it will bring out every last imperfection in a finish.

[Norm's Coupe]

Jim is right. You see those lights at construction sites all the time. Actually, I think the name they call them is Construction Work Lights. He's also right about casting shadows. Even though the light is great for some things, I honestly don't remember the last time I used mine. I know I used it when doing the floors in my coupe as mentioned. However, that was about 1999 or early 2000. It's been folded up and hanging on the garage wall ever since.

That said. Since 1999 I've also done quite a lot to improve lighting in the garage. That could be why I don't need the work light any more. All of my garage walls are white and I have 5, four foot double bulb florescent lights hanging from the ceiling. Plus the retractable trouble light hanging from the center of the garage to see in tight area's when I need it. The garage is so bright at night now that when I open the overhead door, the light shines about 15 or 20 feet out into the driveway. It's bright enough out there that I don't even need the flood lights turned on if the garage door is open. That's still not bright enough though. I plan on installing two more 4 foot, double bulb florescent light fixtures on the back wall of the garage, and possibly two more (one on each side) on the walls next to where the overhead door goes up. My garage is just a standard 2 car garage. You can never have too much light in the garage. The best way to get that light though is with having the white walls and lots of light fixtures in there. I even moved my neon Mopar clock out there a couple of weeks ago so I can enjoy it more.

Just remembered, I did use the light since doing the floors. That was when I was painting the wheels and some other small parts. Was cool then too, so used the light to keep the parts warm while painting and the paint cured.

[Merle Coggins]

I've got a couple of those lights. I went to Farm & Fleet to get one, and found them on sale. I couldn't help but to get 2 for the sale price. I use them in my work space that I"ve managed to clear in our now unused paint booth at work. We rarely paint equipment here anymore, so it's been used for storage lately.

I've got them sitting up high so they aren't shining right in your eyes. And with 2 of them it helps eliminate the shadows. When I finally get back to work on it this fall I think I'll add a third one in another corner for even better lighting.

[Plymouthy Adams]

These lights have good and bad points..worse part is the heat and possible burn...good part is that they do a good job of lighting the lower area near a shop floor when doing body work. Overhead lighting and gentle curverature of a body throws some mean and nasty shadows while trying to prep these areas...I use them for this application only.

[Brad Lustig]

Not to dig on the person that gave you those lights for a christmas gift, but for anyone interested, lights like these can be found for cheap. I'm sure those on stands are probably a bit more expensive, but I picked up a single 500watt unit that sits on the ground for about $9. I use it for drywall work, but it about drives me out of a room before I'm done.

[Norm's Coupe]

Not to dig on the person that gave you those lights for a christmas gift, but for anyone interested, lights like these can be found for cheap. I'm sure those on stands are probably a bit more expensive, but I picked up a single 500watt unit that sits on the ground for about $9. I use it for drywall work, but it about drives me out of a room before I'm done.

Brad,

I have a single light on the adjustable stand. Think I paid about $20 for it, not on sale. They are a lot better on the stand because you can adjust the height. Think the double lights like Bob's runs about $30 or $40. However, if they were purchased at an industrial supply house the cost would be almost double.

That said. When it comes to Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, etc., it's not the cost of the item, it's the thought behind it. For birthdays I happy with just a card. When it comes to Christmas it's the same, but if someone wants to give me a pair of socks that only cost a dollar or two, that's fine too. I can always use socks. After all, if I want something I'm not going to wait until my birthday or Christmas to get it. I'll just go buy it myself. We also tell everyone who gives us gifts for Christmas not to spend more than $30 for it. If they want to spend more, go buy some food for the poor and give it to them. Or, buy a gift for donation or donate that money they would have spent to some charity or their choice.

Actually, someone evidently thought it would be neat for Bob to have that light and help him in the garage, etc. So........even it only cost $10 it's a nice gift since Bob had a good use for it. Took some thought, not money and Bob may not have thought to buy one for his self.

[BobT-47P15]

That light was a gift from my mother-in-law, who lives in Nashville, TN. So my wife gets the job of finding an item to buy locally. I think these lights were on sale at an Attwoods farm supply store.....so we got one for our son-in-law also. He says they help when doing body work.

[Merle Coggins]

The lights that I got at Farm & Fleet were normally $29.99, but were on sale for $19.99 at the time. The two lights are on a bracket that is attached to the stand with a single thumb screw, so they can be taken off quite easily for setting on the floor. And you can switch them off independantly if you only want one lit.

I agree that they do run hot and tend to cast shadows. This is why I got them higher up to help eliminate this problem. They also draw a fair amount of juice. With all 4 lit up and with my 4 1/2" grinder running on the same circuit, it'll pop the 15A breaker on my power strip. Then it gets dark.

Merle

[Norm's Coupe]

Merle,

You are right about those lights pulling a lot of juice. I've never had it blow a circuit though. Have two 20 amp circuits in the garage so I can have a lot going at one time out there.

Bob, as mentioned those lights help cure paint faster and also body putty in cool weather. That's primarily when I use mine. Just remember to keep it about 3 feet away from any flammable surface.