I remember seeing a review about some work lights that looked like bowling pins. They were pricey but seemed HD. Does anyone have any information about these? A link?
Jon Blakemore
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Nevermind
http://www.wobblelight.com/
Jon Blakemore
I was gonna suggest wobblelight.com, but I see you found it already.
Our vol FD got a flier in the mail about the Wobblelight. Looks pretty cool. We may order a couple for scene lighting."You couldn't pay me to run into a burning house. I'm a VOLUNTEER!
I have had the 500 watt halogen Wobblelight for a few years now and really like it.
That was the only one they were making at the time. Has served me very well. Nice that it doesn't get too hot to touch with the cooling fan.
Shoe,Just wondering what type of application you use the light for? Seems like a nice light, but just wondering what it seems to work best for. Sure would be nice to have a good light for painting, but seems like this still would cast a lot of shadows. Thanks for your input.
Cag, I just use it for general lighting in remodels - basements, attics
usually have everything stripped down to the studs and therefore not much in the way of light fixtures
Use it for mudding and painting as well - gives pretty decent light - for real detail checks though - I use the Bosch flashlight and shine the ceiling and walls for mud flaws
I think if I were to get another, I would go with the florescent - more light less power draw - they didn't make florescent when I bought mine
Really like the rececessed male plug for power connection - makes it much easier to haul around without a cord hanging off it - in fact - I have modified my table saw and shop vac to have similar connections - a nod to Bosch on their direct connect system as well - though I haven't used one yet
Edited 1/19/2005 10:01 pm ET by Shoeman
Shoe, Thanks for the response... covered everything I wanted to know. Sounds like I can put this on the must have list now. I kind of had my eye on the Metal Halide one, but for the cost might just go with the florescent one. Part of the reason I hate the cheap HD Halogen lights is because of the amount of heat they throw off in a small to mid size room. My friend has a Metal Halide light that he installed in his garage, it takes about 3 minutes to warm up in the summer... not sure if there is a difference in the winter or not? Puts out an unbelievable amount of light.I have the Bosch CS20 direct connect circ saw and love the direct connect feature. I really didn't think I was going to like it much at first, but they did it right. I have no problem picking the saw up by the cord or lowering down using the cord... it's a solid connection.
glad I could help
like I say - the only one I have ever seen up close is the Halogen I bought a few years back - really like it though and it seems all the new models are even brighter and draw less amperage than mine - so you should be good with any of them
I have had problems tripping breakers with mine ocassionally when I turn on the table saw and it, the light and everything else in the room are on the same circuit
For area lighting those two headed light stands that can be positioned high are great. You see them a lot with halogen lamps. Typically 500w. These lamps can be painfully glaring and hot enough to feel uncomfortable, assuming humane southern temperatures, dozens of feet away. They are the brute force approach to job lighting.
There are adapters and/or lamps available that allow you to use 250w or even 100w lamps. Usually these are more than enough light for anything but a huge area and these are a lot easier to work around. They also save wear and tear trying to rig power to more power hungry lights. The lower wattage rods run cooler and seem to last a bit longer.
Rod-type halogens demand you keep spares handy and take great care when installing them. Both to protect fingers, I have seen them melt into finger tips -very painful-, and to protect the lamp because any skin oil that gets on the tube will cause the lamp to self-destruct.
Used to be these area floods came in halogen rods only. More recently there have been a few lines of two-light flood stands that come with compact fluorescent lamps. These are, IMHO, the bees knees. A bit less powerful they are fine for most work and a lot friendlier to work around.
The light is softer and less glaring. You can have four or five heads in a large room without overheating the space. You can work for hours with your head next to one of them without requiring skin grafts afterwards. The lower power requirements means lighter cords will work fine and fewer hassles with breakers tripping.
They are also less a fire hazard. Too many times I have seen walls scorched and drop cloths burnt when those halogen lights got too close to surfaces or tipped over. Only by sheer luck have major fires been avoided. Fluorescent lights don't get that hot.
Jon,
We ordered 2 of the 175 Metal Halide lights over a month ago. They started shipping over a week ago. I'm going to check on them today and find out when they will be here. The little halogen lights aren't good enough. I'll take some pics that show the difference.
that wobbler looks pretty cool.
let us know how long the warmup time is would ya ?
carpenter in transition
We got our wobble lights today. We bought 2 175 Metal Halide units. It takes about 5 minutes to warm up. These things put out light! It is a nicer color light than halogen or flourescent. We had 2 going today to put in a barrel ceiling and it really made it nice.
Here are a couple of pics. One shows a room without the light, then with the light and the last pic is of the light itself. I hope this helps.
http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL293/2163851/6234797/81517612.jpg
http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL293/2163851/6234797/81517608.jpg
http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL293/2163851/6234797/81517603.jpg
Tim, you buy those from the Wobble Light site or elsewhere?
if elsewhere - where and what did they cost?
nice light
We bought them through Wobblelight.com and I believe the lights were $199 each. It sure isn't cheap, but it really did make a difference. The other nice thing about the lights, is that there is an outlet on the base, so you can run power off of it.
Yeah they are nice. I got the 500 watt halogen a few years back - only one they made then. Was just curious if you had found a better price on the metal halides than they had on the Wobble light site.
Thanks for the reply
Wobble on,
Shoe
I haven't found a better price. I searched the net for a good deal of time to find them and couldn't find a better Metal Halide price.
tim .. for our projects it looked like the flourescent would be right... the metal halide looked a little overpowering.. but i don't have a good feel for it..
any suggestions ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
A little more info for anyone considering buying a Wobble light.
As mentioned before, I have the 500 watt halogen - after a year or two I finally needed to replace the bulb. Only place I could find one was from Wobble Light.
I recently sent an inquiry to Wobble light regarding replacement bulbs on their new models. Here is the response I got.
All the metal Halide bulbs can be purchased at an electrical dist or possible Depot. The 120 Fluorescent and 500 Halogen is a proprietary bulb and would need to be purchased through us. Here are the prices
120 Fluorescent $23.33
500 Halogen $20.00
175 Metal Halide $23.33
250 Metal Halide $36.67
400 Metal Halide $40.00
Order sheet attached just fill out and fax to 847-230-3001
If you should have any questions please do not hesitate to call me Ron Reda Founder 847-230-3640
Mike,
I prefer the color of the metal halide. It is a slightly greenish and not harsh like flourescent. They aren't too bright, although I did put them up about 3' so that the light wouldn't be at my eye level. They stand about 3 and 1/2 feet off the ground, and I'm only 5'7" . . . . . They light things up really well without being too bright. We have the 2 and if they were about 20' apart, they would keep a 50' section lit pretty well.
I'll take some pics next week. The house we just started has a basement so if the weather is workable, we'll get the roof framed by next wed or thurs and then be in the basement. I'll take some pictures with and without the lights on to give you a feel.
Yesterday after we dug drainlines for 5 hours :-( we had to clean out a crawlspace for the insulators and we set up one wobble light and it lit up the entire crawl. I think that house was 54' x 32' at it's biggest. Stinkin plumbers had lots of crap down there. It was a rainy day so we did "stuff" to stay busy.
Lock them down, they're unique and expensive and hard to get, all ingredients that spell t-h-e-f-t.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Ya, we roll everything up and put it in the vans. I'm not worried about anyone stealing them except for the other company employees :-) They are jealous that us framers have all the "cool" tools.
thanks for the info
carpenter in transition
here's what we use, very happy...
http://www.bulldogpower.com/
carpenter in transition
How much for a 500 watt tower?I'm frustrated with the tripod halogens I've used. They take up a lot of room in the truck and the stand is always a pain to set up/move. Are we just using cheap (HD and lowe's) lights?I like the set down and go of the wobble lights.
Jon Blakemore
about $150, i think
carpenter in transition