Love these cheap LED tests and tear downs, always fun when the quality surprises. If going all out you should get a spectrophotometer to check CRI of the LED's since cheaper usually is under 70 and might make you feel ill if used under longer duration, finding cheap LED's with good build quality and high CRI is gold :)
That's the same ebay seller I bought mine from, I am still waiting for them to arrive.. Thanks for this video Clive, Now I know the actual lamps are good and I will need to attach the earth ground. The internet needs more people like you man.
Thank you so very much for identifying a good LED seller during a review. I will reward the seller with my purchase. Keep up the tear-downs. I enjoy them. Please keep identifying the good sellers. I might want to reward them as well. Best Regards, BAG2
Ordered one of these myself a couple of weeks back and it arrived today. Pretty much identical to the one shown. Didn't have an earth lug at all though, lead just hanging around inside: naughty. Draws 8.5W according to my power meter. The price has gone up now to £4.72.
That is incredibly good value for money, I wish that years ago when I was doing restoration work at Monkton Farleigh mine(a underground ammunition store )that lights like these were around.
Quick Tests/Safe Blocks are available from CPC. I got one of those floodlights off AliExpress a few months ago. It was just the same as yours, even down to the unconnected earth tag which easily pulled off. I don't have a power meter so worked it out my Voltage x Current and was surprised to get over 8W. Apart from fitting a longer flex, the only other thing I did with mine was stick some 'privacy film' on the front to defuse the light.
I had one of these delivered a few days ago. Missing screws for the reflector and the led. Was just taped onto the back of the reflector with kapton tape. Does look like the same power supply though. Good to know for when I track down some replacement screws.
I suspect the non-hooked up ground is why they they were so cheep on eBay. Rejected either in manufacturing or by an original distributor. Most of the cheep stuff I've bought off eBay had some defect or other. Love your channel. I've been like you and have torn apart everything to find out how it works since I was 3 years old.
+CowboyFrankHarrell If these had a safety agency approval such as UL, or TUV, then during production they have to have a specified minimum ground resistance to the case. Also, there is no stud press-fit into the case for sole use by the ground connection; that would fail safety agency inspection prior to product release right there. For $5-6 this is what you get. A deathtrap.
+CowboyFrankHarrell Its China, They don't care they just mass produce. The lead was too short to attach the earth during the assembly line production without slowing the whole line up so they tuck it away and continue on.
Thanks to your video I have now purchased this light from your link below. And a good excuse for me to take it to bits is to inspect the earth connection. Cheers!
I purchased to of these on Ebay here in the U.S. and found the same thing you did. The ground wire was not connected to anything. You got lucky, yours had a connector on it, mine had nothing.
I may have gotten the last of these in cool white, before they ran out and then raised the price, for about $4.50 (USA dollars) that came in today. I tore it down and only two screws were in the LED chip and not 4. Ground wire inside did not even have a connector on it, but the wire was about the same place as Clives. The power supply was not glued, but just sitting loose in there. Did not test the uniformity of light, at lower than running DC voltage, for the chip. Power consumption is not 10W, but around 7.7w total on mine at the start, according to my handy dandy watt meter which measures 60, on a 60w incandescent bulb. All at 110-120v ac. After about 5 minutes about 7.5w . After 30 minutes or so down to about 7.2-3. After 45 minutes the same. Temp of the housing after 45 minutes very warm, but can be held in the hand comfortably. Grounding does not matter to me, because I know in the USA and much of the world grounding did not exist in the wiring of houses and buildings, until in the USA around the 70s and later. At 220v it may be needed, but doesn't seem to be with 110-120v, since we are not having shock problems or fires, from not being grounded in the news. I wonder if China actually uses ground wiring at all there LOL Power supply not glued in and measured power only 70% of claimed, and LED chip had 2 screws and not 4. The finish on mine looked fine, and kind of a mat black or satin black color. I think it was well worth 4.50USD delivered on looks, and it is pretty bright. Current USD price about 8.77 and I don't know it if it is a killer deal at that price. The quality might be fading on them too, with less screws in mine and not glued on the power supply and lower wattage.
+free100x Two screws on the LED is pretty common. That's one of the reasons I was surprised to see four. And there are often two diagonal screws on the reflector too.
+bigclivedotcom I am not unhappy with it considering the price especially, and thanks for finding it and pointing it out. One more thing that was a little strange about it was I ordered it on the 18th, and a shipping label from USPS was created on the 20th out of Dayton Ohio. It arrived there on the 23rd and got to NM where I live on the 26th. So it looks like it actually shipped from Ohio, at least for mine. Maybe they have a USA warehouse there. It is showing to be very bright on my Lux meter, like the meter you bought and had in one of your videos. Very handy for comparing actual light output.
I found that listing and it's €3.92 with free P&P to Ireland. I sure would love to know the International postage rates in China as I certainly couldn't mail that within Ireland for that price, let alone to China!
You couldn't send the empty box back to China for less than the complete product. I'm not sure how the postal system works, but I'd guess the high shipping costs from here are subsidising the delivery of stuff from China.
+bigclivedotcom I read a few good discussions on how they post so cheaply (Google "How do Chinese eBay sellers make money"). From memory, it stems from a US-Chinese trade agreement where they pay a few $ per Kilogram for an unlimited number of parcels, so the more parcels they can post in one shipment the cheaper it is for them. It may also explain the large delivery variation, as they probably wait until they've got a complete Kg worth to post at once. Apparently they also have to wrap each individual package at the post office so that it can be inspected before being accepted - I would hate to be in the queue at a Chinese post office! BTW I thought I'd done all today's shopping from China, but there goes another £6.
if anyone's interested... as of 29/8/17 screwfix are currently selling off 10WLED floodlights in their clearance at £2.99 ea swagged myself a couple and according to the guy at the counter they're going fast
I bought one of these off Ebay and when it got here it was the top of the crop of cheap. It had no earth, the ballast was basically an exposed circut board, the wire was dreadful and of course it wasn't 10 watts. A trip to Wilko's and some crimps, wire and a plug later it was fixed up and working quite well. Until I screwed the front on and the case broke. Sigh. Ebay
+Milk Bottles Getting an LED driver that is basically a bare module in heatshrink sleeving or the tiny little 3W drivers in a small plastic box isn't unusual.
eBay has the cheapest one at about £7(10w) at the moment but AliExpress sells them at £3.50 and from the feedback photos it seems to have the driverless chip.
They say these lights work at voltages from 85 volt to 265 volts AC. Forgive my ignorance here, but I have a dumb question. Will this light produce more light at 240 volts than at 120 volts ? Or is the power supply compensate at lower (or higher) voltage ?
Be interesting to see what tools are preferable over others. Do you have any scopes? I see a few videos from AVE where he checks line feedback noise and such. Sorry if my lingo is not par. My forte is car electronics. I just happen to enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
+AJ Harran I do have an Owon digital storage scope for when I need to analyse waveforms a bit deeper. From a hand tool perspective I prefer properly engineered tools for applications where they are getting heavy use, and throwaway tools for where they might get abused. I'm not a tool snob, but I do appreciate tools that do their job well.
As posted in video review, they all come with the ground wires not attached. I actually ordered 4 and all of them didn't have the ground connected. It's just the nature of the beast when ordering from China.
I think the seller cottoned on, they've got the cool white back in stock, but both the CW and WW are now higher in price, the CW being about £6 and the WW at £5... :\ Good job I bought the WWs at £3 a piece, just a shame I couldn't get the CW at the same time...
I can't get my head around how some things from China are so cheap (assuming it's mostly postage). So many processes and overheads along the way, from mining the raw materials to your doorstep. The Ebay listing picture advertises that it doesn't emit any ionising radiation, you can't be too careful with these new fanged LEDs.
I have a 10W led flood light it is one that plugs in with a 3 prong. And like most of the LED ones you have taken apart mine was also not grounded as well. I did earth it and now the remote to turn it off it will not turn off fully it has a row now that is always on I believe it was the right side or something. Wondering if they left the earth off because of the RF Sensor would not work if the case was earthed? It has me confused for sure. It also has that cheap gross wires as well. I have two of the 10W floods I got them for my pinball repairs so I could see in the cab and inside the pinball heads more better. The remote on and off is nice but annoying if the ground is interfering with the off part of the LEDs. With the remote I can change the colors as well or do a Fade in and out of the different colors.. Any suggestions on why the LEDs will not shut off completely now? Should I look for if one of the wires going to the LEDs is touching the case?
Was the earth wire not long enough to connect to the securing screw of the LED in the bottom left corner? P.S. I have ordered four of these in warm white when they were £2.89 each. These sellers should be paying you commission! *Update* Mine arrived and are pretty much the same as yours. LED's all appear to illuminate evenly, draws just over 8 watts, but the earth cable had been made longer so it would reach the drilled and tapped hole ...shame they hadn't bothered putting a lug on it and had just been left not connected! Not to worry as the flex appears to be about 0.1mm CSA and is too short so will be getting replaced.
I bought a 12v version of what looks to be an identical light (assume it's the same minus the PSU), turned out 10W was more like 5W, basically 500mA at 12v. BUT the output was really good, so I don't understand why they feel the need to lie about that.
+Strider9655 yep, clive has shown the same before, and i had some led's from the same year or two ago that were the same, they also had an acceptable output
I was Thinking of chucking a warm white one like this, into the rear 4wd bumper, to flick on when reversing a trailer in the dark. Do you think with maybe a rubber gasket. A bit of extra sealing. Do you think she'd be worth trying to see how it may hold up?☺️
Neat little package, despite the minor flaws (I'd rewire them with properly made up flex!)... :) And I did buy two, wanted two of each colour, but it seems the cool white sold out while I was watching the vid!! Guess you got some sales for that seller... :P
Firecul42 At the moment I'm just wanting them for play but now the nights are drawing in, I may put one up over my uncle's front door as that corner of his is pretty dark, for £3, it ain't a bad price for something that could be potentially saving his life given the medication he's on...
bigclivedotcom Good thing I bought two, one for my door, one for the Uncle's, the only light over my door at the moment is the IR light on my IP camera, which ain't much use to my eyes, great for scaring off people though, the ominous dull red halo over the door... :P
I am a new subscriber and I really love your videos covering these LEDs. Seeing that the power pack was rated at such a difference in voltage input, would the light be dimmer here in the US or are they constant current power packs? Thank you for your vidoes and your time.
+rob morley I've been running some tests on one of them today. Several hours running and then an examination with a thermal camera. The area directly behind the LED on the heatsink was just 50 degrees centigrade. That's a nice safe temperature to run an LED. The cases alone are totally worth what they cost.
These are way to cool for $4.50 USD, delivered too. The Chinese must work for 2 cents an hour. I've been planning to build a project that calls for these 10 watt LEDs. I was in the process of finishing the parts list for the build but now, with these lights, I would be nuts not to just order 10 of these. There is no way I could build the power supply much less the housing and lamps this cheap. Are the cases aluminum? Thanks Clive!
Having had not much long term success with outdoor led flood light, ie only lasting two years unlike the old halogen which lasted until the brackets rusted away ie ten years plus. Is there a make you would recommend please. Ps enjoy your vids
Could you let me know about your thermal stripper? Brand name, model, origin, whatever? I'm looking for a good thermal wire stripper, and yours looks like a pretty good one, but not like the Hakko models out there.
I don't understand why they can't just put the damn earth under the screw. It will take them, what... Like half a second to move the cable there before screwing? xD. But yeah, holy crap, that's super surprising that it's half decent! :D Would you be able to test one of those mini 50w amp boards on ebay? They're like 4-5 quid form China, and I was gonna buy one for my mini subwoofer, but I have no clue if they'll just blow up xD
yeah that is a fantastic price but 10watt is not quite a floodlight either. That's like a 70watt incandescent bulb? to match a 500watt halogen it would need 10 of these?
I just bought one of these (17/11/15) , and yes, when I opened it up the earth was NOT connected. I wonder how many people will have to die before they improve things?
I remember when i bought this and it was really good. Then i bought another a year later and it was kinda crappy. Then a few years later i bought another and it felt like a beer can. the glass wasnt even glass but a plastic panel. !!!
That is the one thing I am finding about the stuff you get from eBay and that is they are not offered from the same sellers over here in the states. Same seller has stuff to sell but not these sorts of things which is odd.
+legalizeshemp420 Odd that usually i find an item on the uk ebay, then go to ebay.com and find the same item a bit cheaper with the currency conversion! about 30 percent sometimes, its all from china, and no taxes involved, weird!
+legalizeshemp420 Its ebay's filters system. I bought 4 of these flood lights from that same seller and I live in the states but yeah I looked on the uk ebay first..
Hi Clive! Working on diy low voltage lighting system, what would the best way to control brightness in LED systems; amp control or some sort of high frequency PWM?
If I lived on Mars, would the grounding wire be called the Mars wire? Solar electron/proton storms are extreme there, so be sure your dome is properly Marsed so you don't have a surge.
VivaLaFlam Right, but Europeans call the ground wire the Earth wire. On Mars, electronics cannot be "earthed". The ground wire would be connected to Mars.
It's essentially the same thing. Only the name changes. In Greek for example we use the word "γείωση" from the word "γη" which means either "earth" or "ground" (based on the context)
I swear BC you must have shares in these Chinese sellers :-) between this and the (very useful-looking) bog bomb you've just blown another 6 quid of mine off to China!
Would these be useful for video lighting? is there any flicker? I'm starting to make videos and the flourescent lighting I use for photography sometimes flickers badly so I'm looking for a budget alternative.
+bigclivedotcom Thanks Clive, I'm composing half-body-length shots, I'll try a pair of these lights but expecting to move-up to four (but not wanting to waste my money if they're sh1te for me). Thanks. I found your channel recently and I'm enjoying your videos, I studied electrical engineering in the 1990's after a childhood of taking things to bits and sometimes putting them back together again (with varying results) before having the great idea of joining the army and becoming highly qualified in things of no-use to a civilian, I now do other things entirely but you've re-awakened my interest in all things electrical and electronic. Thank you.
is there any way to run a string of say four of these lights with only one plug? I'd love to have four around the edge fence of my garden and plug into my outdoor socket. thank you.
+alucard87 I know right? the value on these are insane.. buying everything separate off ebay would cost about $1-2 just for the LEDs and about $2 for a driver. Edit: for any US viewers I found a similar light for a mere fourteen cents more from a US seller, so you don't have to wait a month to get it. r.ebay.com/wEZTLl
+IamKrAzE Not bad. I've got one above my bench at the moment running continuously to see if it goes bang or gets too hot. So far the case has got warm, but not hot. The light level is OK for ambient illumination, but not really suited to filming as anything other than accent lighting or as a compact fill light.
that seller has published a few certificates for the lights in the description. can anyone say anything about those? are they only Chinese specific or some king of worldwide thing?
just received mine the earth wire not connected and no terminal fitted, would it be ok to cut the wires inside and fit new flex using wago connectors or would soldering be a better option.
There are two versions of the 10W 3x3 COB. One with the three series arrays in parallel (9-12V at 1A) and one where all 9 chips are in series (27-32V at 300mA). You have to check the specs for the forward voltage and/or current when buying them.
I am a hobbyists amature recycling of solar garden lights. I am wanting to diy solar flood lights with 10 watt smd chip led. I'm a visual learner. I'm looking for a simple set up. Any suggestions on how to do this? I don't want to buy an expensive already built system. I'm trying to learn something new. Thank you for any tips... Princess Ariel ex Disneyworld magic kingdom parades princess mermaid
Hello Princess. I've got quite a few videos on my channel that show repairing of small solar garden lights. For an actual 10W light it would require a large solar panel and battery unless a PIR movement detector was used to only light the LED at full intensity when it was needed.
+Wes Shaw I've got two here, but the one I'm using most at the moment is from a UK outlet called Maplin. www.maplin.co.uk/p/80w-switched-mode-dc-multi-voltage-slim-bench-power-supply-n27gg
+bigclivedotcom That's a good price for that PSU, I assume you can run it on 120 volts mains as well as the UK 230? Reason I ask is because I am looking into buying a new bench PSU for my shop, my current one is well, dated and needs to be retired..
+ElfNet Gaming Probably too late to help, but if you're in the US, here's what I've been using. Cheap, but have been reliable and powerful. Solder the connections in the provided output leads, tho! www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-PS3005-/72-11885 $69.95 each, sometimes $10 off on sale. I use two, so I can get 60V up to 5A in series, 30V at 10A parallel. One has been powering my sump pump monitor prototype 24/7 for almost a year, unless I need it for something else. I've used them at 14.2v 5a to charge my standby batts, run LEDs, etc. Just don't with any of these style supplies, set them to a higher voltage, limited current, then hook up LEDs. THe output cap and the PS switching to current limit may be too much for small LEDs. Always creep up your voltage, as Clive does here, to avoid 'shocking' the LED. I love these PSes.. (Also sold under other labels..) Stu
oh well. I already ordered 2 for 6.11€ each, witch I still find ridiculously cheap. just hope they're the same quality no matter how long they take to arrive.
Finally got the Cool-white ones I ordered (same boxes, another seller - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331638206961 ) today, been rewiring them, as usual there was no earth connection, and interestingly, one had been so poorly cast, there were holes in the top of it between the cooling fins, so would have been a great water ingress spot, on an unearthed light!! :S Still, rewired, holes filled with JB weld (damned good stuff that!), they light up nicely and pretty brightly too, so, reasonably happy, neat little things, definitely not an out-of-box solution, but something for us in the know to play with regardless... :) Still awaiting the Warm-white versions though...
+Old Farfegnugen believe it or not a drop or two is all we need. Place it on the body. If the label does not touch the body we are good. But the heat gun works:)
+Rav Gupta As Niels said I would try alcohol (isopropyl) first. Acetone is quite aggressive to many plastics and paints and is much more likely to dissolve away the ink on the label for example if it gets there.
bigclivedotcom That was from the seller you got them from. Is it a very much lucky dip to find a proper supplier like the one you have shown? I'm thinking a few of either a 20W or 30W for a space about 4m wide x 2m high. Think garden shed but bigger.Just don't want to waste my hard earned is all >.
+themaconeau Just got the 10W version in and mine had the earth wire attached! I almost died >.< It was about AUD$10 incl shipping. Looks reasonable quality. About to put a plug on it and test ;)
Am liking the MDF background, much better than the black background!
+Elliott Veares painted flat grey surface or using a green cutting mat would work too.
Love these cheap LED tests and tear downs, always fun when the quality surprises. If going all out you should get a spectrophotometer to check CRI of the LED's since cheaper usually is under 70 and might make you feel ill if used under longer duration, finding cheap LED's with good build quality and high CRI is gold :)
That's the same ebay seller I bought mine from, I am still waiting for them to arrive..
Thanks for this video Clive, Now I know the actual lamps are good and I will need to attach the earth ground.
The internet needs more people like you man.
I love these little 10w lights. They are so versatile and compact its unbelievable. Also they are certainly worth the low cost.
That is a pretty good unit for the money. The LED seems like it is good quality and the driver is closer to 10 watts. I would buy one.
Thank you so very much for identifying a good LED seller during a review. I will reward the seller with my purchase. Keep up the tear-downs. I enjoy them. Please keep identifying the good sellers. I might want to reward them as well. Best Regards, BAG2
Ordered one of these myself a couple of weeks back and it arrived today. Pretty much identical to the one shown. Didn't have an earth lug at all though, lead just hanging around inside: naughty. Draws 8.5W according to my power meter. The price has gone up now to £4.72.
That wood table seems to be helping immensely as even when the LED is at the camera I still could easily read the meter.
To remove hot glue intact, work a bit of rubbing alcohol on it and work it underneath. It will pop right off.
That is incredibly good value for money, I wish that years ago when I was doing restoration work at Monkton Farleigh mine(a underground ammunition store )that lights like these were around.
Quick Tests/Safe Blocks are available from CPC.
I got one of those floodlights off AliExpress a few months ago. It was just the same as yours, even down to the unconnected earth tag which easily pulled off.
I don't have a power meter so worked it out my Voltage x Current and was surprised to get over 8W.
Apart from fitting a longer flex, the only other thing I did with mine was stick some 'privacy film' on the front to defuse the light.
I had one of these delivered a few days ago. Missing screws for the reflector and the led. Was just taped onto the back of the reflector with kapton tape. Does look like the same power supply though. Good to know for when I track down some replacement screws.
Hey, now you get an 8 watt driver for a 10 watt light. Getting better.
I suspect the non-hooked up ground is why they they were so cheep on eBay. Rejected either in manufacturing or by an original distributor. Most of the cheep stuff I've bought off eBay had some defect or other.
Love your channel. I've been like you and have torn apart everything to find out how it works since I was 3 years old.
+CowboyFrankHarrell
If these had a safety agency approval such as UL, or TUV, then during production they have to have a specified minimum ground resistance to the case. Also, there is no stud press-fit into the case for sole use by the ground connection; that would fail safety agency inspection prior to product release right there.
For $5-6 this is what you get. A deathtrap.
+Steve Rodgers brand new, some repair required.
+CowboyFrankHarrell Its China, They don't care they just mass produce. The lead was too short to attach the earth during the assembly line production without slowing the whole line up so they tuck it away and continue on.
Thanks to your video I have now purchased this light from your link below. And a good excuse for me to take it to bits is to inspect the earth connection. Cheers!
I purchased to of these on Ebay here in the U.S. and found the same thing you did. The ground wire was not connected to anything. You got lucky, yours had a connector on it, mine had nothing.
Every Time I tell someone to look for your channel I tell them to type in "Cheap Chinese Ebay LED's"
I may have gotten the last of these in cool white, before they ran out and then raised the price, for about $4.50 (USA dollars) that came in today. I tore it down and only two screws were in the LED chip and not 4. Ground wire inside did not even have a connector on it, but the wire was about the same place as Clives. The power supply was not glued, but just sitting loose in there. Did not test the uniformity of light, at lower than running DC voltage, for the chip. Power consumption is not 10W, but around 7.7w total on mine at the start, according to my handy dandy watt meter which measures 60, on a 60w incandescent bulb. All at 110-120v ac. After about 5 minutes about 7.5w . After 30 minutes or so down to about 7.2-3. After 45 minutes the same. Temp of the housing after 45 minutes very warm, but can be held in the hand comfortably.
Grounding does not matter to me, because I know in the USA and much of the world grounding did not exist in the wiring of houses and buildings, until in the USA around the 70s and later. At 220v it may be needed, but doesn't seem to be with 110-120v, since we are not having shock problems or fires, from not being grounded in the news. I wonder if China actually uses ground wiring at all there LOL
Power supply not glued in and measured power only 70% of claimed, and LED chip had 2 screws and not 4. The finish on mine looked fine, and kind of a mat black or satin black color.
I think it was well worth 4.50USD delivered on looks, and it is pretty bright. Current USD price about 8.77 and I don't know it if it is a killer deal at that price. The quality might be fading on them too, with less screws in mine and not glued on the power supply and lower wattage.
+free100x Two screws on the LED is pretty common. That's one of the reasons I was surprised to see four. And there are often two diagonal screws on the reflector too.
+bigclivedotcom
I am not unhappy with it considering the price especially, and thanks for finding it and pointing it out.
One more thing that was a little strange about it was I ordered it on the 18th, and a shipping label from USPS was created on the 20th out of Dayton Ohio. It arrived there on the 23rd and got to NM where I live on the 26th. So it looks like it actually shipped from Ohio, at least for mine. Maybe they have a USA warehouse there.
It is showing to be very bright on my Lux meter, like the meter you bought and had in one of your videos. Very handy for comparing actual light output.
I found that listing and it's €3.92 with free P&P to Ireland. I sure would love to know the International postage rates in China as I certainly couldn't mail that within Ireland for that price, let alone to China!
You couldn't send the empty box back to China for less than the complete product. I'm not sure how the postal system works, but I'd guess the high shipping costs from here are subsidising the delivery of stuff from China.
+bigclivedotcom I read a few good discussions on how they post so cheaply (Google "How do Chinese eBay sellers make money"). From memory, it stems from a US-Chinese trade agreement where they pay a few $ per Kilogram for an unlimited number of parcels, so the more parcels they can post in one shipment the cheaper it is for them. It may also explain the large delivery variation, as they probably wait until they've got a complete Kg worth to post at once. Apparently they also have to wrap each individual package at the post office so that it can be inspected before being accepted - I would hate to be in the queue at a Chinese post office!
BTW I thought I'd done all today's shopping from China, but there goes another £6.
if anyone's interested... as of 29/8/17 screwfix are currently selling off 10WLED floodlights in their clearance at £2.99 ea
swagged myself a couple and according to the guy at the counter they're going fast
I was really hoping to see all three of them on side by side for comparison, anyway, thanks for the teardown, i think i may spend some coin on this.
I can not resist this, surly could not build this for what it costs. I am in for four units for a total of $18.32 USD
I bought one of these off Ebay and when it got here it was the top of the crop of cheap. It had no earth, the ballast was basically an exposed circut board, the wire was dreadful and of course it wasn't 10 watts. A trip to Wilko's and some crimps, wire and a plug later it was fixed up and working quite well. Until I screwed the front on and the case broke. Sigh. Ebay
+Milk Bottles Getting an LED driver that is basically a bare module in heatshrink sleeving or the tiny little 3W drivers in a small plastic box isn't unusual.
I just took a 100W version of these lights apart, and posted it on my channel. Seems slightly better then the ones you got.
eBay has the cheapest one at about £7(10w) at the moment but AliExpress sells them at £3.50 and from the feedback photos it seems to have the driverless chip.
perfect - just bought two! cheers Clive!
They say these lights work at voltages from 85 volt to 265 volts AC. Forgive my ignorance here, but I have a dumb question. Will this light produce more light at 240 volts than at 120 volts ? Or is the power supply compensate at lower (or higher) voltage ?
The current will adjust to suit, but the regulation is controlled from the LED side, so it will remain the same.
Thank you
Seeing how you gave your feed back on the stripper. Maybe could do some tool reviews?
+AJ Harran That's a good idea. I did my electrical toolbag, so I should do my electronic toolkit too.
Be interesting to see what tools are preferable over others. Do you have any scopes? I see a few videos from AVE where he checks line feedback noise and such. Sorry if my lingo is not par. My forte is car electronics. I just happen to enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
+AJ Harran I do have an Owon digital storage scope for when I need to analyse waveforms a bit deeper. From a hand tool perspective I prefer properly engineered tools for applications where they are getting heavy use, and throwaway tools for where they might get abused. I'm not a tool snob, but I do appreciate tools that do their job well.
I ordered a couple from the same seller, ground wire not attached, my power supply was loose, glue broke off label, but I did manage to get pic of it
As posted in video review, they all come with the ground wires not attached.
I actually ordered 4 and all of them didn't have the ground connected.
It's just the nature of the beast when ordering from China.
I think the seller cottoned on, they've got the cool white back in stock, but both the CW and WW are now higher in price, the CW being about £6 and the WW at £5... :\
Good job I bought the WWs at £3 a piece, just a shame I couldn't get the CW at the same time...
I can't get my head around how some things from China are so cheap (assuming it's mostly postage). So many processes and overheads along the way, from mining the raw materials to your doorstep.
The Ebay listing picture advertises that it doesn't emit any ionising radiation, you can't be too careful with these new fanged LEDs.
I have a 10W led flood light it is one that plugs in with a 3 prong.
And like most of the LED ones you have taken apart mine was also not grounded as well.
I did earth it and now the remote to turn it off it will not turn off fully it has a row now that is always on I believe it was the right side or something.
Wondering if they left the earth off because of the RF Sensor would not work if the case was earthed?
It has me confused for sure.
It also has that cheap gross wires as well.
I have two of the 10W floods I got them for my pinball repairs so I could see in the cab and inside the pinball heads more better.
The remote on and off is nice but annoying if the ground is interfering with the off part of the LEDs.
With the remote I can change the colors as well or do a Fade in and out of the different colors..
Any suggestions on why the LEDs will not shut off completely now?
Should I look for if one of the wires going to the LEDs is touching the case?
Was the earth wire not long enough to connect to the securing screw of the LED in the bottom left corner?
P.S. I have ordered four of these in warm white when they were £2.89 each. These sellers should be paying you commission!
*Update* Mine arrived and are pretty much the same as yours. LED's all appear to illuminate evenly, draws just over 8 watts, but the earth cable had been made longer so it would reach the drilled and tapped hole ...shame they hadn't bothered putting a lug on it and had just been left not connected! Not to worry as the flex appears to be about 0.1mm CSA and is too short so will be getting replaced.
I bought a 12v version of what looks to be an identical light (assume it's the same minus the PSU), turned out 10W was more like 5W, basically 500mA at 12v. BUT the output was really good, so I don't understand why they feel the need to lie about that.
+Strider9655 yep, clive has shown the same before, and i had some led's from the same year or two ago that were the same, they also had an acceptable output
Im loving these led teardown/hack/unboxing videos, keep it up!
Do you think these could be hacked, and the chips replaced with orange/red/blue ones?
Light output measurements would be really cool.
I was Thinking of chucking a warm white one like this, into the rear 4wd bumper, to flick on when reversing a trailer in the dark.
Do you think with maybe a rubber gasket. A bit of extra sealing. Do you think she'd be worth trying to see how it may hold up?☺️
Neat little package, despite the minor flaws (I'd rewire them with properly made up flex!)... :)
And I did buy two, wanted two of each colour, but it seems the cool white sold out while I was watching the vid!! Guess you got some sales for that seller... :P
+twocvbloke Indeed I'm thinking of doing the same and getting a new light for the back garden, after rewiring of course.
Firecul42
At the moment I'm just wanting them for play but now the nights are drawing in, I may put one up over my uncle's front door as that corner of his is pretty dark, for £3, it ain't a bad price for something that could be potentially saving his life given the medication he's on...
+twocvbloke 10W is ideal for a splash of light at a doorway. I have a 10W PIR in warm white that does a good job at the entrance to my house.
bigclivedotcom
Good thing I bought two, one for my door, one for the Uncle's, the only light over my door at the moment is the IR light on my IP camera, which ain't much use to my eyes, great for scaring off people though, the ominous dull red halo over the door... :P
i am really enjoying your videos
I am a new subscriber and I really love your videos covering these LEDs. Seeing that the power pack was rated at such a difference in voltage input, would the light be dimmer here in the US or are they constant current power packs? Thank you for your vidoes and your time.
+Gregory Wood I think most of the little switchmode power supplies tend to be universal voltage now.
Yeh thanks now I've just bought some !!
+rob morley I've been running some tests on one of them today. Several hours running and then an examination with a thermal camera. The area directly behind the LED on the heatsink was just 50 degrees centigrade. That's a nice safe temperature to run an LED. The cases alone are totally worth what they cost.
These are way to cool for $4.50 USD, delivered too. The Chinese must work for 2 cents an hour. I've been planning to build a project that calls for these 10 watt LEDs. I was in the process of finishing the parts list for the build but now, with these lights, I would be nuts not to just order 10 of these. There is no way I could build the power supply much less the housing and lamps this cheap. Are the cases aluminum? Thanks Clive!
+bain5872 I'm not sure the exact alloy used but has an aluminium feel.
That's what I was hoping for. Thanks much!
The seller updated the listing. They cost me AU $6.14 for two warm white 10W, now a single warm white costs AU $10.14.
I recall that bench ac connector being called a 'safeblock'...essential bodge kit pro
That was a rival version, and also the keynector.
Having had not much long term success with outdoor led flood light, ie only lasting two years unlike the old halogen which lasted until the brackets rusted away ie ten years plus. Is there a make you would recommend please. Ps enjoy your vids
Clive Sir, Where did you get the test rig you use? The spring loaded wire clips, fuses and fork style switch are very useful. Thanks BigMan!
please do more tests, like heat dissipation and abit of brightness comparison. Can this be dimmed by an external dimmer?
Great Write up Clive , - what is your mains test block plugged into ?, the white thing showing amps.
+operculum It's a plug-in power monitor that logs the current, power and cost of appliances.
Could you let me know about your thermal stripper? Brand name, model, origin, whatever? I'm looking for a good thermal wire stripper, and yours looks like a pretty good one, but not like the Hakko models out there.
I don't understand why they can't just put the damn earth under the screw. It will take them, what... Like half a second to move the cable there before screwing? xD. But yeah, holy crap, that's super surprising that it's half decent! :D
Would you be able to test one of those mini 50w amp boards on ebay? They're like 4-5 quid form China, and I was gonna buy one for my mini subwoofer, but I have no clue if they'll just blow up xD
This seller doesn't charge the earth, he floats it instead.
Im now looking for this same type of fixture for a project and I want them small like this and serviceable to modify them
yeah that is a fantastic price but 10watt is not quite a floodlight either. That's like a 70watt incandescent bulb? to match a 500watt halogen it would need 10 of these?
I just bought one of these (17/11/15) , and yes, when I opened it up the earth was NOT connected. I wonder how many people will have to die before they improve things?
I Loled around 5:00 with that PE wire. Why do they even bother with crimped eyelet if they fail to connect it :)
I remember when i bought this and it was really good. Then i bought another a year later and it was kinda crappy. Then a few years later i bought another and it felt like a beer can. the glass wasnt even glass but a plastic panel. !!!
i hope you wouldnt mind taking a look at the warmoon 10W RGB LED?
I wonder of you did get my massage about the mini floodlight i just found, which is actually smaller and surprisingly more powerful then this one.
If you included a link RUclips will have hidden it until I validate it. (I can't actually do that from the device I'm using at the moment.)
+bigclivedotcom i did just send it again to make sure you get it :)
If you get some isopropyl alcohol and drip it on to the hot glue it will just pull off easy!
That is the one thing I am finding about the stuff you get from eBay and that is they are not offered from the same sellers over here in the states. Same seller has stuff to sell but not these sorts of things which is odd.
+legalizeshemp420 Odd that usually i find an item on the uk ebay, then go to ebay.com and find the same item a bit cheaper with the currency conversion! about 30 percent sometimes, its all from china, and no taxes involved, weird!
jusb1066
It is but this seller has nothing like this for the US and with these the seller matters.
+legalizeshemp420 yep im surprised at that
+legalizeshemp420 Its ebay's filters system. I bought 4 of these flood lights from that same seller and I live in the states but yeah I looked on the uk ebay first..
ElfNet Gaming
Have a link from your purchase?
I bought a 100W one from the same seller. It was proper grounded and tested at 77 watts.
Clive, is it easier to extend the flex from the light, or to use a flex joiner to extend the wire?
That is a chunk of the finest chinesium!
cheeky seller has put the price of the floods up. :{
Hi Clive! Working on diy low voltage lighting system, what would the best way to control brightness in LED systems; amp control or some sort of high frequency PWM?
Simplest way a resistor, most efficient way a PWM controller. (Available cheaply on eBay.)
When i contacted a china supplier about the earth wire not being connected they said the wire supplied with the light is only for test purposes .
Wish I had a lighting addiction :( I'm just addicted to the regular stuff, coke and hookers etc...
+Scott Campbell seems legit
If I lived on Mars, would the grounding wire be called the Mars wire?
Solar electron/proton storms are extreme there, so be sure your dome is properly Marsed so you don't have a surge.
it still would have been called the ground wire :p
VivaLaFlam Right, but Europeans call the ground wire the Earth wire.
On Mars, electronics cannot be "earthed". The ground wire would be connected to Mars.
It's essentially the same thing. Only the name changes.
In Greek for example we use the word "γείωση" from the word "γη" which means either "earth" or "ground" (based on the context)
I swear BC you must have shares in these Chinese sellers :-) between this and the (very useful-looking) bog bomb you've just blown another 6 quid of mine off to China!
+Jason james Only £6?
They just got £15 from me as I claimed their last five!
+Jason james $45.00 for me and I'm inquiring about Chinese manufactured lighting. Seems there is some money to be made selling them on Ebay.....LOL
Would these be useful for video lighting? is there any flicker?
I'm starting to make videos and the flourescent lighting I use for photography sometimes flickers badly so I'm looking for a budget alternative.
I use two 20W cold white versions on my bench for filming. But that's quite close range.
+bigclivedotcom Thanks Clive, I'm composing half-body-length shots, I'll try a pair of these lights but expecting to move-up to four (but not wanting to waste my money if they're sh1te for me). Thanks.
I found your channel recently and I'm enjoying your videos, I studied electrical engineering in the 1990's after a childhood of taking things to bits and sometimes putting them back together again (with varying results) before having the great idea of joining the army and becoming highly qualified in things of no-use to a civilian, I now do other things entirely but you've re-awakened my interest in all things electrical and electronic. Thank you.
A win ,nice..
what do you do with all the led lights? you must have so many
yup, buying one
thanks fam
HOORAY it came today!!. its funny how they sent a reminder email asking if it came today. exactly 1 month
kek
lol calm down
wat
is there any way to run a string of say four of these lights with only one plug?
I'd love to have four around the edge fence of my garden and plug into my outdoor socket.
thank you.
You can get waterproof junction boxes that allow you to tee off cables to each light. Running four from a single plug would be no problem.
bigclivedotcom perfect, thank you.
oooh i might buy like 10 of these :D
+alucard87 yeah they look good, just bought 6 for my workshop.
+alucard87 I know right? the value on these are insane.. buying everything separate off ebay would cost about $1-2 just for the LEDs and about $2 for a driver.
Edit: for any US viewers I found a similar light for a mere fourteen cents more from a US seller, so you don't have to wait a month to get it. r.ebay.com/wEZTLl
+alucard87 I bought four of them in warm white to replace the current E27 type floods around outside of my home..
hows the light output? good for little work lights or filming?
+IamKrAzE Not bad. I've got one above my bench at the moment running continuously to see if it goes bang or gets too hot. So far the case has got warm, but not hot. The light level is OK for ambient illumination, but not really suited to filming as anything other than accent lighting or as a compact fill light.
that seller has published a few certificates for the lights in the description. can anyone say anything about those? are they only Chinese specific or some king of worldwide thing?
big Clive why not use Gearbest.com instead of ebay this way you buy straight from China and at a cheaper rate.
just received mine the earth wire not connected and no terminal fitted, would it be ok to cut the wires inside and fit new flex using wago connectors or would soldering be a better option.
+chester ton I soldered and sleeved mine, but you could use crimps or any connector that fits easily in the case.
+bigclivedotcom
thank you your advise is greatly welcome, I'm new to your channel and loving it.
Wait 31 volt? So you cant put in 3x3 array led cob in?
There are two versions of the 10W 3x3 COB. One with the three series arrays in parallel (9-12V at 1A) and one where all 9 chips are in series (27-32V at 300mA). You have to check the specs for the forward voltage and/or current when buying them.
have a look at a seller called led-supply www.ebay.co.uk/usr/led-supply?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754
Dumb question but what would you use these for?
I'm after one of those power connector blocks. Know where I can get one??
*****
Thanks pal. Festive wishes and a happy new year.
Apparently the manufacturers learned their lesson when they got called out on their bullshite!
I think you need to visit "Led collectors Anonimus" :-D
yep shame about the earth :-(
+zx8401ztv lol
I am a hobbyists amature recycling of solar garden lights. I am wanting to diy solar flood lights with 10 watt smd chip led. I'm a visual learner. I'm looking for a simple set up. Any suggestions on how to do this? I don't want to buy an expensive already built system. I'm trying to learn something new. Thank you for any tips... Princess Ariel ex Disneyworld magic kingdom parades princess mermaid
Hello Princess. I've got quite a few videos on my channel that show repairing of small solar garden lights. For an actual 10W light it would require a large solar panel and battery unless a PIR movement detector was used to only light the LED at full intensity when it was needed.
These seems to be about £5.50 now.....
Does anyone know what the dimensions of the open window in this are? Want to make some custom PCBs and mine hasn't arrived yet. Thanks!
today AU $12.14 Approximately £6.54
Would be nice to plug it in and show us a video
clive what kind of bench top power supply do you have
+Wes Shaw I've got two here, but the one I'm using most at the moment is from a UK outlet called Maplin.
www.maplin.co.uk/p/80w-switched-mode-dc-multi-voltage-slim-bench-power-supply-n27gg
+bigclivedotcom That's a good price for that PSU, I assume you can run it on 120 volts mains as well as the UK 230?
Reason I ask is because I am looking into buying a new bench PSU for my shop, my current one is well, dated and needs to be retired..
+ElfNet Gaming It does appear to be universal voltage. You may find it available locally under a different label.
+ElfNet Gaming Probably too late to help, but if you're in the US, here's what I've been using. Cheap, but have been reliable and powerful. Solder the connections in the provided output leads, tho! www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-PS3005-/72-11885
$69.95 each, sometimes $10 off on sale. I use two, so I can get 60V up to 5A in series, 30V at 10A parallel. One has been powering my sump pump monitor prototype 24/7 for almost a year, unless I need it for something else. I've used them at 14.2v 5a to charge my standby batts, run LEDs, etc. Just don't with any of these style supplies, set them to a higher voltage, limited current, then hook up LEDs. THe output cap and the PS switching to current limit may be too much for small LEDs. Always creep up your voltage, as Clive does here, to avoid 'shocking' the LED. I love these PSes..
(Also sold under other labels..)
Stu
Hi,why should this be earthed, when the driver is IP65?
Because faults happen and the case is metal. I've already had a similar light supplied with a live case due to a trapped wire.
thx for the info
What's power factor?
UNIOR wire strippers?
Really neat lights. a shame they don't ship to Germany and I can't find the things on ebay.de. Any one know another source I might try?
+Kamil Niewiadomski bad choice they have very bad service always on the sellers side. Plus the cheap ones only ship to USA.
oh well. I already ordered 2 for 6.11€ each, witch I still find ridiculously cheap. just hope they're the same quality no matter how long they take to arrive.
gone up to £5.32 for them now
must have reilised that people want them.
Sadly they don't ship to Germany ;-(
+northerngatekeeper
Das ist sicher nicht der einzige Verkäufer für diese Lampe. Einfach auf ebay.com (nicht "de") danach suchen.
Finally got the Cool-white ones I ordered (same boxes, another seller - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331638206961 ) today, been rewiring them, as usual there was no earth connection, and interestingly, one had been so poorly cast, there were holes in the top of it between the cooling fins, so would have been a great water ingress spot, on an unearthed light!! :S
Still, rewired, holes filled with JB weld (damned good stuff that!), they light up nicely and pretty brightly too, so, reasonably happy, neat little things, definitely not an out-of-box solution, but something for us in the know to play with regardless... :)
Still awaiting the Warm-white versions though...
Hot glue? Use acetone.
+Old Farfegnugen believe it or not a drop or two is all we need. Place it on the body. If the label does not touch the body we are good. But the heat gun works:)
+Rav Gupta I did peel it off. I used the hot air pen on my solder station. it came off quite neatly.
+Rav Gupta Or just alochol, isopropyl or whatever you have on hand. It works very well, and has much less risk of damaging anything.
+Rav Gupta
As Niels said I would try alcohol (isopropyl) first. Acetone is quite aggressive to many plastics and paints and is much more likely to dissolve away the ink on the label for example if it gets there.
Loblite back then.
just needs a longer flex adding and the earth connection, bargain.
+bigclivedotcom They are about $12.99 each for 10W and $10 for shipping. Still worth it for that price? (AUD pricing).
+themaconeau The 10W ones should only be about $10 AUS including free shipping. If they cost more then shop around.
bigclivedotcom That was from the seller you got them from. Is it a very much lucky dip to find a proper supplier like the one you have shown?
I'm thinking a few of either a 20W or 30W for a space about 4m wide x 2m high. Think garden shed but bigger.Just don't want to waste my hard earned is all >.
+themaconeau Just got the 10W version in and mine had the earth wire attached! I almost died >.<
It was about AUD$10 incl shipping. Looks reasonable quality. About to put a plug on it and test ;)