Harbor Freight 'Braun' Work Light - WOW!

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they must be watching this thread, looks like it is now $40 on their web site. So with the usual 20% coupon if applicable about $32 + tx.
I see there is also one with 845 lumens or about 2x as much light, for $45. 12V and 120V. But does not seem that it has a removable 18650. May still be good for a few years though.
 
Tapage said:
I like the idea of the bar to work under the hood .. but batteries scare me. So far I'm stuck with Dewalt lights which share the same as the tools obviously they lack the magnetic feature although ..
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Since I am invested in Dewalt tools I am hoping they come out with automotive stuff like Milwaukee. I believe they have a underhood light. They sponsor a race car so you would think a proper work light would be a must.
 
e9999 said:
they must be watching this thread, looks like it is now $40 on their web site. So with the usual 20% coupon if applicable about $32 + tx.
I see there is also one with 845 lumens or about 2x as much light, for $45. 12V and 120V. But does not seem that it has a removable 18650. May still be good for a few years though.
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Harbor Freight Tools Coupon Database - Free coupons, 25 percent off coupons, toolbox coupons - BRAUN 390 LUMEN SLIM BAR FOLDING LED WORKLIGHT
Coupon still good through 2/16/19
 
well, I remembered this thread so I got myself one today with a coupon (for $22 instead of $40). I must say I'm pleased and impressed. This does not feel cheap junk. Looks quite sturdy. Not dazzling but sufficiently bright to do work in practice I think. Well designed as far as swiveling and especially that magnet is great. Strong and very convenient indeed. Battery is probably generic junk but that's easy to fix. Will be used under the truck and under the hood but also in the shop and even inside the truck (where the low level may come in handy actually). I can see a lot of uses for it. Thanks for pointing this one out.
One thing I will do, though, is to check that the charging current tapers off when full. Hopefully it does. Otherwise that could be a problem.
 
Question: there is a knob of sorts between the switch and the hinge. Biggish, serrated. Looks like it should unscrew and open things up. Mine is not budging. Yours?
 
I swapped out the battery with a hi-cap Panasonic from ebay. Lasts a surprisingly long time. I use it constantly when working on the truck; the long flat light gets into tight spots with plenty of illumination. I don't use the charging jack on the light, I charge the batt in a multi charger. The on-board light charging circuit is prolly junk. I also bought a fleabay car charger for the 18650 batteries and I carry one of those lights in the center console for roadside use.

I've never touched that knob - I think it's just the pivot ?
 
Spike Strip said:
I swapped out the battery with a hi-cap Panasonic from ebay. Lasts a surprisingly long time. I use it constantly when working on the truck; the long flat light gets into tight spots with plenty of illumination. I don't use the charging jack on the light, I charge the batt in a multi charger. The on-board light charging circuit is prolly junk. I also bought a fleabay car charger for the 18650 batteries and I carry one of those lights in the center console for roadside use.

I've never touched that knob - I think it's just the pivot ?
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Do you have links for that stuff? I came here to post that I love the light, but the run time is lacking.
 
well, looks good so far. I saw that the charging current does indeed goes to zero when the green light comes on, and when I measured the voltage at that point (actually within 1 sec of removing the battery from the charging circuit) the voltage was at 4.17V which should be safe. So it seems like the circuit is not overcharging the battery. Better be the case for a Lithium ion.

Also, I saw that the contact spring could accommodate a flat top battery about 1/4" shorter than the OEM one. Good too.

Now to see if the circuit does prevent overdischarging, also bad for Li ion batts.
 
e9999 said:
well, looks good so far. I saw that the charging current does indeed goes to zero when the green light comes on, and when I measured the voltage at that point (actually within 1 sec of removing the battery from the charging circuit) the voltage was at 4.17V which should be safe. So it seems like the circuit is not overcharging the battery. Better be the case for a Lithium ion.

Also, I saw that the contact spring could accommodate a flat top battery about 1/4" shorter than the OEM one. Good too.

Now to see if the circuit does prevent overdischarging, also bad for Li ion batts.
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That's good to know - easier to just carry the charging cord than an aux charger. Thanks for checking that!
 
keep in mind if you buy a charger and want to charge the OEM battery with it that that battery is almost 1/4" longer than standard, so you'd want to make sure the charger will accommodate that extra length. Not that that battery is likely so good that you'd want to buy a charger specifically for it...
I will measure how much energy the battery can deliver when I have a chance. Not holding my breath that it's close to 2.2 Ah, though, based on previous experience with generic chinese batteries.
Btw, talking about inflated specs, I saw some similar but no-name lights on ebay advertised at 10,000 and even 80,000 lumens... And for like $6 too... Potent!


Added: I tried to check the discharge cutoff voltage. Best I could tell without opening things up is that the light turned itself off at about 3V. (I measured 3.05V 5 secs or so after turn off and it seemed to increase by about 0.01V a sec or so after that. Very rough of course, but seems like a clean level that a designer might want to use for aesthetics so I can buy that.)

So, it appears that the circuit is limited at 4.2V max and 3.0V min. These values seem safe (from memory) for standard cobalt-type Lithium ion batteries. Somebody correct me on that if wrong, please. The 4.2V is as high as you'd want to go I think to be safe and get highest capacity per cycle, but is not the best for longevity in number of cycles achievable.

But this suggests to me that the circuit is reasonable at least and can probably be used without too much risk for your better batteries (of standard composition).
 
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Ah, just found another perfect use for that light: a safe light! Stick it on the outside of the door for plenty of light to dial in the combo. And even better: You know how the back of your big safe is usually dark and you can't tell what's there, well guess no more, the light sticks readily to the door when open and lights up a storm in there wherever desired! Nice!
 
Spike Strip said:
I don't usually shop at HF, but once and a while they just get it right at a price that can't be beat.

390 Lumen Magnetic Slim Bar Folding LED Worklight

Can be had for $25 with coupon (bought today 12/14/2018)

This thing is GREAT!

Magnetic base. Super Bright w/ high/low setting and a flashlight function on the end. Aluminum base and head.

Best of all, USB-rechargeable so you can keep it in the truck and charge with a cig-lighter plug. Uses a standard replaceable 18650 type battery as opposed to most other cordless work lights that have the battery wired in. I have a lot of the 18650 batteries for my head lamps, so it was a no-brainer. Comes with a battery and USB cord.

Cheers.


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Great light, plenty bright, I love mine too!!
It's great on the cab of a pick-up to illuminate the bed.
However, my switch cracked the sad last month after several months of service and recharging.... 😩

I'm hoping I can get into it and wire/solder in a toggle switch. 🤔
Do they make 3-position +off micro toggles?
It'd be rad to keep the high, low, and tip light features intact.....
 
I was just at HF today and they have a 'New' version of this light that comes with three (3) swappable heads. One is just like this lamp, another is a standard Flashlight head (LED) and the third is a flexible wand with a LED on the end of it. Forget what the individual outputs were, but seemed bright enough for car work. A bit more at $50-ish but looked like a very cool tool. I did not buy one as I already had too much in the basket.

Unfortunately, I don't yet see it on their website otherwise I would have taken a pic.
 
keep your eyes on the mailers. There was a coupon in August or September that had this light at 19.99
 
Great light. I found another use for it - taking pics. It really brightens up subjects, especially closeups and no need to use fill flash or flash on cameras/phones.

That new light with separate heads sounds interesting.
 
The Braun is 18.99 this weekend. Have not seen it less than that. Still loves mine. Use it a lot in the shop and around house.
Picked up the little guy for 3.99 this weekend just to see. Seems OK. 215 lumens supposedly. So more light for the buck. But head not tiltable and magnet not too strong. Yet a complement to the little freebie pucks as it's lighting in the perpendicular direction.
 
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