Product review: LightDims Black Out Edition

Many manufactures add unnecessary lights to various devices, I especially object to the bright LED lights on chargers I keep in the bedroom where I want total darkness. In the past I use electrical tape to cover up lights. LightDims are a neater (but more expensive) solution.



LightDims package is a single sheet of stickers that come in a variety of sizes, made out of thin dark material with a strong adhesive that covers even the brightest LED lights.



In attached video you see my one of my favorite chargers that has one of the brightest blue LEDs invented. I had that LED covered by a piece of electrical tape, but the electrical tape also covered the port labels. In the video I remove the electrical tape and replacing it with the light dims. The light coverage is the same, but the appearance is neater and the labels are visible.



Even though LightDims are more expensive to use than a piece of electrical tape if you trying to cover a light on a piece of equipment that you want to look neat or leave labels clearly visible LightDims will do a good job.



I received LightDim stickers for testing and review. I hope seeing the video helps you getting a better idea of what to expect.



You can find "LightDims Black Out Edition" on Amazon via this link





AshopZones review

Product review: LOPOO Key Chain Flashlight

This flashlight is 2 5/8" long and has three modes: bright, medium, and strobe. I like the mechanism for turning on the light and changing modes. It is a slide switch which is used not only to turn on the flash light but to change modes as well. It cycles through three modes with every slide. I can hold the flashlight and change the mode with one hand which sometimes is quite useful.



How bright is bright? To answer this question an easy way I used a lux meter which measures light intensity and compared the brightness of this flash light with a 60 watt bulb, because everyone has a good feel for how bright a 60 watt bulb is.



Flashlight bright mode at 19" = 1492 lux

Flashlight low mode at 19" = 392 lux

Fluorescent bulb at 19" = 613 lux



The flashlight runs on one AAA battery, the battery is included. The battery has a stopper in the flashlight to preserve the battery (a red disc which is easy to see if you open the flashlight). The weight of the flashlight with the battery installed is 0.9 oz.



I received this flashlight for testing and review. The flashlight produces pretty bright light, alhtough the beam of the light is not large. I am including a video to give you a better idea of what to expect.



You can find this LOPOO Key Chain Flashlight by following this link to Amazon.



AshopZones review ★★★★★

Product review: Solar LED Lights by Linkertech Waterproof

I got a pair of lights. One of them stayed on only for a few minutes after a full day of charging initially and a week later did not turn on at all. The other one stays on for about 3 hours (by 11 pm it is off). Both are very dim, they light only a tiny area right around the light. The stock photo makes them appear much brighter than they are in real life. Are the lights decorative given that they do not produce much light? No. The lights do not look as nice in person as they do in the stock photo. The plastic has a cheap look and they do not look nice when it is light outside.



I took several pictures (setting the camera to manual mode so the camera does not try to compensate for the darkness). I also measured the light it generates with a lux meter (which measures intensity of the light) for an unbiased measurement in addition to my perception of the light level.



This light produces 172 lux when the meter is placed right next to this solar light.

This light produces 10.3 lux when the meter is placed 12" away from this light.

For comparison a 60 watt fluorescent bulb at the same distance of 12" produces a reading of 1110 lux.



The light is 4.5" (tall) and 3.5" (wide), it extends 2" from the wall.



The light is photo sensitive (i.e. it turns on when it is dark). Inside the cap there is an on/off switch to preserve the battery during shipping. There is no label which shows the on/off position. On position is when the switch is pushed towards the narrow side of panel.



These lights were a disappointment.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Durapower 500lm Rechargeable LED Work Light Bar Cordless

This work light exceeded my expectations. I did not fully understand how versatile it is until I began using it.



✔ I can hang the light horizontally using magnets on my HiLoft storage system. HiLoft shelves are a metal grid. The magnets are strong enough that they work even with this "sparse" support. The magnets work great on a solid sheet of metal, of course, like a hood of the car.



✔ I can hang the light by one or two hooks, providing me light either horizontally or vertically depending on the space I need to light. I have a long a narrow area behind the furnace where I every few months we need to change the filter, it is always a struggle to see what is happening because the furnace shades the overhead light and it is difficult to hold a flashlight while changing the filter. Now the problem is solved.



✔ The light can be rotated so the light provides the light to an area but not beam into my eyes.



✔ The light runs on a rechargeable battery, so when I use it I don't need to have it plugged in. (In fact the manufacture warns not to use the light while it is being charged).



✔ It has two modes low and high, both of modes are quite bright.



When I first opened it I wondered where the hooks are. Turns out they are hidden within the ends and can be either extended or retracted. The next puzzle was to find the port for charging, it is hidden on the end of the light and you need to rotate the hook to expose the opening. I show it in the video, as it is easier to show than describe. When the light is charging you red LED light is on, when the charging is done the red LED is turns off. The manufacture recommends not leaving the light charging continuously.



Overall, I am very pleased. Good amount of light and it can be mounted in many different ways.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★★

Product review: Koch Dimmable "Book" LED Lamp

Update: In about 1 months the book light stopped working. I am no longer able to charge it. Even if I charge it for 24 hours it does not turn on.



Original 4 star review follows. The rating has been changed to 1 star.



This is a neat looking light. I saw a similar looking product on Shark Tank but this one is made by a different company. When closed this light looks like a book, when opened it provides light with an option of having 4 different colors. The intensity of the light is not dimmable, but each color provides a different level of lighting. The white light is the brightest but it is still not bright enough to read under. I would classify this light as a night light or a mood light. In my video I show the light in various configurations. I also show the reading of the lux meter which measures the intensity of the light.



The lux meter right next to the light shows 519 lux.

The lux meter at 12 inches shows 49 lux.

For comparison a 60 watt light at 12" produces a reading of 1110 lux.



The light is charged with a regular micro USB cable. When it is charging the light next to the port is blue, when it is fully charged the light turns off.



After I fully charged the light, I turned it on timed how long it stayed on. The light stayed on for 12 hours. It took 5 hours to fully recharge it.



This is a fun novelty light and a good looking night light.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Durapower 500lm Rechargeable LED Work Light Bar Cordless

This work light exceeded my expectations. I did not fully understand how versatile it is until I began using it.



✔ I can hang the light horizontally using magnets on my HiLoft storage system. HiLoft shelves are a metal grid. The magnets are strong enough that they work even with this "sparse" support. The magnets work great on a solid sheet of metal, of course, like a hood of the car.



✔ I can hang the light by one or two hooks, providing me light either horizontally or vertically depending on the space I need to light. I have a long a narrow area behind the furnace where I every few months we need to change the filter, it is always a struggle to see what is happening because the furnace shades the overhead light and it is difficult to hold a flashlight while changing the filter. Now the problem is solved.



✔ The light can be rotated so the light provides the light to an area but not beam into my eyes.



✔ The light runs on a rechargeable battery, so when I use it I don't need to have it plugged in. (In fact the manufacture warns not to use the light while it is being charged).



✔ It has two modes low and high, both of modes are quite bright.



When I first opened it I wondered where the hooks are. Turns out they are hidden within the ends and can be either extended or retracted. The next puzzle was to find the port for charging, it is hidden on the end of the light and you need to rotate the hook to expose the opening. I show it in the video, as it is easier to show than describe. When the light is charging you red LED light is on, when the charging is done the red LED is turns off. The manufacture recommends not leaving the light charging continuously.



Overall, I am very pleased. Good amount of light and it can be mounted in many different ways.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★★

Product review: Wireless Motion Sensor Spotlight by Hallomall

I test each product I review for at least a couple of weeks before publishing a review. My opinion of this spotlight change after 10 dasy. Initially, I liked it because it is produces a good amount of light and I can aim it in many ways. However, in 10 days four "D" batteries ran out of juice. The spot light is motion activated and light sensitive so it only was turned on briefly every day. I have a similar spot light I purchased a few years ago and it goes on the same set of batteries for more than 6 months. Both spot lights were mounted near each other as I thought the new one might be a replacement for the old one. But I don't want to replace 4 "D" batteries once a week.



The light has waterproof rating of IP65, which means it can withstand rain but not submersion if water. It has all plastic construction.



The light produces a reasonable amount of light. The lux meter reading at a distance of 12 inches shows 220 lux. It produces good light but it is not as bright as a 60 fluorescent watt light. For comparison, a 60 watt fluorescent bulb at the same distance produces 1119 lux.



There are things about this spotlight that I like, but the battery life is a deal breaker.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆



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Bolse 6 Watt LED Light Bulb 450 Lumen, 45W Replacement

In this review I am comparing 450 Lumen Bolse 6 Watt LED light Bulb (Warm White 3000K), 450 Lumen Bolse 6 Watt LED light Bulb (White 6000K) and 60 watt Sylvania incandescent light. The Bolse bulbs are rated as 45Watt replacement and they surprised me by being brighter than I expected.



To help my comparison I am attaching a collage of 5 photos.



Photo #1 shows Bolse LED light next to 60 Watt Sylvania incandescent bulb. As you see not only the buld is standard E26/E27 but the size of the bulb is the same as an incandescent bulb. This means these bulbs will fit into all old fixtures without poking out.



Photo #2 shows Bolse White LED light in a two light fixture: the LED light is on the left and the incandescent light is on the right.



Photo #3 shows Bolse Warm White LED light in the same two light fixture: the LED light is on the left and the incandescent light is on the right.



The light from the Bolse warm white light was very similar to incandescent bulb light. The brightness of 450 Lumen led light was quite close to 60 Watt incandescent. The main noticeable difference is the difference in the direction of the light. As you see in the photos the top of the light fixture is dark when used with the LED light.



I received these two LED lights for testing and review (be it positive or negative) from the manufacture.



Overall, I liked the lights, however I ran into a defect in one the lens cover. As I was screwing in the light for the first time (holding it by the metal base) the plastic lens fell off from one of the bulbs. When looked inside of the lens I saw a plastic shard that came off one of the edges. I was able to put the lens back on, but it comes off I push on it again. The second bulb does not have this problem. Photo #5 shows the broken off piece and the edge, and photo #4 shows what the light looks like with the lens off.



I contacted the manufacture to find out if the 1 year warranty applies to the lens damage I encountered. I also wanted to know whether the consumer would need to return the bulb or if photographic evidence would be sufficient. LowerPriceUSA responded that the damage to the lens is covered by the 1 year warranty and that "Customers do not have to mail it back. The photo proof will work." This is a consumer friendly warranty and for that reason I am not docking the bulb any stars.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★★