Awesome led from Harbor Freight

[SAWYER]

I just picked this up for $20 on sale, normal price is $30. This thing has a magnetic base and can be bent 180 degrees and it swivels. It has a rechargeable battery as well and the base/handle feels really well made

 

[mindless1]

https://www.harborfreight.com/390-lumen-magnetic-slim-bar-folding-led-worklight-63958.html

Looks nice, I love the COB style lights for broad, yet close quarter even illumination.
I wonder about the charging and runtime specs though,

Input Rating 5VDC, 1A
Battery Li-ion 18650 type 3.7V, 2200mAh
Charge Time 4 hours

Do not charge for longer than 4 hours. Overcharging will cause overheating and shorten battery life.

This makes it look like it doesn't have a protected charge circuit. Maybe that warning is just wrong because that setup would be dangerous for a Li-Ion battery. Usually in such cases w/o charge termination they don't provide USB charging capability, instead use a wall wart with a fixed peak 4.2V output. Maybe that text is just a mistake, throwback to the NiCd charging era where anything that wasn't rapid charged was just resistive current limited.

It's doubly confounding that it's spec'd as 5V 1A yet if it takes that to get a charge in 4 hours, what's the strategy supposed to be if charging at 500mA?

Meh I'm a stickler for accurate specs and another that doesn't make sense is a claimed 11 hrs 39 mins runtime, can't be a standardized 390 lumen rating off a 2200mAh cell. They must mean till it's barely lit or (hopefully) an over-discharge protection circuit cuts out the battery.

On the other hand, VALUE! I paid about $20 (at the time) for my Big Larry COB light and that didn't include batteries. It gets a similar 400lm from 2000mAh cells for about 4 hours so I'd expect apples:apples, that HF light runs around 4.5hr at equivalent good brightness.

Can the battery be swapped out quickly? That's one of the reasons I chose a Big Larry, that I didn't want to have to wait for cells to recharge, can just swap in already charged AA cells and keep working. If it can have the 18650 cell swapped then it meets that. Then again I use an AC powered LED shop light when I can, mostly the Big Larry for tight spots.

 

[SAWYER]

The end cap screws off to get to the battery

 

[lxskllr]

https://www.harborfreight.com/390-lumen-magnetic-slim-bar-folding-led-worklight-63958.html

Looks nice, I love the COB style lights for broad, yet close quarter even illumination.
I wonder about the charging and runtime specs though,


This makes it look like it doesn't have a protected charge circuit. Maybe that warning is just wrong because that setup would be dangerous for a Li-Ion battery. Usually in such cases w/o charge termination they don't provide USB charging capability, instead use a wall wart with a fixed peak 4.2V output. Maybe that text is just a mistake, throwback to the NiCd charging era where anything that wasn't rapid charged was just resistive current limited.

It's doubly confounding that it's spec'd as 5V 1A yet if it takes that to get a charge in 4 hours, what's the strategy supposed to be if charging at 500mA?

Meh I'm a stickler for accurate specs and another that doesn't make sense is a claimed 11 hrs 39 mins runtime, can't be a standardized 390 lumen rating off a 2200mAh cell. They must mean till it's barely lit or (hopefully) an over-discharge protection circuit cuts out the battery.

On the other hand, VALUE! I paid about $20 (at the time) for my Big Larry COB light and that didn't include batteries. It gets a similar 400lm from 2000mAh cells for about 4 hours so I'd expect apples:apples, that HF light runs around 4.5hr at equivalent good brightness.

Can the battery be swapped out quickly? That's one of the reasons I chose a Big Larry, that I didn't want to have to wait for cells to recharge, can just swap in already charged AA cells and keep working. If it can have the 18650 cell swapped then it meets that. Then again I use an AC powered LED shop light when I can, mostly the Big Larry for tight spots.

You're overthinking Chinese junk. I'm happy when it simply works :^D

Not to crap on OP's purchase. I like HF for what it is. Everything's Chinese, and at least HF's honest about it. I'm not paying extra for an American logo on a Chinese product. I use their jump boxes to power my gear at work. No issues, and the price is right.

 

[SAWYER]

Yeah you have to appreciate HF for what it is, dont go in expecting to get the best quality but they do have some cheap, good stuff. I will see if this light holds up but for 20 bucks I think it will be alright.. I went in to get some of those light switch style led lights but they were sold out. those are great in my enclosed trailer. HF sells them for 3.99
edit:
They are Nebo on amaozn
https://www.amazon.com/6523-Flipit-...=UTF8&qid=1514839873&sr=8-3&keywords=nebo+led

These work great and are very bright, I was curious to see how the HF version holds up, the price is certainly right
https://www.harborfreight.com/200-lumen-led-super-bright-flip-light-63922.html

 

[mindless1]

You're overthinking Chinese junk. I'm happy when it simply works :^D

Oh I have generic chinese junk lights (which I'd consider a step below this HF light), some of which work reasonably for their price, but the charging and discharging circuits in particular concern me when a Li-Ion cell is involved.

Let's just say I wouldn't store one in my car or further into my home than a metal shelf in the garage, until I KNOW what charge and discharge states the cells face.

Brightness and runtime different than claimed, I can live with because math... so long as at least some of the specs are in the ballpark. A 2200mAh 18650 cell is believable, as is 390 lumens (@ reasonable cell charge level) for that size COB.

 

[96Firebird]

Hmm, I might get this since it uses an 18650 battery. I have some 3400mAh 18650s that I can swap in if I need more runtime, and I don't have to use the included charger.

Reviews seem decent.