Another cheap eBay LED floodlight. Is it really going to be 50W?

[@mushroomsamba82]

I picture Clive's house bathed in a glow of warm white LEDs inside and out.

[@tin2001]

All powered by pink USB chargers.

[@redpheonix1000]

@@tin2001 From China

[@arduinoversusevil2025]

You beautiful manxome bastard! Starting to see these everywhere; was curious. Disposable outdoor-ish fixtures? Don't tell my insurance broker.

[@JuanHerrero]

Hi.

[@slamdvw]

Or a cheap waterproof ( resistant ) enclosure with a glass cover..

[@siayourcannaguy6106]

AvE Do more snoeboarding videos.

[@frogz]

Hey man, I've been riding in Chicago snow on a bike every day, I can sympathize completely, today the snow was slush and will freeze solid by night

[@Kc12v140]

These housings are at least useful to mod in some better components. Can't beat all the kit it has for 10 bucks.

[@mickward01]

Bigclive better than broadcast TV

[@KrotowX]

Indeed.

[@lostjohnny9000]

I was working Saturdays at Maplin around 1998 and someone brought in a beautiful antique bronze table lamp that required a bulb. The owner said they just had it rewired but I pointed out there was only two-core flex attached. The owner said it did have an earth lead but she didn't want to bring it along. When I asked why she said it was tangled in the roots of her Yukka's plant pot.

[@Blox117]

so she thought 'earth' meant she could put it in her flower pot? lol

[@Alexander_l322]

@@Blox117 I think you're just supposed to laugh

[@Blox117]

@@Alexander_l322 LOL HAHAHAAHAHA!

[@ChrisColeman1962]

Just ordered one, took forever to find the buyer you bought from !! Can't wait to have a play with it, first I will connect the earth, never commented on any of your posts, but been watching you for ages now, I love your channel !

[@benbaselet2026]

The driver helpfully labels the output cable colors even, Brown for the negative and Brue for the positive, as one does. Also their basic physics is faultless quality with 36 V times 0,6 A equalling not 21,6 but 50 W because hey, everyone likes to save energy, right?

[@heronimousbrapson863]

Brue??

[@terryendicott2939]

@@heronimousbrapson863 - It is a common color like geen and wellow.

[@Clearwater420]

Can I ask curious question , how is it this video was posted 10 to 30 mins ago how did you comment 3 DAYS before the upload ? Just confused lol

[@stellar3327]

Those colors are standard for some countries

[@Mark1024MAK]

Jesse LeBlanc - Clive uses a time machine called the TARDIS...

[@beware_the_moose]

It's 50W PMPO

[@amitabhsrivastava1255]

Underrated comment

[@Cheese_1337]

hahaha

[@benbaselet2026]

I do believe that would be in the 500 to 5000 watt range

[@bluerizlagirl]

Yeah, like the "65 litre" rucksack I bought from a now closed-down camping shop, that was about 35 litres RMS .....

[@BH4x0r]

I have the 50W and 100W version of these exact chips, they were like €5 on Banggood they also light up perfectly like that when you crank the voltage up to overcome the forward voltage, really happy with them and whichever manufacturer it actually is, seems reliable

[@bluephreakr]

To answer your question Clive, because if they see you grounded it, they know you messed with it! Also, see if Thermal Grizzly's new graphite pads can make for a suitable substitute for the zinc oxide grease. Just for giggles. It's mess-free, won't ever wash off in wet conditions (hopefully) and comes in a couple sizes; I imagine one large enough to cover the space.

[@lasersbee]

13:43.... Finally Clive.... We've all been screaming at the screen pointing to that ground stud since 6:00

[@kc8wzm]

I think the thing I like about your channel is that you do take things apart.

[@kennedy67951]

Very nice video. I do appreciate your time in doing all the video's you do. I know you make money doing this. But, without people like yourself, we all would be on our on when it comes to buying the good, verses the crap. You have helped me a lot. Saved me time and money. Again, thank you.

[@geoffreygorgonzola248]

Thank god KZbin recommended does right every now and then, your channel is a gold mine

[@csours]

14:00 Yeah that hole is ready for a screw...

[@xIntoThePitx]

Giggity

[@JamesLewis]

12:28 Lets whip it out...

[@bluerizlagirl]

I'm not sure it would be able to take a very long one, though.

[@JamesLewis]

@@bluerizlagirl Never mind the length, feel the gEarth.

[@Soooperspeed]

love the way at 10:57 the LED driver output says (BROWN) and (BRUE)

[@theotherwalt]

...and they have red and bwack hooked up to it.

[@Soooperspeed]

@@theotherwalt maybe they spwelt it right and we are wrlong

[@mikecowen6507]

@@Soooperspeed You no Wong! He Wong!

[@Soooperspeed]

@@mikecowen6507 ha ha ha ... my wowwy my really wowwy ... lol

[@rogersmith9808]

@@mikecowen6507 In the words of the late, great Louie Anderson: "Yew been hee sree owwa... yew eat too much... yew go home now"!!! 😁

[@slpk]

"The first thing we should do is test" That's how I can tell I'm not watching AvE

[@TheBodgybrothers]

And the fact there is a substantially lower use of puns and made-up words.

[@djstringsmusic2994]

Well ave was here watching with the rest of us. Lol

[@samueljames9342]

They saved 1/100th of a cent by not earthing that wire.

[@bob_._.]

Hey, it adds up.

[@FusionDeveloper]

Yeah, a screw or solder or even silicone/glue, anything to hold it in place better than something that could be shaken off the casing.

[@jmsterdam]

And now they will loose many times 10 dollar because these viewers will never buy one...

[@nbtmx1]

The earth wire is meant to be attached to a left hand thread

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Clive it looks like that driver is rated at 50 watts, on the closeup you can read output 50 Watts. Keep up the great work!

[@andycarter5617]

The Cliff quick test.. I think way back when I was at school they had one in the physics lab, and I’ve always liked the idea. I wanted to buy one recently until I saw the price, so instead I now have a piece of flex with three Wago 222 connectors on it. I call it the poor man’s quick test.

[@theskett]

I just treated myself to some of the "3 in, 3 out" SPL-3 fake Wagos, as reviewed by Big Clive recently and available here: www.aliexpress.com/item/33013965974.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1f6a4c4dKnpnwR One tenth the cost of the Quick Test, and / or 10x for the same price :-) Am now wondering whether to color-code the levers...

[@alasdair4161]

Aha.. My Chinesium energy algorithm worked a treat again.. simply take the number they state, divide by two and then take a little more off for good measure... It's surprisingly accurate.. sadly

[@jcmilleker5449]

We bought a couple of these in 80w UV for darkroom work. Same exact build, larger unit and It had an array of surface mount LED's on a panel. Price was $85US. They don't even seem close, but they work.

[@tasmedic]

"why on EARTH have they just not done it?" Oh dear, what a groan! Clive at his best!

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

I have 6 sets of Ebay floors. Four 150 watt and two 300 watt. What got me started was my portable work flood lights kept blowing quartz halogen bulbs. After a while that gets a little expensive. Plus I was tired burning my hands on them by trying to grab for the handle and missing. So I replaced the actual heads with two 150 watt LED floods. They're a little less bright but not for medically. No complaints. I bought two more 150 watt floods because they are better then the dedicated photography CFLs. I use daylight equivalent photography lights. 150 s were just a little bit brighter than the cfl's I had but still not as bright as I wanted. So I have my game in order to 300 watt flood lights. Okay now we're going. Believe it or not if you take a 300 watt in this case flood light imported into a reflective umbrella oh, you get a nice smooth light. No hotspots no Shadows. I have two umbrella for selector set up with the 300 watt floods. I use the to 150 watt floods for fill light. On the ceiling I have to 100 watt lights in the normal ceiling fixture. when everything is turned on the room doesn't get too hot and I get great pictures without a flash. I prefer the floods to a flash or slave flashes because you don't get the problem with red eye or people blinking. I've been very satisfied with my eBay flood lights. They were fairly inexpensive and they work I can't ask for more

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

@14:06, "Why on earth have they just not done that?" Why on earth--indeed! Thank you for all the really great vids, Big Clive.

[@bradreee7290]

I have one of those Wera kits and it makes life so much better not having to carry 6 individual insulated screwdrivers!

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Thanks Clive. Always good to have a look inside devices.

[@licensetodrive9930]

I really like how you end your videos - it's the same as when people in tv shows & films end conversations when talking on the phone, no "goodbye", they just stop talking :)

[@luppa79]

that reflector seems to be almost shorting the leads powering the LED out, when it's screwed in place... I hope there is something insulating on the other side.

[@justbearwithit1642]

Clive, I finally figured out why they rate them 50 watts and they're only 20. The power factor of .56 makes them look to be drawing ~50 watts to the power company! 🤣

[@andrewwilson6240]

And to the customer's meter!

[@Lazmanarus]

Power factor isn't an issue for the domestic market, we are only charged for the true power (in this case 20w). Industrial market does get charged for apparent power, most industrial use is for things like electric motors which would be inductive loads that would give you a lagging pf, a capacitive dropper would be a leading pf, therefore it would compensate somewhat for the lagging pf of the inductive loads. When I was a colliery electrician, we had sodding great big capacitors in our sub-station that we'd have to switch in or out to compensate for the highly inductive loads from our transformers & electric motors.

[@steverpcb]

The popular name for the Cliff Quick test and clones is a LEN box as that's what it says when the lid is open :)

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Steve Perry But that's what it says in most single phase connection stuff.

[@theelmonk]

I think mine predates the Cliff version. It's called a safeblock.

[@why_do_you_want_to_know]

LEN = Line Earth Neutral ... the order of the connections, not the name of the item/manufacturer.

[@william_2610]

I'd definitely imagine the flip chip LEDs make it easier for cheapo manufacturers to do a decent job. The ones with bond wires from quality manufacturers are extremely reliable, but the crappy ones are, well, crappy. When you're doing that many bond wires on such a low cost product something's going to give

[@calibby]

I must say... I always think to myself when you plug that UK wall adapter in the HOPI... wow I'm glad we have the simple plugs we have in the US. Having grown up and living in Pre-War (do with that what you will) apartments and homes in Chicago, I learned at a young age that clipping the ground prong off is just what you gotta do for a lot of electronics. I appreciate that your ground/earth is absolutely required... but oooofff what a headache

[@IncertusetNescio]

If you have any search terms for finding the new flip-chip LED COBs instead of the normal bond wire based ones I'd love to know them...or a seller that explicitly sells them. Had no luck guessing so far. As for the writing on the COB, the 5 or 2 as you mentioned is probably the 10's of watts, the B I have no idea, and the 10C is probably ten chips in series.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I was hoping there was going to be a magic keyword, but there isn't yet. The main seller of these on eBay seems to be:- www.ebay.com/usr/cici-led-lighting Who have them in amongst their other listings. Hopefully they will ship the new flip chip type and not the old bond wire type.

[@IncertusetNescio]

@@bigclivedotcom From some searching I have done since then (with the aid of some helpfully high-res photos) the ones that appear to be the flip-chip type are the square COB with the raised center and dam around the phosphor as opposed to the square-ish sunken-center ones w/tabs. Have yet to see bond wires on the former, almost always on the latter (if high enough res to see). The former also alludes to no bond wire with the spacing and placement combination (on some) as the wire ones are always in a straight line packed close together. So far just detective work with guessing until you or someone disassembles one of the square boards. You buy one from your seller to take apart, or plan to take some phosphor off the one in the vid?

[@bigclivedotcom]

@@IncertusetNescio Some just arrived today.

[@Tore_Lund]

AH! it's 50W of reactive power with that poor power factor. Clever Chinese.

[@christopherhauck4702]

ohh yes that's how they rate them and get away with it

[@pavelbires]

VA*

[@hommie789]

I thought you were going to take the driver apart also to see what that had. Oh well still good video to see the new technology.

[@jeffflowers5489]

I don't know if it still goes on, but in the USA some packaging wouldn't lead with the real power draw but what the equivalent incandescent bulb's wattage would be.

[@JasperJanssen]

A 20W led is more like a 200W incandescent than 50.

[@uzlonewolf]

@@JasperJanssen That's just them under promising and over delivering ;)

[@jpdemer5]

Handy when you're buying the things - people know how much light to expect from a 60W ro 100W incandescent, but few consumers know what to expect from a 7.5W LED (and in fact it can vary from brand to brand.) Eventually - decades from now - consumers might shop for a particular number of lumens. But for now, "equivalent to a 60W incandescent" is what the buyers want to see.

[@YGBHawk]

Please do the UV version of this light!

[@jonsnell4751]

I still use my RS Components Safebloc. Very similar to your quick connector and it states "Made in England".

[@jrsc01.]

need to watch this again, fell asleep listening to Clive last night taking about this...

[@tomschmidt381]

I've just begun watching the video, my money is it will be no where near 50W. We will see if I'm proved wrong. Posting at the 1:11 minute mark. :) Several years ago I redid a bunch of our outside lights with 12V 10W eBay floodlights. Actual DC power was closer to 8W. Several of the LED modules failed over time. As Clive reported broken bond wires, they tend to flicker when first turned on. Replaced then with better LED modules and been working fine for several years.

[@evilutionltd]

Uk supplier my bum. These Chinese companies really piss me off doing this. Claiming to be Uk based but usually either send directly from China or send the item from China to a Uk reseller who then forward it on which takes longer. The Uk part of the supplier might keep a few things in stock but my luck usually involves an excessive wait. I’m really impatient and have been spoiled by Amazon Prime delivery so I purposely don’t buy from Chinese suppliers for most things yet they still manage to screw me over. As for the shitty ratings for Chinese products, on LED lights, they claim it’s the same output as a similarly rated halogen light. More bullshit arse covering.

[@stepheneyles2198]

That practice also really annoys me. If I'm suspicious about their claim, I usually add the comment to my order warning them: "If this item is being sent from CHINA I will give NEUTRAL or NEGATIVE feedback" - on one occasion I had a seller say that "we've no more stock", probably realised what's going on. Another annoying thing; eBay doesn't have a complaint channel for such mis-located items - they seem to thrive on it and don't care as they've got your money long before you can do a n y t h i n g about it...

[@evilutionltd]

@@stepheneyles2198 I was lucky with 1 expensive item I bought. The seller claimed it was UK stock but then was sent from China. However, when it arrived, it wasn't correct so I raised a complaint. eBay gave me a full refund and said that I didn't need to return the item because I shouldn't be expected to send to China if the item should have been sent from the UK. The seller was livid and sent me a PayPal request every week for months.

[@natejgee]

I find that the delivery ETA speaks volumes. A month for delivery from a UK seller is usually indicative of such a practise. I might start doing what Stephen does.

[@two_tier_gary_rumain]

I bought a bunch of these lights at auction off eBay last year. There were at least 6 vendors in similar locations (with similar names that lead me believe that they were really all the same). I started following them and was checking every other day for new items. They were both selling and auctioning items and were listing items as either from China or supplied locally. I was bidding on the auction items that claimed to be local. The prices were a lot higher but I soon worked out that not all auction items were selling well. So I'd drop out of an auction if the price got higher than the limit I estimated and look for a new one to bid on. It was only the first auction I'd won where I paid more than I thought it was worth. All the others were more reasonable once I worked out how best to go about dealing with these auctions. So it took a while to get all the lights I wanted. All the lights arrived within 2 or 3 days. Which implied that they were being delivered from local warehouses. Unfortunately, there was nothing on the boxes to indicate much of anything. As near as I could work out, the local warehouses are used to supply larger items that are more expensive to ship or popular items that can be shipped faster locally. Small, cheap items are invariably shipped from China ("Small packet by air" via China Post) because it's dirt cheap. There are also the shonks that ship via Laos, Malaysia, Singapore etc. but I've learnt to avoid those because of the lengthy shipping times.

[@cup_and_cone]

@@natejgee - You are dead right. People should go by the estimated delivery dates, order by that, and hold sellers accountable to those dates. Even "domestic" sellers are usually Chinese sellers using a third-party domestic fulfilment center that they send product to and have mailed to buyers on their behalf. At the end of the day, it's all made in the Far East, so I do not necessarily see an advantage where it comes from as long as the delivery date is what's promised.

[@nathanhoward6472]

I sure miss the days when we could watch videos from you that involved things like flames shooting out of Barbie’s bottom.

[@johnhutchinson5398]

Thanks for getting back to me in such a quick response. This info helps 100 %. Thanks

[@PSUQDPICHQIEIWC]

It might as well not be 50W, because I doubt that you could maintain 80-85C substrate temperature at 50W with that case unless Ta is reliably frigid. To put this in perspective, the bonded-fin sinks I use for base-down passive operation have a base area of about 125x250mm, with 24 50mm tall fins. That's marginal for 60W at 50-55C. Vertical orientation helps a lot, but with dinky cast fins, it doesn't mean much.

[@Blox117]

i have one and after 8 hours its still cool enough to touch

[@PSUQDPICHQIEIWC]

Forgive me for being doubtful, but "the heat sink is cool" tends to wind up being an indicator that input power is lower than expected or there's a significant thermal resistance between the heat source and the sink itself. For example, the latter is why cheap fake SSR's tend to run surprisingly cool. In this specific case though, I'm assuming that yours is also operating at 20W and that "cool enough to touch" is approximately the same as saying "not too hot to touch". That's plausible. If those assumptions are wrong and it's actually dissipating 50W with e.g. 30C temp rise in still air, then I'm going to revert to being doubtful.

[@Blox117]

@@PSUQDPICHQIEIWC indeed mine was also not at the advertised 50 watts, for which I will forever be irritated. its closer to 30 watts measured. by cool enough to touch, I do in fact mean you can put your hand on it without getting burned, but it still feels significantly hot. but I was curious on why you seem to think that this heatsink, which is basically a large chunk of aluminum, couldnt support a 50 watt LED? especially since LEDs and their power supply are not 100% inefficient there will always be less than 50 watts of heat generated. have you experience in using these LED chassis and heat dissipation was too low? I know that CPUs consume much more power than these LEDs but have no trouble getting rid of heat. that could be due to the radiator type cpu coolers though.

[@PSUQDPICHQIEIWC]

My assertion is just intuition based on my perception of its size and the assumption that substrate temperature should be kept below about 80-85C at some specified Ta at or above 50C. I don't have one and have not made measurements or in-depth calculations for one. I usually make the approximate assumption that Pthermal=Pelectrical*0.8 for calculations. I'm neglecting the losses in the driver, but since it's mounted to the same sink, that doesn't exactly counter my doubt. The description of the heat sinks I use at 60W was given for the sake of geometric comparison. Those have much more cooling area and are still marginal in their application. Your latter point is a good case for demonstration. While CPU and LED cooling are both more challenging than say a simple transistor due to their lower allowable junction temperatures, CPU cooling is a lot less of a challenge than LED cooling for a couple reasons. First, clean air means you have the advantage of being able to use forced-air cooling which is a huge advantage. Second, the ambient air temperature is going to be somewhere in the ballpark of 30C. While it's certainly possible to find a lighting application where Ta is constrained and fans are allowable, they are often not (specifically in my usage they aren't). In bay lighting applications, Ta can be above 60-65C, and inacessibility or insects or moisture may make fans a liability. Surface area aside, the simple change from forced to natural convection tends to mean that the heat sink will become less "dense" -- that is to say that it will have fewer, larger fins with more space between them. Also, spreading the heat from a point load limits the benefit of an arbitrarily large passive sink. This is all made worse by the fact that natural convection benefits from having a large temperature difference between Tambient and Tsink -- something which is often unaffordable if Tsink has to stay relatively low. You can dump 60W into a CPU cooler that fits in the palm of your hand, but a passive sink that's able to match the same base temperature at that power input will be huge. Disregarding orientation, contact area, and temperature rise for a moment, consider the admittedly strained comparison of nominal figures: A 120mm single-fan cpu cooler with nominal 0.1 K/W thermal resistance: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835214064 This 430mm wide, 33mm tall extrusion profile with a 360mm length with natural convection would still have more than twice the thermal resistance (~0.23 K/W). That's a 17" x 1.3" x 14" heat sink. Given that this data assumes uniform heating and a 75C temp rise, that's optimistic! www.shopaavid.com/Product/63340-full Yes, I have a feeling that I'm far more conservative than most about keeping Tj within SOA at all times, and I accept that an individual can choose to accept any other range of operating points for their applications. Still, for risks to be accepted, they must first be acknowledged. Sorry for the giant reply.

[@jamesrogers4674]

I use these for drywall finishing. They work good for the application.

[@BOXTERS32]

Hi Clive i have just ordered a couple of the "higher qulity" led 5b10c..i have had poor results with the crappy early design cobs ..only lasting a few months at best, and only intermittant pir use..so not many real time hours at all..im getting fed up with having to get the ladders out and having to change the cobs..we will see if they have improved at all..going on what you have descovered with this type of cob .. we shal see if there is an improvement at all..time will tell.. cheers for the heads up on this type and sharing the info.

[@darrinswanson]

Hahaha the power supply has the wire colors as brown and brue. Thumbs up for the excellent Engrish!

[@jimmylove7760]

Watching this waiting for 3x 50w RGB with same casing to arrive. I will defo do a quick disection and check em inside. Couldnt resist as they where 12 € each.

[@cypeman8037]

They terminated the earth cable with a connector but couldn’t be bothered with a halfpenny screw. 😂😂😂

[@bigclivedotcom]

The drivers come with the flex pre-attached and that crimp on the earth wire.

[@cypeman8037]

@@bigclivedotcom Ah, I bought two of the smaller ones you reviewed a while ago, I have one under my car port, one in my wood store. Neither had the earth wire connected as you pointed out, so some new cable and a simple connector to the post that holds the bacofoil reflector cured that. Been working via a PIR , although not hard, for quite a while.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Very nice light Big Clive

[@JohnAudioTech]

The tiny rectangular LED chips they use in those COBs look to be no more than 100ma, so they are driving the heck out of them at their stated power rating.

[@TinkerLynx]

They are running them at 100ma? 600ma input 6 strings of 10 diodes.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Blake Thomas It's 5 strings of 10. 50 LEDs, each driven around half a Watt but advertised as 1 W each.

[@TinkerLynx]

@@johnfrancisdoe1563 Seams I miss herd. So ya 120ma each. The case says 50w, but they used a 20w driver, likely because the case isn't a good enough heatsink for 50w I have some 70w driver driver-less units (60hz here so the flicker isn't bad) and I've bean using forced air cooling.

[@Mindziuzu]

I bought similar ones a couple years back. Yeah the voltage ain’t true and stuff, but it’s cheap and works fine, a lot of light and has been working fine for a couple of years.

[@adamdnewman]

Always enjoy a Entertaining Clive video

[@Psi105]

Both my Yuji 50W leds died from the same gold bond wires burning up. I was running them at 50W. Next ones i get i think i'll run them at 40W.

[@michaeldodge7556]

Clive I have zero interest in these lights.....BUT....I still find your videos so dam entertaining.

[@olsmokey]

Hey Clive I reckon these lamps may as well do without the reflectors. They really don't add much to the spread of light.

[@SlyPearTree]

I suspect speed of the assembly line might be the reason the ground is not connected, that and poor or nonexistant QC. Those things are cheap for a reason.

[@puckcat22679]

Most small appliances in China aren't grounded, either. The standard wall outlet is a 2-pin socket. So they're probably not used to screwing that on for their own stuff

[@mikecowen6507]

@@puckcat22679 They seem to be screwing off for our stuff...

[@amojak]

saw an 80W cree one advertised the other day. it's specs say it draws 275ma at 12V :D :D

[@TheBlaert]

These things are horrible. Best thing is to get one and replace it with a decent-ish chip and seal the bugger up well. On another note there are proper 50w floodlights on ebay for £30 or so. Made by Luceco, possibly even made in the UK (can't remember and it's 40ft up a pole at the minute) Had it a year, switched on every night all night and no issues thus far

[@keithjackson1180]

I would think that the little post looking thing near where the wires come in would be tapped to attach the earth ground wire.

[@JasperJanssen]

If you’d watched the whole video... it is.

[@mikecowen6507]

@@JasperJanssen Blasphemy! Watch an *entire* video before commenting? Never! Somebody else might post "first", first.

[@keithjackson1180]

@@JasperJanssen I thought that I did. Must have stopped alittle early.

[@paulmedland6697]

9 times out of 10 if its from China you can be pretty sure its cheap nasty and sometimes dangerous crap. There is the exceptionally odd decent piece of kit but they are few and far between. Sadly the only way to cull out the dross is to tear it down and take a look at the guts of the item. All I can say is thank god for people like yourself Clive who know what they are doing and help to keep the less knowledgeable of us on the right track and away from harm. Much appreciate everyone of your videos Clive keep em coming. :-).

[@MRMIdAS2k]

Given what I've seen on this channel, the fact it's grounded amazed me.

[@MRMIdAS2k]

or not, you've just hacked it open.

[@jr5234]

I bought one of these and after several hours of use the inside of the glass appeared to have condensation on it. It wasn't water; I think it might have been silicone oil? Not sure what exactly it was coming from. Might have been the potting silicone in the COB. Strange but it only happened once, I guess it evaporated after the first day.

[@Kc12v140]

I'd be willing to bet it's off gassing of some residual oils and plastics mixed into the pot metal housing. Those things are made from the cheapest scrap they can throw in a furnace.

[@caseysmith2445]

11:25 you can see the + output of the driver says Brue and the - side says Brown. That whole driver box seems odd.

[@jaapaap123]

Your vids are zen for techs.

[@scottmarshall6766]

I wonder if they have problems with leakage current from the LED - or a leakage fault in the driver? Maybe that's why they don't ground the frames? Could just be Chinese piece work, faster to not connect and saves a screw also - for every 8 (or so) lights they get a free set of screws.

[@mikecowen6507]

For every screw they save, we get one!

[@SuperBoobaloo]

Clive: Would you consider reviewing a name-brand floodlight? The Osram ones (LEDVANCE) seem to be really good value.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

An additional question in my mind with this kind of product is whether the driver (or other power converter in other types of products) produces a lot of RF noise. (I'm a radio amateur and have experienced LED and CFL replacements for incandescent bulbs that just wipe out reception.) I'm not suggesting a laboratory grade measurement, but an AM radio tuned to a weak station, or better, a short wave receiver listening to foreign broadcast or time service, say from Germany, could sit nearby when the LED or other product is switched on, to see if it makes a significant impact on radio noise. Just a thought. And thanks for the video.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Almost all the switch mode drivers create a lot of RF noise. The quietest drivers are probably the simple current regulation or capacitive dropper types.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

@@bigclivedotcom Though it is possible to keep the bulk of switching mode noise "inside", though this requires shielding, reactances, and careful board/wiring layout, which I expect is rare in Chinese source boxes. Still, in the states, we've had things like fining retailers carrying particularly bad devices, persuading them to push back on their suppliers, so some stuff comes thru that is fairly well designed.

[@arfyness]

What are the distinguishing features of these "flip chips" you're talking about?

[@adrongarretson6195]

When pulling a wire back like that if you take a lighter and warm the sheets up a little bit you can pull it back it'll be much more pliable and it won't be so strenuous on the cable

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Adron Garretson But the heat will stress the PCB to be tested. Cable is more expendable in case of failure.

[@mikecowen6507]

@@johnfrancisdoe1563 And pulling directly against the solder pads *doesn't* stress anything??

[@Blox117]

instructions unclear, foreskin now damaged

[@Blox117]

@@mikecowen6507 lol, but try reading Adron's comment with a dirty mind :)

[@mikecowen6507]

@@Blox117 Who says I didn't get it? I just didn't want it to turn into a Harlequin romance. 😈

[@markstock3510]

10:40 Brown and Brue output wiring.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

Brue?

[@fidelcatsro6948]

as in Bruce Lee

[@weeardguy]

Haha, darn, this is even an expensive and 'fancy' version of such a floodlight. I bought 8 defective ones (different build-quality and different defects as well) for a bargain. 3 of them were like the ones you have Clive. BUT, the front is not glass, but plastic. There is no driver inside, but one of those driverless LEDchips, which has failed in all of them. In the first I opened, it's because the LED just isn't even mounted flush to the case: there is about 2 millimeters between LED and case, as the screws were too long to push the LED down. The others suffer from too much or no heat-sinking compound. It says 50 Watt on the housing. I ordered a 25 and 50 Watt white LED. With the 50 Watt LED properly mounted with compound and the right screws and underrunning it at 40 Watt from a MeanWell driver, I quickly aborted a testrun as the yellow surface of the LED quickly reached 85 degrees and was steadily climbing... The case was not too warm to touch... The bracket to mount the thing is just soo flimsy one would not even want to mount it with a driver inside, as it will likely fold under the weight.

[@jeremyturner2873]

The driver output is labelled "Brown-" and "Brue+" but the wires are red and black, and opposite polarity. Quality. I wonder if the live and neutral are backwards as well?

[@chrisroberts2266]

Is that a Wera VDE Kit is see? I don’t understand why such a professional company sells the horrible death screwdrivers. I have a question. Do you have any opinion or suggestions on square vs hex ferrule crimping? I’m about to buy some new Rennsteig tools

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Chris Roberts There seems to be a campaign bad mouthing all polarity testers with screwdriver. They are extremely useful if you know what you are doing. But sure, there are lots of old and new stories about idiots using polarity testers wrong, I recall one being at least 40 years ago.

[@kriskroski9664]

"Where is the earth?" *looks to the floor* "I've spotted the earth!"

[@reddragon27284]

Lidl are selling one for £12 that is 25w and has a PIR. It looks like tearing it down would be a one way journey and I need to use the one I have but if it ever dies (outside of its 3 year warranty) I will take it apart or send it in...

[@pavlitt355]

This is almost identical to a unit I bought about 5yrs ago. Why don't they earth? Because it saves them time to manufacture and trading standards is dead in the UK. Jobs to do when buying one of these: 1) Put decent amount of thermal compound on back of LED module (not too much but just enough to squeeze out the sides), 2) Connect the earth, 3) Replace outer bolts and any other shiny outer metal fixings with stainless steel equivalents, 4) Apply thin layer of silicone grease where glass gasket (hopefully) is. As good as new.

[@StarmanDX]

Do you ever return items or report misleading items on eBay? I know returning it probably isn't worth the time and hassle if it's so cheap but I'm curious

[@ManWithBeard1990]

Honestly I was expecting it to be 10 watts like most of them are. So 20ish is a nice surprise. I reckon the housing could take 50 watts though, if it's as big as it looks from here. Since not all of that is going to be converted into heat.

[@matthewmiller4597]

I’ve just exchanged a faulty 50w with built in PIR that has black spots on the cob, I can send it to you, it might make an interesting tear down

[@davidcoghill8612]

I think the earth wire is left unconnected, because the people assembling these are paid per light, saving a few seconds is worth it for them if the product is getting out of the door.

[@ahettinger525]

Cliff really should sponsor you.

[@weerobot]

HOPI with the Back to The Future Computer Display...lol....Is Cool...

[@hrnekbezucha]

I'll be setting up a new bench soon and I'd like this kind of flood lights, is there a way to tell whether they're with the smoothed drivers or not? Because the listings never mention it

[@stanleydenning]

Big Clive: I have a question.. The driver says on it " Input, AC - 85 to 265 Volts " I'm in the U.S. and as you know, we use a puny 120 VAC. But what country would use AC voltage as low as 85 VAC ? Even at 120, a voltage drop of 35 volts is unheard of. How well would that driver work at, say, 90 VAC ?

[@puckcat22679]

Japan uses 100v, they're allowing for +/- 10% and then hedging a bit. Makes it a universal power supply.

[@jrmbayne]

Remember US power companies supply ~120vac, at 60hz. The Hertz they guarantee, the voltage will vary, depending on peak usage/ time of day. I assume it's the same worldwide, voltage fluctuations with constant Hertz supplied

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

William Schrimsher US used to be 110V, twice the 55V for an old arc lamp. Back then Europe was 220V and UK 240V. Then Europe compromised on 230V, and someone wanting consistency redefined the 110V countries as 115V. Not sure when they crawled to 120V.

[@martinpickard6043]

Some remote rural 110/115v farm users using these on a long cable extension may be around 100v give or take depending on time of day. Works both ways... I live rural in UK but often read 248/250v on my evening 230v rated supply! Electronic drivers correctly designed can cope with these large voltage variances, but efficency/losses will measure best at just just below rated power output in middle of volt range!

[@jrmbayne]

@@johnfrancisdoe1563 115/120 *peak Though I often see 124v on one leg of three phase systems

[@sdavies45]

Is one of your bench lights flickering Clive? I can see it in the reflector of the 50 watt flood at about 5:30.

[@BH4x0r]

I honestly think its a normal incandescent or TL tube in his room, or a halogen

[@sdavies45]

@@BH4x0r It could be, but is it that that is causing the flicker?

[@BH4x0r]

@@sdavies45 pretty sure as the reflection seems or looks to be coming from behind him, and it seems much less bright and a different color tone as the floodlights not only that but because he has lots of light at his bench his camera will compensate by setting the ISO as low as possible and the shutter speed much faster it's mainly the fast shutter speed giving that effect, especially with older types of lighting it's very obvious

[@RK-kn1ud]

No comments mentioning the "Brue" wire color code on the LED driver (10:48)...I am disappointed.

[@kardeef33317]

The letters could denote the color or wave length of the light it produces.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I checked. Both cold white and warm white had the same number.

[@zh84]

"B" standing for "Brue", of course. :-)

[@jimmystardawg1506]

Can you review some led grow lights

[@ThebigFlanc]

Great idea

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

MobileMaster Gaming They are finally good enough. I’m using them in my California grow tent.

[@Andersss]

There are channels, yes, but they don't seem anywhere near as trustworthy as Clive. Do you have any recommendations?

[@Kalanchoe1]

I can say that I have been using the cob leds with built-in drivers at 120vac chips and they have +700 hours logged and yet to have a failure. I have them at a 50^C maximum heat sink temp. they stay around 40 depending on ambient temp

[@plasmodium4220]

A friend swears by these lights. They are not 150W as described, but jog along @ 50W with a 12V internal fan. Look for the 50 x LED versions. They have lasted over 2 years daily so I assume they are using 1-3W LEDs running at ~ 1W. At £20 a unit they can be considered a "consumable". The fans might become noisy but are easily replaceable. The casing is all earthed metal. The LEDs are all run in series from a similar driver to Clive's lamp above. www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=150W+LED+UFO+Plant+Growing&_sacat=0

[@MayaPosch]

There seemed to be a mounting post for the ground wire to the left from the LED driver? Maybe they just forgot to screw it down :)

[@bigclivedotcom]

Very few of these lights have the earth wire connected. It's just seems common for them to leave it floating.

[@tornado_smith]

"Well that's interesting". Will have to take your word for it Clive, as though I love your vids, I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about.

[@actuallyusingmyrealnameher5061]

Very illuminating as usual Clive :-)

[@Weatherman1024]

I'm sure the newer style of COB's is more reliable but I believe the older style with the bond wires is better for eye candy (for those of us who drool over electronic components)

[@thehappylittlefoxakabenji8154]

yes it is very handy foxy has one ! got mine years ago probably from RS !

[@Anvilshock]

If the HOPI shows a power of ~25 W, is that true power or apparent? Because of it is true, and the PF is ~.5, I'd be tempted to consider 50 W as not dishonest after all. Right?

[@topytuser]

Is there a way to stop the refreshing of the led ?

[@gordonlawrence4749]

Is a 50W LED floodlight the default output setting for every factory in Shenzen? There seems to be a never ending list of variations on a theme. Pity none of them seem to be reliable.

[@chrisgoater5616]

Do you think the reflector was so thin, to help spread the heat easier?

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Chris Goater No, that would require a thick reflector.

[@martinpickard6043]

No. Just cheaper. Majority of conducted heat (90%) is passing backwards through chip base via white thermal compound and into outer casing/cooling fins. A thicker reflector might aid some additional heat conduction away from LEDs and allow heat dissapation over its large surface, but would need to be thick to allow better conduction/improved thermal transfer.

[@jrsc01.]

@bigclive is that rivet type thing on the inside just above the cable inlet hole, not have been used for the location of the earth cable and just came loose?

[@UnrealVideoDuke]

If you do anothetr Live Stream... Try and have a kit ready to solder together.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

UnrealVideoDuke And do it on Saturday night, most of us need to work Mondays.