Just make sure that you have a nearby windowsill plant that you can shove the earth wire into. We don’t want anyone getting hurt from lack of a proper earth connection, now do we!? 🧐
@@BoHolbo portable earth? super useful for any sparky if you don't have a proper ground connection nearby. just make sure to water it regularly to keep the conductivity up
Oh my god, the Renegade Master... I thought I was the only one that has had this randomly pop into my head since it was released. Absolutely the content I keep coming back for!
I had several of those tungsten blacklight bulbs. They got incredibly hot, even compared to normal ones, and removed several sets of fingerprints from me as a kid in the 70's.
Hahaha, I can 100% remember the same. I also feel like I would wait for the lamp to heat up, then fascinate myself with licking my fingers and putting them on the hot lamp. So strange... Lol
They were tungsten lamps running at a much higher temperature than normal, so there is some UV but also a lot of white light that has to be blocked by the coating on the inside of the glass envelope. All that energy being absorbed makes the glass get very hot indeed! They could also explode if knocked or moved during operation.
I had a tungsten one as a lad, early 1970s, enough to make white shirts glow if they’d been laundered in the right detergent and make UV-sensitive paints glow a bit. Feeble but enough to amuse.
The ground wire isn't fake, only its connection to frame is fictitious :) If the back plate was a bit stiffer and the lens applies decent pressure across the LED board, 35W of dissipation into the aluminum substrate should get it hot enough to re-melt the glue and spread it thinner over time. Self-assembly!
I remember opening something similar to this in the past... They didn't even bother with violet chips. It was two-chip LEDs - red and blue. It operated by powering the blue chips fully, whilst adding a small amount of red to make it look purple.
I agree not for the faint hearted but cheap as chips - I bought 3 for Christmas to make a Black Light to illuminate some signs painted in fluorescent paint. Knowing what to look for I checked the Earth and added my own and housed them in some wide PVC troughing I had around with a plexiglass front. They lasted OK and did what I wanted but were not left out after 12th night. They will be dragged out next Christmas.
What's truly shocking of course is how few people know what to look for or what to do about it. Not to mention those (myself included on occasion) who don't look for anything because you assume it will be safe. The worst part is that the majority of people who will buy the cheapest things, are the poorest people, and there's a reasonable chance they've not had enough education or time to educate themselves regarding things like that. My daughter is an intelligent lass, currently doing a college course in mechanical and electrical engineering in fact, but I didn't bring her up until the past few years, and I was appalled to discover she had no idea how to wire a plug when she moved in with me. Didn't know how to ride a bicycle either. She does now though on both counts, but I think going forward there are going to be more and more people who don't know how to do any of these things which I've always considered to be basic life skills. I'm pretty sure I was taught how to wire a plug in infants school (maybe primary), but I already knew how to.
Apologies to any people from the USA, I'm aware that the US doesn't generally have plugs you can wire, almost all injection moulded and they have different wiring in the homes. Not ring wired... I haven't slept but yeah the UK does ring wiring and we have fuses in every plug along with RCBs etc
@@weldonthompson5410 It sure will.. UV-A can pass thru normal glass, plastics, clothing(!!), skin, etc... Even many common general sunscreen lotions don't block UV-A at all (only UV-B). Of course there are certain special made materials, like certain plastics or glasses, with added chemicals, polymeres, and what not, which block (most) UV-A. But in general, yes, UV-A passes thru most common ordinary materials. (and UV-A is by no means safe. It isn't even safer as UV-B, UV-C! That is a very old, but still common, myth. UV-A can cause damage just as well, but in different ways)
For indoor use, getting a pile of these and hooking them up to be turned on/off by a DMX controller, could give a great light panel. You'd want a metal backplate and I'd probably suggest using something like a thermal 2-part epoxy for bonding them down, but I think they would be quite usable-just absolutely not with that useless wiring/enclosure.
Since I couldn't find actual thermal glue, just thermal paste mislabeled as thermal glue, I used double sided sticky tape marketed as thermally conductive.
@@MetalheadAndNerd You can use Kafuter silicone. It's a clone of Silastic. It has a fair thermal conductivity (1.6W/mK claimed but it seems like a slight exaggeration), it glues things down, it's highly heat resistant, it doesn't emit nasty acid while curing or anything. It's cheap and good to have. You can also find thermal glue really easily, sort of white cement like thing, from the usual Chinese suppliers, that's GD9980 and Stars-922 Heatsink Plaster. There shouldn't be too much wrong with thermal tape either. As long as it doesn't get unstuck when it gets hot.
@@RagingShrimp67 I don't think Clive tested (he talked about it elsewhere in this thread) but he's pretty confident they are just UVA (especially with the plastic on).
I bought a couple of these with white LEDs. Simple enough to add a small solder tag for the earth wire. Mounting the unit upside down deals with the water ingress problem but I also extended the 3 core flex and sleeved the join with adhesive heat shrink. They'll have some protection under eaves. Not such a bad unit for the price if you're OK doing a bit of rework. What is truly horrid is the mounting bracket which made of the thinnest gauge of sheet steel that wouldn't be classed as foil.
Same. I just soldered the earth wire directly to the heatsink, but I decided never to use the lamp externally. In fact, I never used it at all. The circuit board in mine was not even glued to the heatsink.
Don't worry, Clive! The thermal glue will spread out automatically as the lamp heats up ;) Although I doubt the heatsink will be enough for the wattage. Maybe it was meant to be used in case of floods, underwater, so you don't need as big of a heatsink. Also, if you stick it into ground in your garden, it's already grounded, hence, no need for the ground wire to go somewhere. Cost savings, time savings and friendly for the environment, chinese thought of it all ;)
Noted that on the cheap steel backing that there are 2 divets that line up with the holes on the pcb. If you really wanted, you could slather the back of the PCB in thermal compound, drill out the 2 divets and use mounting hardware to hold the PCB down/earth it properly. Still wouldn't use it outside though.
I bought one of these a while back from aliexpress. The seller thought it was ok as is, the case I opened was decided in my favor and I got my money back. I established some thermal coupling, connected earth to the case and put a CPU heatsink on the back. I wouldn't use it unsupervised though.
I brought 4 of the remote RGB versions of this for a temporary 3 day event. Sure enough I had to rewire them and add an earth. 2 of the 4 failed before the weekend was out. I made sure they were only used under cover and at height so no one could touch them. I was amazed how thin the steel was. I've wrapped a turkey in thicker foil. I've not thrown them away yet so they are available for autopsy.
That would be perfect for an invention of mine which is a lamp that is a design you can acquire which is a clear glass hollow base, with the lamp works on top. The idea is to fill the inside with what are known as Yooperlites. These seemingly normal, gray rocks are rich with fluorescent sodalite and glow a vibrant orange and yellow under a UV light. So a lamp that lit them up when turned off would be a beautiful way to present either a single beautiful specimen, or my whole collection 😆 If you're not familiar: finding and displaying yooperlites is a fun hobby here in Michigan, USA
I laughed hysterically at your return from "One moment please" with "Back once again..." Made me think of this recent-ish song that I've been loving that also contains that iconic sample: The Renegade · Friend Within
I use a couple of these as work lights, they came with the varistor, and I chopped off all but one of the resistors and added an electrolytic. For the cost of a burger each, they were worth it.
I bought 2 of these lights. One acts as UV source in my curing chamber and the other is used to cure any resin residue on my work bench after working with UV curable resin. For the light in the hardening chamber I stuck a large heat sink to the back. It works well enough for 3 or 4 consecutive runs, each 2-3 minutes.
I have the same for 3 color grow light. I have fixed the earth and used it like that. Honestly worked great for my plants but run very hot. I cut the cover and put small stepper driver heatsinks on the led driver ICs and is happily running ever since.
So.... Mods/Upgrades.. 1 - Prep and spray the whole thing with BBQ/Heat proof paint. 2 - Sand off an area where you can soldier on the earth lead. 3 - Drill through the backing plate for 2 screws to mount the LEDboard (2 holes are already there on the LED board for reference) 4 - Use thermal paste to help heat transfer to backing plate 5 - Seal up (using silicone sealant/rubber washers) the back of the LED mounting board to the back plate to stop water ingress Done...👍 Except for any internal mods like your tactics at reducing power consumptions etc 😉 Safer, a lot more water resistant and thus, longer life for product? Yeah I know, time involved doing this, but, IF you had the stuff already lying around in the shed, it'd be a nice little project. Note.. As per our previous discussions (some time a go about weatherproofing twinkly/solar garden lights), as well as sealing around the edges of the solar panels with clear nail varnish, I now do the same to 'Coating' the circuit board and exposed wire with the same and/or a little silicone etc and then a dab of grease on the battery terminals... NOW.. We (my lady friend who has so much lighting in her garden you could identify where she lives from MARS! hahaha) have cheap garden lights lasting (so far) 3 full years - the occasional battery swap needed etc... 👍👌 😎🇬🇧
These things have been turning up on event displays. After a conversation they typically meet my friend the side cutters followed by a trip to the E-waste bin.
I could mount this under a drone with a power supply to find Yooperlites. These seemingly normal, gray rocks are rich with fluorescent sodalite and glow a vibrant orange and yellow under a UV light. Found around the great lakes region of the US, they are fun to find and are much more plentiful than people think. All you need is a UV flashlight or even better a drone with a bottom mounted bright uv light and a gravel pit or rocky area... and you'll find them.
"Humpy D.C." That is the name of my next band! I laughed out loud when I saw the two dimples in the steel back plate that serve as a 'suggestion' for the assemblers to properly orient the LED PCB.
Whaaat - A video where clive says "throw it in the bin" instead of hacking it to bits and repurposing the case for other stuff? Then it HAS to be real trash. Thanks clive for always entertaining us!
I have one of these as a 100w version. It gets so hot. I'm going to modify by removing the same resistor. It's indoors and hopefully will last longer and run cooler. Cheers Clive.
The hot glue would melt and get thinner and therefore more conductive once it gets hot enough! I suspect some bit hotter than the leds start failing, mind you, but still.
You should ALWAYS check if one of the mains wires is not connected to the case, especially when you buy mains voltage devices from China and the case is metal.
....or from DIY stores, dollar stores, etc etc..... as 90% of those come directly from China anyways without ANY modification (just packed within another box). The ONLY lighting devices I would "trust", without first opening them up and checking them out, are the ones used by the lighting entertainment industry and only those coming from the very high-end professional dedicated lighting companies. And even there the line between expensive but proper professional stuff made for the road, and the cheaper pro-sumer stuff gets blurred very often. I find it VERY funny (and troublesome) that most (Western) people dunk on "China" (read: drop shippers and resellers), for their lack of safety in the stuff they sell.... While 90% of all such home-use lighting devices you can buy in the West are 100% IDENTICAL without ANY modification (except for maybe a logo) or improvements and come directly from those same Eastern manufactures. Case in point: the exact same led armature (including even the same box!) that Clive showed in this video, I find in numerous western shops with the exact same (often BS) specs and advertising (In fact, some shops show that very same armature half submitted under water!!). But with prizes ranging from $20 to $75 for the exact same 50W armature. So, _"quite expensive... must be ok then....no? Not like those cheap Chinese dangerous clones....."_ ... At least that is how most people think about it.
I have one of these on my milling machine, but it's not UV. I thiefed the led part and attached it to a heavy chunk of aluminium that has fins on it. It's actually been a great light for machine work.
Oh i bought one of these for curing uv resin on fishing lures just recently and wondered about heatsinking as it gets hot real quick... But now seems Im going to have even more to worry about oh no.... Thanks for looking at this clive
The best way to reduce the output would be to replace the sense resistors on all three regulators with a higher value but soldering to these heatsinked boards isn't easy.
I bought the 100w version. Missing the earth wire entirely, but there is another flaw. The 96 leds are wired in 3 x 32 parallel/series EXCEPT near the top left hand corner where there is a PCB error so that 1 triple LED bank has been split up, with all the current going through (from the top left) 3 parallel LEDs, then just 1 LED, then just 2, then back to the 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 pattern. I shall be making 1 cut, and 2 PCB links to fix this to prevent the single LED acting like a fuse, as well as better heatsinking and an earth. I was going to hook this to a timer for exposing photo resist film for PCB prototyping. We'll see how that goes.
I was going to purchase a metal light from China, but thought I would ask, is it earthed? And the reply from the seller was WHAT IS EARTH I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
Ooh, c'mon, Clive - spill the beans! Which spark was it? I'm guessing not our Ducati-riding friend from London, nor the mad lads David & Nigel... I just wanted to see the vid.
Definitely hackable! Put your own power cord on and properly ground it and put some good heatsink paste...maybe even a better mount (aluminum instead of steel)...might have a good purple light :)
I got some of the smaller ones. Solved the mounting by using some epoxy to attach to a piece of left over t rail ceiling mount, and then used some VHB tape to mount the T rail to another piece, so the 2 were isolated. Then put into a lamp housing to replace the 2D lamp in it. Solved the isolation problem, now double isolated, and even if it does arc over will not be a shock hazard in an enclosed large fitting. Less stress on the insulation if it is floating.
Exactley what I did. I stripped the led panel and remouted it onto an aluminium extrusion 100x30mm using thermal heat paste. Used the original plastic lens civered to hold everything down. Fitted new three core flex, all now fully earthed and included a on/off switch. They illuminate eight flourescent pads in the floor from about 2mtrs above. Now if left running they never exceed 40 degrees C at any measured point, and the temp dissipates down to 27c within 150mm from the mount. Cheap and cheerful but does the job for us.
I have the same type of lamp. The earth wire just wasn’t connected. 😱 After a good few minutes or hours, one of the LEDs blew. After shorting it and deleting one of the three chips, another one blew. I disabled another chip and shorted the the blown chip and it has been working flawlessly since then (at a much lower output of cause).
Hey Clive. If you ever get your hands on a “near infrared“ lamp that’s something I’m interested in you evaluating. I’m interested in this from the therapeutic angle but have no idea what is genuine technology out there.
kind of Had a feeling you were an og head after hearing you make a comment about "big fish, little fish, cardboard box" in your prior vid.. pretty sure you just confirmed it with the "renegade master" reference in this vid..lol.. good to be in company of weird intelligent like minded people of the same generation.. we never get old...lol👊👍
I don't know if you remember a while ago I commented about a dodgy flat LED grow light panel I had. Finally found it, albeit a bit beaten up. Took it apart and fake earth wire on that too. The top was just the uncovered aluminium PCB, and definitely electrocutes you if you have a moist hand.
They knew it would too, in their small defence, there was a sticker on the top/back saying it isn't waterproof and not to touch it with wet hands. It was the vibrations feeling with dry hands I think I asked about in the previous comment some months ago. Either way, it's basically what was in this LED light, but bigger and with no housing on the back at all. Just the PCB screwed to the face of it. It came with a 2 pin plug as well, and a switch, to a 3 wired cable (hence the fake ground). The ground wire is actually screwed to the aluminium with a... ring connector? Can't think of the name of it off the top of my head, it just isn't connected to ground. It's a shame too, because the LEDs themselves were very effective at growing some radishes and potatoes
I have the regular version (with white LEDs) that I got from Aliexpress, I plan to use them as back lighting for taking photos, making sure that the frame is either properly isolated or out of reach of everyone.
So I've seen these in hospital and restaurant locations, but I wonder what their function would be in outside locations? Why use ultraviolet and not a high intensity led panel instead? Also did you use your ultraviolet cards to determine whether or not they are in fact ultraviolet? I can see these used in as part of a diy mini water purifier project. Good show.
They used the earth wire in the cable, they used a metal case and screws... and yet somehow never ever brought the two together with a bit of solder, and squished into a screw hole.
When I heard your first "one moment please", I was thinking to myself, "would be funny if someone made a 'one moment please' compilation". A bit later you follow up your "one moment please" with "Back once again for the renegade master d4 damager power to the people" 😂
I have 3 of these. I just connected the earth to the chassis and mounted an old PC fan to the back side. I also laser cut foil covered panels from acrylic to act as reflectors (to focus the beam). I would never had even considered using these outdoors, or in a high humidity environment like a greenhouse. EDIT: Correction - my units are actually a bit different. They have 28 red, 20 blue, and 2 white LEDs, and do not have the 'fusible' input resistor. But they do at least have an Abiko style loop connector in the earth wire, so connecting it to the chassis was trivial. Thanks to Clive, I think I'll try to 'adjust' the current-setting resistors in order to reduce the current and get rid of the fan.
I am dyslexic and I clicked this thinking it was an ultra violent light. I mean, it's Bog Clive so it's possible he might find an ultra violent light at the pound store.
It's funny how little money they saved by not hooking the ground up. Literally a single sheet metal screw and a crimp on eyelet and it'd have been much safer. But hey, they saved $0.01 per fixture.
One other thing apart from the false "earth" connection .. the leads on these types of units invariably seem to be *_ridiculously_* short. Not even long enough to wire-in to a junction box right next to the unit !! Especially if you want to angle it down like it's supposed to be.
I have the same led light 50W, but as a full spectrum grow light for my chilli peppers. It has multichip mulit colour chip setup. I must say it is indeed wonky, but the grow light part works. I have beatufil bush of Aji Lemon chilli pepper plant.
I would say just solder that ground wire onto the plate/somewhere sensible, and then pour silicone into that wire so it's waterproof and then it's a pretty good light right? The good thing about you having so much electrical knowledge, is you'd often be able to fix these critical safety issues and thus wind up with a fairly usable device.
That they used some kind of plastic lenses (most likely policarbonate) is the first sign that it is not real UV. 365nm would be highly affected by a policarbonate lens (It blocks almost all UV). So i would expect the light coming of this light to be 405-415nm.
I could see hacking those to make a nice uv light for photolithography circuit printing… although circuit boards are so cheap i only use that when i am in a rush anymore, so I’ll probably be to lazy to retire the old tube style one i use.
I had qualm when you powered it up with the Earth wire exposed because, although you proved it was not connected to the housing you didn't check that it wasn't connected to live!
I thought you might want to see what wavelength of UV was coming off the lamp using the UV and UVC test card. Now that I have mine, I try it with anything even faintly UV.
You can not use those 'test' cards for that. They are more of a gadget/gimmick than anything else (hence why they are so cheap --10 pcs for less than a $1 incl. shipping). The only thing you would be able to duduce from them is if there is any near-UV or UV light at all. They can not tell you what type of UV (except for the difference between UV-A/B and UV-C, but even with that there is an overlap), and especially not the intensity of it. For such a thing you need a MUCH MUCH more expensive spectography device (cheapest ones start around a few hundred dollar). Or, if you don't wanna spend a few hundred to thousands of dollars, you can by a "UV INDEX" measuring device. They measure the amount of intensity of the UV across the whole UV spectrum, and give you either the international UV-index (that number you often hear in weather forecasts in the summer months), or either the power factor of it (W/m^2). Both will give you a rough indication of the 'intensity' of the UV.... So close to zero means no UV-emitted, anything higher means there is some UV emitted. They cost between $50 and $200 or something, depending on how accurate they are. With them you have a far better idea if something emits UV or not, than from those 'test' cards. But also note, that even non-UV lamps often do emit some UV. Especially those near-UV.
#Hey Clive-Brah, sending you tons of greatings and best wishes from Austria (the small one without kangaroos) 🙂 Just keep doing such great vids 4ever Brah! :-) Take care on your beard!
I got a CNC machine from china. The motor cable from the drive had no earth and it wasn't screened. The control cables for the stepper motors weren't screened either. I had to rewire the entire machine. I also had to change the control system because the system it was supplied with used a windows 7 computer and the software was unworkable
"There's the earth wire, just going nowhere". 😂
"The best thing you can do with these, the best /hack/ you can do with them, is to throw them in the bin!"
the squiggly line killed it gud!
I wanted to suggest that to be a T-Shirt, but then I concluded that might be a bit _TOO_ niche...
Either way, for us, it's hilarious!
It's an eBay Signature Feature.
I know how it feels! 🤣
So funny you actually drew the earth wire on your schematic. I'll be sure to remember that when i try and rebuild this! :D
Just make sure that you have a nearby windowsill plant that you can shove the earth wire into.
We don’t want anyone getting hurt from lack of a proper earth connection, now do we!? 🧐
@@BoHolbo lol 😝🐢
@@BoHolbo portable earth? super useful for any sparky if you don't have a proper ground connection nearby. just make sure to water it regularly to keep the conductivity up
Oh my god, the Renegade Master... I thought I was the only one that has had this randomly pop into my head since it was released. Absolutely the content I keep coming back for!
I had several of those tungsten blacklight bulbs. They got incredibly hot, even compared to normal ones, and removed several sets of fingerprints from me as a kid in the 70's.
Hahaha, I can 100% remember the same. I also feel like I would wait for the lamp to heat up, then fascinate myself with licking my fingers and putting them on the hot lamp. So strange... Lol
They still sell the tungsten ones on eBay as UV-like lamps. Extremely low output anywhere near UV.
They were tungsten lamps running at a much higher temperature than normal, so there is some UV but also a lot of white light that has to be blocked by the coating on the inside of the glass envelope. All that energy being absorbed makes the glass get very hot indeed! They could also explode if knocked or moved during operation.
@@nimoy007 what
I had a tungsten one as a lad, early 1970s, enough to make white shirts glow if they’d been laundered in the right detergent and make UV-sensitive paints glow a bit. Feeble but enough to amuse.
The ground wire isn't fake, only its connection to frame is fictitious :)
If the back plate was a bit stiffer and the lens applies decent pressure across the LED board, 35W of dissipation into the aluminum substrate should get it hot enough to re-melt the glue and spread it thinner over time. Self-assembly!
I remember opening something similar to this in the past...
They didn't even bother with violet chips. It was two-chip LEDs - red and blue.
It operated by powering the blue chips fully, whilst adding a small amount of red to make it look purple.
I agree not for the faint hearted but cheap as chips - I bought 3 for Christmas to make a Black Light to illuminate some signs painted in fluorescent paint. Knowing what to look for I checked the Earth and added my own and housed them in some wide PVC troughing I had around with a plexiglass front. They lasted OK and did what I wanted but were not left out after 12th night. They will be dragged out next Christmas.
What's truly shocking of course is how few people know what to look for or what to do about it. Not to mention those (myself included on occasion) who don't look for anything because you assume it will be safe. The worst part is that the majority of people who will buy the cheapest things, are the poorest people, and there's a reasonable chance they've not had enough education or time to educate themselves regarding things like that.
My daughter is an intelligent lass, currently doing a college course in mechanical and electrical engineering in fact, but I didn't bring her up until the past few years, and I was appalled to discover she had no idea how to wire a plug when she moved in with me. Didn't know how to ride a bicycle either. She does now though on both counts, but I think going forward there are going to be more and more people who don't know how to do any of these things which I've always considered to be basic life skills. I'm pretty sure I was taught how to wire a plug in infants school (maybe primary), but I already knew how to.
Apologies to any people from the USA, I'm aware that the US doesn't generally have plugs you can wire, almost all injection moulded and they have different wiring in the homes. Not ring wired... I haven't slept but yeah the UK does ring wiring and we have fuses in every plug along with RCBs etc
I was expecting you to use one of your UV and UVC Test Cards to see if it put out any UVA at all.
It would have worked on the UVA sensor even though it's in the near-UV range.
it will not thru plastic
@@weldonthompson5410 It sure will.. UV-A can pass thru normal glass, plastics, clothing(!!), skin, etc...
Even many common general sunscreen lotions don't block UV-A at all (only UV-B).
Of course there are certain special made materials, like certain plastics or glasses, with added chemicals, polymeres, and what not, which block (most) UV-A. But in general, yes, UV-A passes thru most common ordinary materials.
(and UV-A is by no means safe. It isn't even safer as UV-B, UV-C! That is a very old, but still common, myth. UV-A can cause damage just as well, but in different ways)
@@weldonthompson5410 depends on the plastic, but you have a point.
For indoor use, getting a pile of these and hooking them up to be turned on/off by a DMX controller, could give a great light panel. You'd want a metal backplate and I'd probably suggest using something like a thermal 2-part epoxy for bonding them down, but I think they would be quite usable-just absolutely not with that useless wiring/enclosure.
Since I couldn't find actual thermal glue, just thermal paste mislabeled as thermal glue, I used double sided sticky tape marketed as thermally conductive.
might need to check the PAR value on these lights
@@MetalheadAndNerd You can use Kafuter silicone. It's a clone of Silastic. It has a fair thermal conductivity (1.6W/mK claimed but it seems like a slight exaggeration), it glues things down, it's highly heat resistant, it doesn't emit nasty acid while curing or anything. It's cheap and good to have. You can also find thermal glue really easily, sort of white cement like thing, from the usual Chinese suppliers, that's GD9980 and Stars-922 Heatsink Plaster.
There shouldn't be too much wrong with thermal tape either. As long as it doesn't get unstuck when it gets hot.
But what is the wavelength?
@@RagingShrimp67 I don't think Clive tested (he talked about it elsewhere in this thread) but he's pretty confident they are just UVA (especially with the plastic on).
I bought a couple of these with white LEDs. Simple enough to add a small solder tag for the earth wire. Mounting the unit upside down deals with the water ingress problem but I also extended the 3 core flex and sleeved the join with adhesive heat shrink. They'll have some protection under eaves. Not such a bad unit for the price if you're OK doing a bit of rework.
What is truly horrid is the mounting bracket which made of the thinnest gauge of sheet steel that wouldn't be classed as foil.
Same. I just soldered the earth wire directly to the heatsink, but I decided never to use the lamp externally. In fact, I never used it at all. The circuit board in mine was not even glued to the heatsink.
Don't worry, Clive! The thermal glue will spread out automatically as the lamp heats up ;) Although I doubt the heatsink will be enough for the wattage. Maybe it was meant to be used in case of floods, underwater, so you don't need as big of a heatsink. Also, if you stick it into ground in your garden, it's already grounded, hence, no need for the ground wire to go somewhere. Cost savings, time savings and friendly for the environment, chinese thought of it all ;)
As always, another faithful honest review, aka, things worthy of avoiding 🤣
Almost like Thunderf00t, we're not allowed anything...
Noted that on the cheap steel backing that there are 2 divets that line up with the holes on the pcb. If you really wanted, you could slather the back of the PCB in thermal compound, drill out the 2 divets and use mounting hardware to hold the PCB down/earth it properly. Still wouldn't use it outside though.
I bought one of these a while back from aliexpress. The seller thought it was ok as is, the case I opened was decided in my favor and I got my money back. I established some thermal coupling, connected earth to the case and put a CPU heatsink on the back. I wouldn't use it unsupervised though.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who tells beeping, whining, talking devices to "shut up"!
I brought 4 of the remote RGB versions of this for a temporary 3 day event. Sure enough I had to rewire them and add an earth. 2 of the 4 failed before the weekend was out. I made sure they were only used under cover and at height so no one could touch them. I was amazed how thin the steel was. I've wrapped a turkey in thicker foil. I've not thrown them away yet so they are available for autopsy.
Many of these things are best treated as disposable for short term use.
That lamp is indeed proper crap. I love the circuit diagram showing dodgy earth wire.
That would be perfect for an invention of mine which is a lamp that is a design you can acquire which is a clear glass hollow base, with the lamp works on top. The idea is to fill the inside with what are known as Yooperlites. These seemingly normal, gray rocks are rich with fluorescent sodalite and glow a vibrant orange and yellow under a UV light. So a lamp that lit them up when turned off would be a beautiful way to present either a single beautiful specimen, or my whole collection 😆
If you're not familiar: finding and displaying yooperlites is a fun hobby here in Michigan, USA
When can I expect to receive some in the mail in the great state of Virginia? Those rocks are pretty sweet.
I really should explore the local beach with a UV light.
I laughed hysterically at your return from "One moment please" with "Back once again..."
Made me think of this recent-ish song that I've been loving that also contains that iconic sample: The Renegade · Friend Within
I use a couple of these as work lights, they came with the varistor, and I chopped off all but one of the resistors and added an electrolytic. For the cost of a burger each, they were worth it.
What did you use the capacitor for?
I bought 2 of these lights. One acts as UV source in my curing chamber and the other is used to cure any resin residue on my work bench after working with UV curable resin.
For the light in the hardening chamber I stuck a large heat sink to the back. It works well enough for 3 or 4 consecutive runs, each 2-3 minutes.
UV light does not go thru plastic
@@weldonthompson5410 UVA definitely does, maybe not through all plastics but it does most of the time.
UVC is blocked by many plastics. But not UVA.
@@weldonthompson5410 Fortunately the UV resin doesn't know that.
@@MetalheadAndNerd unfortunately for me I don't have that experience. The last UV source I worked was 2 Kwatt in full quartz enclosure
I have the same for 3 color grow light. I have fixed the earth and used it like that. Honestly worked great for my plants but run very hot. I cut the cover and put small stepper driver heatsinks on the led driver ICs and is happily running ever since.
So.... Mods/Upgrades..
1 - Prep and spray the whole thing with BBQ/Heat proof paint.
2 - Sand off an area where you can soldier on the earth lead.
3 - Drill through the backing plate for 2 screws to mount the LEDboard (2 holes are already there on the LED board for reference)
4 - Use thermal paste to help heat transfer to backing plate
5 - Seal up (using silicone sealant/rubber washers) the back of the LED mounting board to the back plate to stop water ingress
Done...👍 Except for any internal mods like your tactics at reducing power consumptions etc 😉
Safer, a lot more water resistant and thus, longer life for product? Yeah I know, time involved doing this, but, IF you had the stuff already lying around in the shed, it'd be a nice little project.
Note.. As per our previous discussions (some time a go about weatherproofing twinkly/solar garden lights), as well as sealing around the edges of the solar panels with clear nail varnish, I now do the same to 'Coating' the circuit board and exposed wire with the same and/or a little silicone etc and then a dab of grease on the battery terminals... NOW.. We (my lady friend who has so much lighting in her garden you could identify where she lives from MARS! hahaha) have cheap garden lights lasting (so far) 3 full years - the occasional battery swap needed etc... 👍👌
😎🇬🇧
These things have been turning up on event displays. After a conversation they typically meet my friend the side cutters followed by a trip to the E-waste bin.
They've cut the corners so much that it is virtually round!
KW.
I could mount this under a drone with a power supply to find Yooperlites. These seemingly normal, gray rocks are rich with fluorescent sodalite and glow a vibrant orange and yellow under a UV light. Found around the great lakes region of the US, they are fun to find and are much more plentiful than people think. All you need is a UV flashlight or even better a drone with a bottom mounted bright uv light and a gravel pit or rocky area... and you'll find them.
What are Yooperlites good for?
@@dsloop3907 Fun to find, also they look good in display under various uv light contraptions. They appeal to the rock collector type personality
Interestingly it could be useful for resin hardening at 405nm.
As an added bonus, when the “fuse” actually does blow the whole festering mess has a good chance of being live.
"Humpy D.C." That is the name of my next band! I laughed out loud when I saw the two dimples in the steel back plate that serve as a 'suggestion' for the assemblers to properly orient the LED PCB.
Whaaat - A video where clive says "throw it in the bin" instead of hacking it to bits and repurposing the case for other stuff?
Then it HAS to be real trash. Thanks clive for always entertaining us!
I have one of these as a 100w version. It gets so hot. I'm going to modify by removing the same resistor. It's indoors and hopefully will last longer and run cooler. Cheers Clive.
Well done on the musical riff with the renegade master 😊😊❤
The hot glue would melt and get thinner and therefore more conductive once it gets hot enough!
I suspect some bit hotter than the leds start failing, mind you, but still.
"...the best hack you could do with them, is throw them in the bin, quite frankly...", classic Clive. lol. you are the best!🙂
The Renegade Master played in my head exactly in time with your rendition 😂
I like your suggested "Hack" at the end with the round filing cabinet LOL
You should ALWAYS check if one of the mains wires is not connected to the case, especially when you buy mains voltage devices from China and the case is metal.
....or from DIY stores, dollar stores, etc etc..... as 90% of those come directly from China anyways without ANY modification (just packed within another box).
The ONLY lighting devices I would "trust", without first opening them up and checking them out, are the ones used by the lighting entertainment industry and only those coming from the very high-end professional dedicated lighting companies. And even there the line between expensive but proper professional stuff made for the road, and the cheaper pro-sumer stuff gets blurred very often.
I find it VERY funny (and troublesome) that most (Western) people dunk on "China" (read: drop shippers and resellers), for their lack of safety in the stuff they sell.... While 90% of all such home-use lighting devices you can buy in the West are 100% IDENTICAL without ANY modification (except for maybe a logo) or improvements and come directly from those same Eastern manufactures. Case in point: the exact same led armature (including even the same box!) that Clive showed in this video, I find in numerous western shops with the exact same (often BS) specs and advertising (In fact, some shops show that very same armature half submitted under water!!). But with prizes ranging from $20 to $75 for the exact same 50W armature. So, _"quite expensive... must be ok then....no? Not like those cheap Chinese dangerous clones....."_ ... At least that is how most people think about it.
Your Sean Connery was damn near spot on.
I have one of these on my milling machine, but it's not UV. I thiefed the led part and attached it to a heavy chunk of aluminium that has fins on it. It's actually been a great light for machine work.
Dang, Renegade Master what a throwback ty for reminding me
Oh i bought one of these for curing uv resin on fishing lures just recently and wondered about heatsinking as it gets hot real quick... But now seems Im going to have even more to worry about oh no.... Thanks for looking at this clive
Mine however was the 100w model... It does seem to cure resin super fast though so in that sense its good.
The best way to reduce the output would be to replace the sense resistors on all three regulators with a higher value but soldering to these heatsinked boards isn't easy.
Had one of these in my aliexpress cart...was looking for a flood for retrobriting... probably have to reconsider
Back once again with the renegade master by Roger something in 1995. That takes me back 😁😅
I bought the 100w version. Missing the earth wire entirely, but there is another flaw. The 96 leds are wired in 3 x 32 parallel/series EXCEPT near the top left hand corner where there is a PCB error so that 1 triple LED bank has been split up, with all the current going through (from the top left) 3 parallel LEDs, then just 1 LED, then just 2, then back to the 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 pattern.
I shall be making 1 cut, and 2 PCB links to fix this to prevent the single LED acting like a fuse, as well as better heatsinking and an earth. I was going to hook this to a timer for exposing photo resist film for PCB prototyping. We'll see how that goes.
I was going to purchase a metal light from China, but thought I would ask, is it earthed? And the reply from the seller was WHAT IS EARTH I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
It is possible that the seller does not know the term "earthed" but does know the equivalent in American English which is "grounded".
Ooh, c'mon, Clive - spill the beans! Which spark was it? I'm guessing not our Ducati-riding friend from London, nor the mad lads David & Nigel... I just wanted to see the vid.
I will not name and shame.
"The best hack is just throw it in the bin." Best quote ever.
Definitely hackable!
Put your own power cord on and properly ground it and put some good heatsink paste...maybe even a better mount (aluminum instead of steel)...might have a good purple light :)
I got some of the smaller ones. Solved the mounting by using some epoxy to attach to a piece of left over t rail ceiling mount, and then used some VHB tape to mount the T rail to another piece, so the 2 were isolated. Then put into a lamp housing to replace the 2D lamp in it. Solved the isolation problem, now double isolated, and even if it does arc over will not be a shock hazard in an enclosed large fitting. Less stress on the insulation if it is floating.
Exactley what I did. I stripped the led panel and remouted it onto an aluminium extrusion 100x30mm using thermal heat paste. Used the original plastic lens civered to hold everything down. Fitted new three core flex, all now fully earthed and included a on/off switch. They illuminate eight flourescent pads in the floor from about 2mtrs above. Now if left running they never exceed 40 degrees C at any measured point, and the temp dissipates down to 27c within 150mm from the mount. Cheap and cheerful but does the job for us.
I have the same type of lamp. The earth wire just wasn’t connected. 😱
After a good few minutes or hours, one of the LEDs blew. After shorting it and deleting one of the three chips, another one blew.
I disabled another chip and shorted the the blown chip and it has been working flawlessly since then (at a much lower output of cause).
Oh and I connected a new connection cord and properly connected the earth.
More techno singing Clive in future videos please. 😂
Clive: *
Loved the Whildchild's Renegade Master chorus 😄
Hey Clive. If you ever get your hands on a “near infrared“ lamp that’s something I’m interested in you evaluating. I’m interested in this from the therapeutic angle but have no idea what is genuine technology out there.
Philips used to sell heat lamps for that sort of application. I'm not convinced about red light therapy.
kind of Had a feeling you were an og head after hearing you make a comment about "big fish, little fish, cardboard box" in your prior vid.. pretty sure you just confirmed it with the "renegade master" reference in this vid..lol.. good to be in company of weird intelligent like minded people of the same generation.. we never get old...lol👊👍
Proper death trap Chinesium! Nice find!
Jangeroush ..... Has Ralfy and the malts been visiting again, Clive?
I don't know if you remember a while ago I commented about a dodgy flat LED grow light panel I had. Finally found it, albeit a bit beaten up. Took it apart and fake earth wire on that too. The top was just the uncovered aluminium PCB, and definitely electrocutes you if you have a moist hand.
They knew it would too, in their small defence, there was a sticker on the top/back saying it isn't waterproof and not to touch it with wet hands. It was the vibrations feeling with dry hands I think I asked about in the previous comment some months ago. Either way, it's basically what was in this LED light, but bigger and with no housing on the back at all. Just the PCB screwed to the face of it. It came with a 2 pin plug as well, and a switch, to a 3 wired cable (hence the fake ground). The ground wire is actually screwed to the aluminium with a... ring connector? Can't think of the name of it off the top of my head, it just isn't connected to ground. It's a shame too, because the LEDs themselves were very effective at growing some radishes and potatoes
Ultraviolent Light? Cheers from New Orleans
I have the regular version (with white LEDs) that I got from Aliexpress, I plan to use them as back lighting for taking photos, making sure that the frame is either properly isolated or out of reach of everyone.
Keep in mind that the output of these panels has significant flicker. That makes them less suitable for photographic or video use.
So I've seen these in hospital and restaurant locations, but I wonder what their function would be in outside locations? Why use ultraviolet and not a high intensity led panel instead? Also did you use your ultraviolet cards to determine whether or not they are in fact ultraviolet? I can see these used in as part of a diy mini water purifier project. Good show.
These would not work at all for a water purifier. These are longwave UV devices. You need shortwave (UVC) for any germicidal application.
Yes, it’s always relaxing and therapeutic at Clive’s - As you Know
They used the earth wire in the cable, they used a metal case and screws... and yet somehow never ever brought the two together with a bit of solder, and squished into a screw hole.
When I heard your first "one moment please", I was thinking to myself, "would be funny if someone made a 'one moment please' compilation".
A bit later you follow up your "one moment please" with "Back once again for the renegade master d4 damager power to the people" 😂
I have 3 of these. I just connected the earth to the chassis and mounted an old PC fan to the back side. I also laser cut foil covered panels from acrylic to act as reflectors (to focus the beam).
I would never had even considered using these outdoors, or in a high humidity environment like a greenhouse.
EDIT: Correction - my units are actually a bit different. They have 28 red, 20 blue, and 2 white LEDs, and do not have the 'fusible' input resistor. But they do at least have an Abiko style loop connector in the earth wire, so connecting it to the chassis was trivial. Thanks to Clive, I think I'll try to 'adjust' the current-setting resistors in order to reduce the current and get rid of the fan.
I am dyslexic and I clicked this thinking it was an ultra violent light. I mean, it's Bog Clive so it's possible he might find an ultra violent light at the pound store.
I refer to shortwave UV as Ultraviolent Light.
Given the lack of earth connection it does have the potential to be ultra violent.
@@hughbrackett343 But isn't shortwave radio, which is below infrared?
That lightbulb look to me like a simple "black light", used in bedrooms for the "club" effect 😀
It's funny how little money they saved by not hooking the ground up. Literally a single sheet metal screw and a crimp on eyelet and it'd have been much safer. But hey, they saved $0.01 per fixture.
I have a growlight built on the same PCB and chassis, runs pretty well after I stuck a big heatsink and fan on the back.
One other thing apart from the false "earth" connection .. the leads on these types of units invariably seem to be *_ridiculously_* short.
Not even long enough to wire-in to a junction box right next to the unit !! Especially if you want to angle it down like it's supposed to be.
Very short and also thin copper coated aluminium.
I have the same led light 50W, but as a full spectrum grow light for my chilli peppers. It has multichip mulit colour chip setup. I must say it is indeed wonky, but the grow light part works. I have beatufil bush of Aji Lemon chilli pepper plant.
I would say just solder that ground wire onto the plate/somewhere sensible, and then pour silicone into that wire so it's waterproof and then it's a pretty good light right?
The good thing about you having so much electrical knowledge, is you'd often be able to fix these critical safety issues and thus wind up with a fairly usable device.
Other than the utter lack of a heat sink is going to put the board into thermal shutdown pretty quick, sure they're peachy.
That they used some kind of plastic lenses (most likely policarbonate) is the first sign that it is not real UV. 365nm would be highly affected by a policarbonate lens (It blocks almost all UV). So i would expect the light coming of this light to be 405-415nm.
“Humpy DC” is a term I have to start using in my daily life!
With their large input capacitor, these things are great at tripping an RCD if a few are used on one circuit.
It may be the capacitance of the LED panel itself that leaks the current.
Loving the Renegade Master reference 😂
Omg I literally sang that with you as you said back again...... WAS NOT EXPECTING YOU TO DO AS WELL ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I’ve seen security cameras that failed due to water ingress up the cat5 cable into the sealed unit. Horrible mess.
Water ingress along cables is common. I've had water dripping out of electrical panels due to externally damaged cable sheaths.
I could see hacking those to make a nice uv light for photolithography circuit printing… although circuit boards are so cheap i only use that when i am in a rush anymore, so I’ll probably be to lazy to retire the old tube style one i use.
with the holes in the pcb and case ...they planed to screw it together...but hot snots cheeper
Humpy DC - Good name for a band.
This device is bonkers if it's installed as garden illumination!
WTAF!
I had qualm when you powered it up with the Earth wire exposed because, although you proved it was not connected to the housing you didn't check that it wasn't connected to live!
Clive where you into raves and dance music. I used to go to the sub club in Glasgow the slam lads. Steward and orde
Just grew up in that era. Was a weekend regular at the Polo Lounge for a while.
I thought you might want to see what wavelength of UV was coming off the lamp using the UV and UVC test card. Now that I have mine, I try it with anything even faintly UV.
You can not use those 'test' cards for that. They are more of a gadget/gimmick than anything else (hence why they are so cheap --10 pcs for less than a $1 incl. shipping).
The only thing you would be able to duduce from them is if there is any near-UV or UV light at all. They can not tell you what type of UV (except for the difference between UV-A/B and UV-C, but even with that there is an overlap), and especially not the intensity of it. For such a thing you need a MUCH MUCH more expensive spectography device (cheapest ones start around a few hundred dollar).
Or, if you don't wanna spend a few hundred to thousands of dollars, you can by a "UV INDEX" measuring device. They measure the amount of intensity of the UV across the whole UV spectrum, and give you either the international UV-index (that number you often hear in weather forecasts in the summer months), or either the power factor of it (W/m^2). Both will give you a rough indication of the 'intensity' of the UV.... So close to zero means no UV-emitted, anything higher means there is some UV emitted.
They cost between $50 and $200 or something, depending on how accurate they are. With them you have a far better idea if something emits UV or not, than from those 'test' cards.
But also note, that even non-UV lamps often do emit some UV. Especially those near-UV.
It would show a colour change on UVA, but that covers quite a broad spectrum with these cards.
@12:24.... Well from the circuit board we can see that they were cutting corners, it's even missing one :)
Maybe the customer wanted Jurassic Park garden? Everything electrified now 🤣😆😂
Jeez how hard would it have been for them to connect the Earth to the body
I came here for the ill behaviour of the ultimate renegade master of badly earthed Chinese death lamps
I've taken some China LED lights apart before and can verify that some have a groundless ground.
"Humpy DC", love it!
#Hey Clive-Brah, sending you tons of greatings and best wishes from Austria (the small one without kangaroos) 🙂
Just keep doing such great vids 4ever Brah! :-) Take care on your beard!
I got a CNC machine from china. The motor cable from the drive had no earth and it wasn't screened. The control cables for the stepper motors weren't screened either. I had to rewire the entire machine. I also had to change the control system because the system it was supplied with used a windows 7 computer and the software was unworkable
Back once again with the renegade master hahahahah love it
5:10 killed me. I had this playing in the background and lost it. I want the full song cover now!
Thank you. Good luck.
Rite Big Dude, Dodgy tings done dirt cheap, love it! TFS, GB :)
Why don't the manufacturers take two seconds to connect the earth wire?
Humpy DC, Live tonight , at ticket master theater, haha,. Sound like a singer or a band! 😆😆✌️
Renegade master... yeah that's been a while.. had to listen to it again.. Still good music..
I'd like to see the chucking it in the bin hack!