# Effective lighting with CFL - Help Please



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

As we move towards the more environmentally friendly CFL lights, and the ever increasing difficulty in finding the old reliable colored incandescent and halogen flood lights, I was wondering what experience and challenges other haunters have had in using CFL lighting in their haunts.

So far from what I know I've seen the following issues: 

* they take longer to come on in colder weather; 
* some haunters have had trouble fitting them in the standard lawn stake sockets (guessing the stems are too short);
* warmer colors like reds, oranges, and yellows are not as bright as incandescent lights;
* difficult to focus in specific directions in order to hide the light source without the use of cans or hoods.

I need to add about eight green floods to my overall display this year and the few I've found online are close to $14 bucks a pop or more compared to the $7 the used to run. I'm on a super tight budget this year so I'd like to reuse a lot of the lawn stakes I accumulated over the years. I have a few of the hooded aluminum worklight clamp on sockets but not enough. I've always relied on the ability to control direction with traditional floods right in the lawn stakes because of their shape. I'd use a CFL but it casts light all around including behind the light. I don't have shrubs or anything I can hide them behind. And I'm looking for a solution cheaper than buying more work light clamps which don't stake in the ground anyways.

Any help or feedback would greatly be appreciated.

-TM


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

You can make a lamp shade apparatus out of an old coffee can or paint can if you're in a pinch.Paint the outside flat black, and the inside a glossy silver if it's not already silver. Get a cheapo lamp repair kit from the home improvement section of Walmart (usually about 5 or 6 bucks) and drill a hole for the wiring to come through. Wire it up according to the directions, and voila, you have a flood light that costs hardly anything. Those lamp repair kits that come with the wiring will run CFL bulbs just fine.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Hmmm... $5 plus $8 for the CFL light, I might as well buy the over priced floods for $15 bucks.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Yeah, I can see your point. I build a few floods last year using this method, and was able to save a little money. Sorry I couldn't be more help.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Nah, it's appreciated BHC and sounds like a really great solution. If I had the money to spend that would be the direction I would go.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Terrormaster said:


> ...
> 
> So far from what I know I've seen the following issues:
> 
> ...


I would say the first two points are true. IMHO, watt-for-watt, CFLs are brighter and have a more saturated color. I think you could easily replace a 60-100 watt incandescent with a 15-20 watt CFL. I don't use a lot of bright light in my haunt, and have actually tried to dim some down a bit. They may be a bit harder to focus, too. Though a bit of aluminum foil in an old can will work wonders.

One thing to check out might be the new 3 watt E27 LED 16 color change lights. They put out a fairly bright light, somewhat focused - or you can put a bit of opaque paper over the lens to get a more diffuse light. They are around $8-9 each...or a bit less in quantity. You'd get green - and 15 other colors in one bulb - in case you ever change your mind, or want to use them for other decoration.

I use a couple for 'up lighting' in various locations around the house:


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Corey, kinda digging those, the price is good, they seem pretty focusable, and the colors are changeable. The base looks a little on the short side much like a CFL so might have to add extenders. Although might not be bright enough to flood large areas outdoors.

Have you tried these outside? If so, how are they with weather and do they fit in lawn stakes without an extender? Amazon seems to be running a pretty good deal on these


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## MildAvaholic (Aug 11, 2009)

I started using CFL's last year and am very happy!! You can see the pics in my profile. I really like the green and blue. I had no problems using the in the ground stakes - the ones with the rubber built-in grommet was kinda tricky, but do-able. 
Regarding your points - 
Temps - It is still 70 to 80 here on Halloween night, so no real problem warming up. I even use them with a fader with no problem. And I use them in my porch lights year around, and in my Christmas display.
Focus - Yes, if you want the light in a specific area, you will need to make a can. Not a big deal, and I even put clear wrap over the end for waterproofing.
I think they look MUCH better than your typical colored spotlights!
But Coreys do look cool too. Just my $.02.


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## Jaybo (Mar 2, 2009)

Ok, this can cost a little bit more, but it's something to think about down the road. I build DMX floodlights out of waterproof RGB LED modules (12v) and cheap halogen floodlights from the home improvement stores. They are controlled using a cheap DMX controller that is embedded in the worklight and then attached to my computer. It costs me about $30 to $40 per light to build. It looks like this:









Well, instead of embedding a DMX controller into the light and have it tied to a PC, you can install an infrared RGB Controller that looks and works exactly like the one Corey shows with his light. Part-Express sells them for around $6.






I know you work in the IT industry and probably have access to a few PC power supplies. Well the whole LED setup can be run off of a converted PC power supply. You could run several lights off of one supply.

If you are interested in more details, drop me a message and I can give you more information. Trust me, I understand having a tight budget.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Terrormaster said:


> Corey, kinda digging those, the price is good, they seem pretty focusable, and the colors are changeable. The base looks a little on the short side much like a CFL so might have to add extenders. Although might not be bright enough to flood large areas outdoors.
> 
> Have you tried these outside? If so, how are they with weather and do they fit in lawn stakes without an extender? Amazon seems to be running a pretty good deal on these


I've mostly just run them in plastic sockets from the hardware store - with some type of cardboard surround. The base is a little short, but the 'head' tapers out from there so might fit a little better than a CFL. I haven't had any outside, though I'd say they are sealed at least as well, or better than a CFL. They would light a fairly large area, the main question would be 'how bright?' - it's tough to describe. Definitely bright enough to see in the dark or as an accent light. Now would I want to perform surgery or other delicate work by the light of one - probably not. Though it looks like there are some 5W versions coming out - they are a bit more pricey.


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## RandalB (Jun 8, 2009)

Terrormaster said:


> Although might not be bright enough to flood large areas outdoors.
> 
> Have you tried these outside? If so, how are they with weather and do they fit in lawn stakes without an extender? Amazon seems to be running a pretty good deal on these


I have the single color versions of these, and they are plenty bright for Large areas outdoors....

Weather wise, they seem pretty water resistant, I haven't lost one yet. They can have troubles fitting into some of the green plastic lawn sockets, but a quick zap with a miter saw shortened the holder just enough to fit 'em with no problems.

Corey,
My only question on the ones you are showing is: Do they reset to a cycling color mode when you cut the power to them?

Following with interest,
RandalB


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

Last year spirit had small led spot bulbs in all the basic colors for $10 each. I would assume they will have them again this year. Target had the same bulb in uv (blacklight) with outdoor fixture for the same price.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

RandalB said:


> ...
> Corey,
> My only question on the ones you are showing is: Do they reset to a cycling color mode when you cut the power to them?
> 
> ...


That is a good question - It's been a while since I've had these out. I want to say "Yes, they do" - almost like a demo mode which cycles through all colors, fades and transitions. IIRC, if you turn off/on with the IR remote, they will hold what ever setting you had entered, but if they loose 120VAC power at the socket, they revert to the demo color change. So that might be a deal killer for some people. I do not know if different brands operate differently or not. I will double check mine tonight and report for sure.

OTOH, at only 3 watts, you could leave a dozen of the things on for the entire month of October and it's still only going to cost a few cents worth of electricity - so unless you want to flash/flicker them for an effect setting them to the desired color one time might be enough for the season.

One thing I have noticed running two or more bulbs bulbs, when they do cycle color, the bulbs stay in unison and the color changes still sync up even after hours of operation. So they are likely counting power line cycles.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

To follow up on my earlier post. After testing / memory refreshing:

The lights I have - No marking other than "Magic Lighting" on the remote:

Cutting the 120VAC power does erase what ever color/mode the bulb was set to and put it back in a 'demo' mode cycling through all colors and fades.

Turning the bulb off with the IR remove preserves any settings which were entered.

On the remote, there are options for pure red, green, blue and white, as well as 12 shades of mixed color from those three primaries. There is an option for four stages of brightness. Lastly, there are four options for color switch/fading (which seem to have lost a bit in translation):

'FLASH' = instant color changes at ~1 second intervals
'STROBE' = instant color changes ~3.5 second intervals
'FADE' = continuous fading through colors at ~1 second intervals
'SMOOTH' = fade out color A, into color B over an interval of 1 second, hold color B for 2 seconds, fade out B, in C over 1 second, hold color C for 2 seconds, etc 

* These fades only involve colors, not bright/dim.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Went to home depot this afternoon to shop for some CFLs. Got lucky and found exactly six 90w green floods. They also had a good bit of red floods left but don't need those as I don't really use red in my haunt. 

I also picked up a green CFL and two purple CFLs. Let me say now for the record... The purple CFLs SUCK! I mean REALLY suck. They're a whitish washed out pink when lit. Definitely returning them tomorrow. I'll probably have to make a separate post as it's a little off topic. But anyone know where I can get some decent purple lights that aren't LEDs, are a rich purple without requiring a can and some gels, and just bright enough to light props outdoors without looking washed out?


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

I personally use blue and red CFLs in my floods. The reds suck. They're too pale, in my opinion. The blues I love. Bright, full bodied color that tends to extend well.


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## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

I'm adding new floods controlled by DMX as well. Here's one of mine -


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

corey872 said:


> ......
> 
> One thing to check out might be the new 3 watt E27 LED 16 color change lights. They put out a fairly bright light, somewhat focused - or you can put a bit of opaque paper over the lens to get a more diffuse light. They are around $8-9 each...or a bit less in quantity. You'd get green - and 15 other colors in one bulb - in case you ever change your mind, or want to use them for other decoration.
> 
> ......


I was looking up various lighting posts and found this. Was quite intrigued by the E27 LED you posted about Corey, so I bought one to test out. I had in mind to light this huge tree we have so opted to pay a bit more for the 5 watt. Just got it and tested it out last night, I love it! Thanks for posting your photos, not sure if I would have tried this bulb otherwise.

I tested it outside with a large clamp light fixture and it lit about 70% of the back of my house which is 38 feet long. I figured I'd go for my favourite colour green but the smooth transition of colour really sets off the mood. I'll probably pick up another one. Even the purple was nice in the colour range.


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## typoagain (Feb 27, 2012)

halstaff said:


> I'm adding new floods controlled by DMX as well. Here's one of mine -


 
Interesting design. Is it original? I would love to see a picture of the back.

I have several lights that I made last year with 5050 RGB LEDs that are like the one with the red housing. Yours look like the kit that David puts out. 

I did not use a kit simply because I found a great deal on housings that the kit does not fit. I got half a dozen lights at HD on black Friday for about $6 each. I also have a couple I built using the little 250Watt halogen work light. They put out half as much light. Mine all have individual DMX controllers mounted inside each of them.

I left a fixture setting outside for 4 months and it never got damp or gave me any problems. I have also propped them off the roof of the house with no ill effects at all. (However, you can still break the glass easy enough)

I only bought supplies when I could get it on sale and ended up having less that $30 in each of them.

My only regret is that I have not had the time to build more.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Acid PopTart said:


> I tested it outside with a large clamp light fixture and it lit about 70% of the back of my house which is 38 feet long. I figured I'd go for my favourite colour green but the smooth transition of colour really sets off the mood. I'll probably pick up another one. Even the purple was nice in the colour range.


Thanks Acid PopTart, that's precisely the info I was looking for. I think I might grab a couple of these for haha's and see how the purple looks on my ghosts.


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