GE Tetra vs Hanley vs Axion Vs chinese led modules for 2 ft dia. Ring Light for photo

[aluminumwelder]

I will be making a 2 ft dia ring light which has an internal diameter of 1.5' so it will be a 3" wide circle of light. Approximately used 30 times a year for 4hrs at a time for taking photos with an ipad.
channel will be 2" deep and covered with 1/16 white polycarbonate makrolon.

I have tried led double density and double row led strip lights which cost about $15 for a 5 meter 60w strip. they get very hot, around 100-120F and the adhesive tends to fail. they also do not go around the circle unless you crimp them which causes the solder joints to often fail.

so I am now going to switching to led modules since they can easily go around a circle .
I bought some GE tetras which are over 5 times more expensive then similar cheap Chinese ones.

has anyone done any personal testing to see which ones are better and by how much?

I dont' really care about getting the best quality, not do I want the worst, just something that will work for a couple years no issues, if it burns up after that, they are easy to pull out and replace. It's not like this will be hung 20 feet in the air and be a PITA to change out.

 

[aluminumwelder]

well i found no difference at all visually between the expensive ge and the no name tetra modules, my advice is to save your money and get the cheaper ones and just test them in your shop for a few weeks before using on a job.

in fact I found a totally new led strip light called S SHAPE which is even better for my purpose.

really wish people would share more on this forum all i hear are crickets on most of my posts.

 

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

There is a HUGE difference between those you just listed and the "no Names". It's also not a very good idea to tell others to pass on quality and go for the "cheaper" with no data to back that up.

At first glance everything visually looks okay. The problem that happens down the road becomes your customers, and eventually yours. In a lot of cases depending on what product you specified for your customers sign that failure can happen in a VERY short time.

The results can be color shift, rapid lumen maintenance or outright catastrophic failure. A small single logo box maybe no big loss, but NOT for a multiple 1k module+ section job.

You also cannot judge a product properly for your environment by lighting it up a couple of days, weeks before a job.

I wouldn't touch 95% of the cheap Chinese import "Engineered IN America, Made in China" junk out there.

Unless you have to dim your project for some reason, always spend the additional and go Constant Current, NOT constant Voltage, and stay clear away from anything CHINA!

 

[aluminumwelder]

ok, I'm listening, what leds modules do you recommend? all the USA companies I contacted have told me they are made in china, so then in becomes a matter of trying to find out what brand is best.
the whole argument that EVERYTHING MADE IN CHINA IS BAD IS RETARTED. It's like eating at a USA restaurant, not likeing the food and saying all USA food is bad.
back up your hype with some facts please.

 

[Z SIGNS]

I'm baffled by some of these posts

Why wouldn't you use the very best you can get.The difference between cheap led's and the best you can get is pennies.
Take a chance with cheap to save what $10

 

[aluminumwelder]

more like $5000 a year, what a stupid comment, why did you even bother to type it, you did zero research and just pulled some numbers out of your ***.

 

[aluminumwelder]

A small single logo box maybe no big loss, but NOT for a multiple 1k module+ section job.

You also cannot judge a product properly for your environment by lighting it up a couple of days, weeks before a job.

did you even read my post? the type of product I make is equivalent to a small logo box that you Imply it will be ok for? Sold 25 since I posted this over 3 months ago, no faiulures.

also one usa vendor told me that testing for a week is EXACTLY how they test their modules and told me point blank the labor for testing and customer service is why their Chinese modules are more expensive than buying from china direct.

 

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

Sorry for the late reply been so busy with so many different areas.

Failures won't happen immediately, and there are so many different ways a product can fail. Individual modules shifting in light at different times, rapid light degradation, and catastrophic failure.

Anyone who says testing their product for only a week let alone a year doesn't know what their talking about let alone know their own product or this industry (you can quote me). You probably spoke to a salesman who's only interested in making his commission or sale, not an electrical engineer.

I've been testing just about every LED you can think of along with Neon lamps for the electric sign industry since 2008. Even if it's a bad batch you wouldn't see failure for at least three months or longer.

I have yet to ever see a Chinese LED module impress me, I'm not talking about buy direct from China, I mean the American disguise of "Engineered in America....Made in China"

My suggestion is always Constant Current even if it has to be Chinese, using Constant Voltage (eco) LED's will give you uneven lighting from the first module on a strong to the last as well as system failure because a power supply used was slightly over powering them by a minute fraction of a volt.

Top dog is Japanese and Korean. It can be Constant Voltage and Nichia of Japan.... and it will stay bright, and stay white and last for a very long time.

We finally got into LED modules to sell alongside our Neon components.

We liked a few manufacturers and locked down on NC LED, their Korean. Korean standards are just like Japan, High. Looking at all the testing we have done since 2008 we locked in on a configuration of our own choosing using a high tier Samsung Chip, a high powered configuration with on board LED current regulation drivers (Constant Current) and Waalaaa.

High Powered Super Bright, True White 6500K, Current Regulated for Long Life, finally the High Grade Samsung Chip. We call our configuration The Reckless Series, all other NC LED's are not the same. They can be Samsung, LG, or Sol, and their different grade.

So far everyone who has tried or sampled has NEVER gone back to using anything else unless their projects have been specified to be something else or it made sense to use a different light source.

More info on this product, LINK

 

[MikePro]

if you're going to spend extra money anywhere, shop for better power supplies. LEDs will go forever, some brighter, but all glowing bright. Power supplies, however, are always the first thing to go.