Buy Fulcrum 30015-308 9 LED Tap Light

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Summary: bright "taplight" with easy mounting but only for temporary / short usage

This is a nicely made light with a decent power button (it has a little more travel than I would like. A lighter touch would be nice)

The light is 3-7/8 inches in diameter much larger than other tap lights so I was disappointed that it didn't take AA's which have about 3x the run time of AAA's (2900 mAH vs ~1000 for AAA's) That said the light slides onto a self adhesive mounting base which makes battery changes much easier.

The beam is nice, even, and quite wide. I measured a 22" circle from a distance of 15" which means that the angle is about 75 degrees. It's also bright enough to be a (dim)under counter light. Unfortunately, I used a DVM and measured the draw to be 80 mA this means a fresh set of batteries is good for ~12 hours. A set of rechargables (~750 mAh) would be good for perhaps 9 hours.

I may try to convert this with a AC adapter so I can use it for an undercounter light it's that bright.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you've found this info helpful, please let me know!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The Fulcrum LED tap light is an evolution of the "wire-free light for anywhere" idea. It's 9 LEDs is the most I've seen in this type of product--most offer 3 or 5. It offers both 2 sided tape and screws as means to affix it to a surface. The tap feature works without much pressure making it easy to turn on even if not pressing it directly. Just be careful to not look at the light when turning it on because those LEDs are bright! Especially if you are in a dark space, you'll be blinded for a several moments. The LEDs shine with a cold brilliance, so don't expect warm, cozy illumination from this unit. The cone of light is not overly wide, but perfectly adequate for most applications.

The double sided tape is quite sticky, and will probably be what most folks use. Some surfaces might not play nice with the adhesive though, and the screws then offer a more permanent and sturdy solution. You need to be a little handy for this option though, and popping the light off a screwed-in base to change the batteries requires lining it up just in the right spot. Tricky. In an unscientific test, I put 3 full rechargeable AAA batteries in and left the light on. After approximately 72 hours of constant use, I came home to find the LEDs still shining but very dim. Your results may vary.

While a decent product, there some areas where it could have been more thoughtfully designed:

* The heavy-duty blister packaging made for difficult, even dangerous, product removal.

* The housing feels flimsy but has held up well so far. It doesn't inspire confidence in the tap light's long-term durability though.

* I actually had to read the instructions to figure out how to get to the battery compartment. It wasn't that hard after I figured it out, but it was challenging the first time. I don't look forward to doing this every time the batteries die, especially if the unit were screwed onto a surface (see earlier).

* Once you've stuck it somewhere, it is there to stay. Velcro instead of 2-sided tape might have been a better option. Make sure you get where you want, because you can't pivot the beam, a feature available in some other tap/puck light models.

* There is no dimming mode, just on or off.

* No light or motion sensor.

* It is pricier than many comparable tap lights.

The 30015-301 from Fulcrum is a bright, easy-to-use tap light for those areas that need illumination and wiring is not a good option. Make sure it is the best fit for your needs though. I also have a set of Rite Lites and though not as bright, find them more versatile, attractive and a better value overall. I may just keep my Fulcrum model loose and use it when I travel, or as a back-up in my car.

EDIT (01/04/2012): The double sided tape does not last forever. After several months hanging under a shelf, the Fulcrum did indeed fall off.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program For a tap light (i.e., a small portable light source that you can "tap" on), this this is darned bright. It's energy efficient and portable, and is a good solution if you need an occasional light someplace you don't have electricity.

I'm keeping this in my power failure kit -it will light a room about as bright as a candle (and much brighter within the cone of light that it projects), and it's safer than a candle.

The light isn't beautiful or blinding, but it's fine. The color is a kind of blueish white. Looking straight at the light while holding it is uncomfortable, and at that distance, it looks about as bright as a 100 watt bulb to my (untrained) eye. It uses LEDs instead of an incandescent or florescent bulb, so you don't need to replace bulbs, and you'll get more battery life than you would with a different technology. (3 AAA batteries). It attaches to a base disk, which you can then attach to a wall with the included double-sided tape or a screw.

All in all, a good solution for someplace you can't run a wire to, especially at this price.

Honest reviews on Fulcrum 30015-308 9 LED Tap Light

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The Fulcrum Tap Light is lightweight, easy to operate with its large central on/off button, and gives out a goodly amount of useful light. It's not enough to read by, but it's enough to light small, dark spaces such as pantries, storerooms, corners or sides of garages, and so on. Quite surprisingly, it has a usage unanticipated by the makers: it's a really good portable emergency light. It can be kept or mounted in a windowless bathroom for use during a power outage. It can also be hand-held and used as a wide-beam flashlight (although read below about the one major defect).

It's powered by three AAA batteries, and the batteries are easy enough to install. There's a mounting plate that can be affixed to just about any surface with the included adhesive strips, or more permanently mounted to a wood or wallboard surface with the supplied small screws. The unit is lightweight and doesn't require much mechanical support to stay where you want it to stay.

I can't exactly say as to battery life, but this design of light should have pretty good battery life. A slightly deceptive package label says "100,000 hours" but that's the life of the bulbs. I'm guessing the batteries will last more like 100 hours, but I haven't fully discharged my first set as yet.

That one flaw? The unit twists off the base to be removed and thus expose the battery compartment, then twists back on again. The problem is that the twist-on mechanism doesn't lock, and if you knock into the unit, it can pop open and spill out the batteries. That would be most annoying in a dark area or during a power outage, and it's much more easily done than it should be. So if you buy this unit, be careful of this problem.

Do I recommend this light? Yes, up to a point. It is a good light and is very versatile, but unfortunately I'd have to classify it as not completely reliable due to the ease with which the batteries can be knocked out.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Fulcrum 30015-308 9 LED Tap Light

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program So this is a tap light (though you tap the button in the middle, not the entire lower shell like some tap lights.) And it does pretty much exactly what you'd expect: light up a small area. Plus, it's LED so the bulbs will never burn out for all intents and purposes.

Placed in the master bedroom of my house, this can light up the entire room enough to SEE by, but not enough to read by for any period of time. For that, a few of these lights placed strategically around the house would be a great idea for those that experience power failures regularly. Placed on the bedside, wall behind the bed, or headboard, this produces enough light to read by, though you're not really going to get much ambient light and you'll get eye-strain long before tiring of reading...for simple "can't sleep, read a boring book for a while" scenarios, that's good...but this is not a reading light (or does it claim to be.)

I also found that in various cupboards, as long as its positioned correctly, the "wide angle" beam is bright enough to illuminate the far recesses... So at this point, having not "mounted" (permanently taped, which is why it's 4 stars, not 5) this light anywhere, I have plenty of possibilities.

Overall, a good tap light. Would recommend.