List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $26.00
Today's Bonus: 48% Off
I live in an area where we suffer several power outages every year (the most recent one being Hurricane Sandy). That's why I have at least half a dozen power failure lights scattered over the house. But somehow, none of them actually offer all the features I like to see. Some cannot be used in nightlight mode, others are not bright enough as a flashlight, or the runtime is too limited, and so on. Finally, I found this product (Eco-Lite 4 Function LED Lights) in a local warehouse Club, which seems to provide every function I want.
The Eco-Lite consists of two parts: the charging base station and the detachable flashlight unit. It can be used for the followings:
1. As an emergency light that comes on automatically in case of power failure, or when the flashlight unit is removed from the base station
2. As a nightlight that automatically turns on/off based on ambient light
3. As a flashlight with High/Low and blinking functions (10x 5mm LEDs on top)
4. As a work light (5x LEDs on the side)
When first turned on by the power button, the flashlight is in High power mode. The light output is advertised as '60 lumens', which is almost as powerful as a Mini-Maglite LED Flashlight (69 lumens), although the beam from the latter is better focused. The package claims a runtime of 3 hours in High mode. This is accurate based on my testing.
A seond click changes the flashlight into Low power mode. The light is much dimmer now, but its runtime is extended to 15 hours. A third click makes the flashlight blinks, and the fourth turns it off. By the way, when the flashlight automatically turns on during power failure, it starts in Low power mode. That way the battery won't be drained too quickly.
The nightlight mode is supposed to have one 'Hi' and one 'Lo' settings. However, I can hardly see the difference in brightness between those two settings. It is actually too bright for me as a nightlight in the bedroom. Fortunately, I can rotate the nightlight in the base station, such that its light points towards the wall.
The base station is an example of good engineering design. It uses inductive coupling for charging, so there are no electrical contacts. That means you never have to worry about corrosion or intermittent contacts. The flashlight unit can rotate freely in the base station while charging. Furthermore, the base station itself has a AC plug that can be rotated 270-degrees. That means you'll be able to mount the base station correctly, regardless of the orientation of your AC socket. Finally, it does NOT cover both AC sockets while plugged in to the wall outlet.
I measured the power consumption for the base station, using the Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor. Even while recharging internal battery and with nightlight mode on, the base station consumes less than 1W. That means I don't need to worry about energy cost while keeping the base station plugged in all the time.
If I have to think of one criticism, I will say the flashlight unit should be powered by user-replaceable NiMH batteries, since all internal battery pack will die eventually. Using Lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack does offer the advantages of small size and light weight.
In summary, this product is everything I can wish for as a multi-functional Power Failure / Nightlight / Flashlight / Work light. I highly recommend it for any family.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I wish I could give this product 5 stars and as far as the idea and how usefull they are I would. I wouldn't tell you not to try a set, but keep the receipt. I bought 1 set at Costco and liked them so much I went back and bought another. About 2 weeks later I found that one from the second pack had a few bulbs go out in the flashlight part and got worse. I returned the 2 pack and got another and in about a week one of those did the same thing. I haven't returned that pack yet but decided to use the bad one in a room I was using it more as a nightlight. The problem with returning 2 packs is you have to return one that's good, to return one that's bad.Jan 15, 2013 Just thought I'd give a follow up. Another of the flashlights have bulbs going out, that's 3 out of 6 now. I see there are other reviews that are reporting the same problem.
0 comments:
Post a Comment