Two switches of deathray!!!

[Big Blue]

Well, its been a shity weekend for me.

Found out Friday afternoon I have to fly to Canada for work next week last minute and then I get home friday night to the wife with the flu.

I tried to do some testing myself but was getting weird numbers from the lux meter. First time user so I must be doing something wrong.

Sorry I wont get a chance to do this like I wanted to and thanks Rigid for sending but I will at least share this one aspect of the brief testing.

Regardless that I was getting different numbers regarding the lux output...one thing was consistent after several attemps...to my surprise;

The 20" lower bar was in fact putting out higher numbers than the 40" bar behind the grill. By the eyeball factor, it does not seem true, but according to the meter...after several tries...same results.

So, I'm man enough to say..Looks like I was wrong. Apologies to those I gave shit. I certainly would not say the 40 bar is a waste of $$ as it still throws serious light and for some, the fact that its stealth and safe behind the grill is a big plus. However, it appears, if you want the best light output for the $, the 20 lower is the way to go.

 

[NickPic83]

thanks for the update and honest info big blue. i will be doing the 20" mod for sure now

 

[MarkT]

SNIP

The 20" lower bar was in fact putting out higher numbers than the 40" bar behind the grill. By the eyeball factor, it does not seem true, but according to the meter...after several tries...same results.

So, I'm man enough to say..Looks like I was wrong. Apologies to those I save shit. I certainly would not say the 40 bar is a waste of $$ as it still throws serious light and for some, that fact that its stealth and safe behind the grill is a big plus. However, it appears, if you want the best light output for the $, the 20 lower is the way to go.

Big Blue... hats off to you for your honest evaluation! I have 3 HID lights behind my grill and the reduction in light is significant when I close the hood... But I also agree that the light that does make it through is definitely useful. Range is not really affected, it's just not as "bright" if that makes sense.

 

[Hockster]

Well, its been a shity weekend for me.

Found out Friday afternoon I have to fly to Canada for work next week last minute and then I get home friday night to the wife with the flu.

I tried to do some testing myself but was getting weird numbers from the lux meter. First time user so I must be doing something wrong.

Sorry I wont get a chance to do this like I wanted to and thanks Rigid for sending but I will at least share this one aspect of the brief testing.

Regardless that I was getting different numbers regarding the lux output...one thing was consistent after several attemps...to my surprise;

The 20" lower bar was in fact putting out higher numbers than the 40" bar behind the grill. By the eyeball factor, it does not seem true, but according to the meter...after several tries...same results.

So, I'm man enough to say..Looks like I was wrong. Apologies to those I save shit. I certainly would not say the 40 bar is a waste of $$ as it still throws serious light and for some, that fact that its stealth and safe behind the grill is a big plus. However, it appears, if you want the best light output for the $, the 20 lower is the way to go.

Its really to bad that you had to go through all this just to find out that the 20 is putting out more than the 40... Eating crow anit a big deal since we all have been through it before... At lease there is some safety factor with it behind the grill...

 

[AngryBird]

Keep in mind that Lux is a unit of Illuminance. Illuminance is a measure of the intensity of illumination on a particular surface. It is not the measure of TOTAL light output. For example consider the Rigid Dually light. It has raw light output of 1300 lumens. However the intensity it creates at some distance away will be dependent on how focused the light is. See the attached pictures from Rigid's website. Notice that @ 10 meters, the Dually Spot appears ~30x as bright as the Dually Diffusion. Yet they are emitting the exact same amount of light. A good experiment to run while you still have the light meter would be:

Illuminance (measured at the most visually bright spot) at 50 ft away of the following:

The 20" unobstructed
The 40" unbostructed
The 40" obstructed by the grille.

The Lux meter will bounce around and will be affected by what color shirt you are wearing and where you are standing etc. It will also be affected by how the lights are aimed(if there is light reflection off the ground and such).

It is possible the Rigid 40" E-series has a more diffuse pattern than the 20" which would mean its intensity at a certain distance was less. This would make it appear not to be as bright. I am most curious to see how the grill being in the way affects the Illluminance of 40". My guess is still by about 10-20%

Comparing the 20" to the 40" may be an apples to oranges comparison because the light diffusion may be totally different.

 

[Raptor78]

Keep in mind that Lux is a unit of Illuminance. Illuminance is a measure of the intensity of illumination on a particular surface. It is not the measure of TOTAL light output. For example consider the Rigid Dually light. It has raw light output of 1300 lumens. However the intensity it creates at some distance away will be dependent on how focused the light is. See the attached pictures from Rigid's website. Notice that @ 10 meters, the Dually Spot appears ~30x as bright as the Dually Diffusion. Yet they are emitting the exact same amount of light. A good experiment to run while you still have the light meter would be:

Illuminance (measured at the most visually bright spot) at 50 ft away of the following:

The 20" unobstructed
The 40" unbostructed
The 40" obstructed by the grille.

The Lux meter will bounce around and will be affected by what color shirt you are wearing and where you are standing etc. It will also be affected by how the lights are aimed(if there is light reflection off the ground and such).

It is possible the Rigid 40" E-series has a more diffuse pattern than the 20" which would mean its intensity at a certain distance was less. This would make it appear not to be as bright. I am most curious to see how the grill being in the way affects the Illluminance of 40". My guess is still by about 10-20%

Comparing the 20" to the 40" may be an apples to oranges comparison because the light diffusion may be totally different.

GOOD INFO!!

 

[MarkT]

SNIP
It is possible the Rigid 40" E-series has a more diffuse pattern than the 20" which would mean its intensity at a certain distance was less. This would make it appear not to be as bright. I am most curious to see how the grill being in the way affects the Illluminance of 40". My guess is still by about 10-20%

Comparing the 20" to the 40" may be an apples to oranges comparison because the light diffusion may be totally different.

Some good info... but this I doubt. I believe the 20" and the 40" use the same components... spot modules in the center and wide angle modules on the sides. The 40" just has twice as many LED modules.

One thing that is very true is that single lux measurements are "almost" useless... a totally crap light could have a small hotspot in the pattern which the manufacturer measures and uses to claim a high light output number. You really need to take a LOT of measurements and evaluate the entire light pattern at different distances to make a good comparison.

Rigid lights put out a lot of light with a good pattern... but all you have to do is open and close the hood with the lights on to see the difference the grill makes.

By my eye, it's about a 50% reduction in light with 3 HID's behind the grill... and the lights very close to the slot in the grill. A 40" LED appears to sit further back and could be better or worse.

An interesting test would be to leave the light meter in the exact same position (mounted on a tripod?) and take readings with the hood opened and closed.

 

[AngryBird]

Some good info... but this I doubt. I believe the 20" and the 40" use the same components... spot modules in the center and wide angle modules on the sides. The 40" just has twice as many LED modules.

One thing that is very true is that single lux measurements are "almost" useless... a totally crap light could have a small hotspot in the pattern which the manufacturer measures and uses to claim a high light output number. You really need to take a LOT of measurements and evaluate the entire light pattern at different distances to make a good comparison.

Rigid lights put out a lot of light with a good pattern... but all you have to do is open and close the hood with the lights on to see the difference the grill makes.

By my eye, it's about a 50% reduction in light with 3 HID's behind the grill... and the lights very close to the slot in the grill. A 40" LED appears to sit further back and could be better or worse.

An interesting test would be to leave the light meter in the exact same position (mounted on a tripod?) and take readings with the hood opened and closed.

I agree with you and I don't see why the pattern would be any different between the two e-series lights. What you suggested with the tripod is exactly what I had in mind.

 

[Wilson]

I like the sun it's perfect the moon is not as good so I try and drive in the day but some times you have to drive at night so lighting is important how ever they do give you two light from the factory to start you out.
If I had the money I would put a blue light behind the grill to see if it looks cool or just a dim light to see if it would shadow the ford emblem on the ground.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Clearly Big blue had a tough week, and now he's off to Canada without his baby. A non-envious position. Give the guy credit, he did post his preliminary results, even though he may not have liked them.

Obviously some are making very good points about how a comparison could be made. Who better than an expert in lightning that we all trust? I think at this point Rigid should step up and provide definitive results. Clearly a shop test with apple to apple comparison will put this puppy to bed.

What do you think Rigid?