Introduction: The I Hate Halogen Light
Occasionally I would buy a halogen light, but they get dangerously hot, are inconvenient to move, especially from stilts, and I could never get them to work again after the bulbs burn out, after all the trouble of taking it apart, replacing the bulb without touching the new one, and putting it all back together.
My solution after several attempts is the I Hate Halogen Light, A.K.A The Photon Torpedo or the Bucket o' Photons.
First I tried putting one of the aluminum shaded lights in a five gallon plastic bucket, cutting the bottom partially out until the light fit down into it snugly, wiring it in place and attaching a stick to the side to set it down and move it around while on stilts.
This was pretty good, but the bulb was still vulnerable, so next I tried wiring the light in the bottom of the bucket as before, and cutting the bottom out of another bucket and jamming it snugly onto the first as a kind of shade and protector to the bulb, using the existing handle in place of the stick. Better, but then I thought, "Why not use the better properties of the new fluorescent bulbs to improve your light?" Hence....
Step 1: Items Needed
2 - 5 gallon plastic buckets
3- cheap bulb fixtures
1- electrical cord
Wire nuts and/or epoxy putty
3 new-type spiral fluorescent bulbs
Various epoxy, epoxy putty, hardware, junk box odds and ends
utility knife or fine saw
drill or poker of some kind
Caulk and caulk gun
Step 2: Place the Fixtures
.
Step 3: Make the Shade
Cut the bottom off the other bucket, including about 2 inches of the wall, leaving the handle on. After everything sets up, jam the shade bucket over the bucket on the floor until it reaches a point where the bulbs are recessed, but high enough inside the bucket for your purposes. It can be epoxied also when you are sure it is to your liking. To avoid dust collecting, fill the crack where the buckets meet on the top side with caulk.
Step 4: Avoiding Trouble
Step 5: Light Up Your Life
Step 6: Room for Improvement
Finally thought of and executed ways to decrease the bulk and weight of the light. First, I cut a five gallon plastic bucket about 2 inches off the bottom , turned the bottom around and inserted it into the bottom of the cut bucket, pushing it up about 3 inches and pop riveting and hot gluing it to make the underside deep enough to hold the wires. Then I cut holes (very tightly measured) and attached rubber bulb sockets to the bottom of the bucket, wiring it as before in parallel, (all white together and to one wire of your salvaged vacuum cord and all black together and to the other wire of the cord.) Twist the white wires tightly and the black wires tightly and cover with some kind of epoxy putty for insulation and hot glue the sockets and wires in place. Don't have pix of this one, but I bought a THREE gallon bucket and made one even smaller, pix above. Now I can't reach it off stilts when it's on the ground, but it's always something isn't it.