Customer Reviews

DEWALT DC527 18-Volt NiCd Fluorescent Area Light, No Battery

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a nice addition to the De Walt 18 volt cordless lineup. I have used the gooseneck light for years. Since I have a plethora of 18 volt batteries from other tools in the series, it makes sense for me to use this for lighting as well.

The gooseneck does a better job for task specific lighting like under a sink or peering between studs. I use this one to provide overall lighting where the power is completely out in a room or space, and it isn't worth bringing in power cords from elsewhere or setting up a generator. This augments my gooseneck nicely.

I have used this light for three weeks doing rewiring. Do not purchase it and use it as your ONLY light source in a totally dark location. The incandescent models will fade and dim when the battery voltage drops. This fluorescent will stop suddenly with no warning when the voltage goes below what the electronics need to drive the lamp. For safety's sake, use it to augment other lighting.

I bought this thinking it would just be good for lighting a room or area, but it's great for lighting under the hood of the car or working under the kitchen sink. It's brighter than I expected. It stands up on the battery as a base or hangs on the hook. So far, I like everything about it. One thing to remember, it doesn't fade like an incandescent light, but goes off completely when the battery runs out.

I would for sure reccomend getting the 18v flexible dewalt light rather than this. The flexible light can wrap around a 2x4 or tree limb, or can simply set on the ground and point to where you want it to. The flourescent does give off a better light, the flexible light is half the price and still very bright.

A worthy addition to my 18V tools. This is now the first light I reach for when I'm in the dark. My wife thinks I'm in the dark most of the time. I am very pleased with this purchase and recommend this light to anyone who already has the 18V system.

This light is a good example of why people buy DeWalt gear. It is as tough as their other tools and it takes the same 18v batteries as my drills and saws, it provides decent light for a work area for hours on a single charge without getting warm. Changine the bulb, if you ever need to, is simple; just twist the top and lift it off, plug in the new bulb, slide the top back on and twist until it clicks home. The hook is handy too, so you can hang it from a nail, stand it on the floor, lie it on its side. The light weighs so little that the battery is the majority of the weight, so it is very stable when standing on its base.

This is also part of my earthquake kit, they always tell you to keep a light handy. Recently our island has a power cut, pitch black under an overcast. I went outside to see if the lights were out in the whole area and this light provided better illumination than the street lights usually do. It also provides light over more than 270 degrees, mostly to the front, and sides, but there's enough to the rear to see where your feet are when you are walking around in the dark.

This much light for this price? Why are you still reading reviews, this is a no-brainer, just buy it already.

Works even better than expected. Lights up a dark room very well for installing cabinets, driving screws, etc. Stays cool, easy to carry and locate. Have not yet run out a battery.

Aside from longer battery life i see no advantage for this light as it does not provide enough DIRECTED light and is expensive now as amazon raised the price from $23 to $50 , that is over 100%! Come on amazon that is excessive. It was not even worth the $23 . It is just a bulb and a plastic holder. The DW charger light is a much better product as another reviewer has said.

I bought this along with Dewalt's DW908 (which works flawlessly). This light did its job and did it well for about 2 months. One evening while working in the garage with it, it just stopped working. Nobody hit it, dropped it, etc. It was hanging under the hood throwing off light and poof...it just died. I changed out the battery to a fully charged one and the light would not work. I bought a replacement bulb, still nothing. I put a multimeter into the bulb sockets (there are 4 so I tried all combinations)....no power. I called and emailed DeWalt and never got a response. It's too bad. I own the other light along with some of their 18V power tools and they all work great. giving this 1 star due to the fact that it did not last and I got no reply from DeWalt about it.

Amazon has the best price I've found on this item. This Area Light does a fine job providing immediate area lighting.Bright and white. Good battery life-around 3 or so hrs.The light however,doesn't give you any warning when the battery is about to be fully drained.No dimming or flicker, just darkness.I try to keep a mental clock ticking when I'm in a difficult area to access. It is a bit heavy loaded with an 18V battery but the weight adds to the stability when placed on a flat surface and the 18V covers more surface area than a 14V which is why I chose this model over the Dewalt DC528 as well as the longer battery life.The hanging hook feature is nice and always used. I do worry about the durability of the bulb if dropped.Had this lamp for around 8 months or so and use it often when working in dim or dark areas under my house or vehicle.I use it around the house when the power goes down and would definitely take it camping as I do have an auto battery charger..Highly recommended.

This really depends on how you use it. Dewalt makes 3 different types of flashlights that use the 18 volt design. This is one, there is a DEWALT DW919 18-Volt Flexible Floodlight, No Battery one and the DEWALT DW908 18-Volt NiCd Pivoting Head Cordless Flashlight, No Battery one.

Each has their pro and cons. I have acquired all three due to buying various combo packs and what not.

For the flexible one the ability to adjust in many different angles is a plus but a con is the fact that many different angles cause the flashlight to tip over if it is not wrapped around anything and if it is just laid on the ground with the battery acting as a weight. I have owned this model for as long as it has been out which I believe is around 10 to 13 years. It still works but the flexible part as seen better days. It is not longer as bendy as it once was as the flexible part has become stiff and brittle making it feel like it will break if I flex it to harshly. Also the battery life is not that great as it is just a standard lightbulb (it claims to be a xenon bulb but do not mistake it for HID which are colloquially called xenons) It produces a very yellow cast (compared to today's whiter leds) Expect it to last maybe 30 minutes.

The pivoting head model is a nice idea for people who want to point light and keep the flashlight on the ground. I have used this when our power was cut out during an ice storm. I used this to give some addition light when the power company came to restore our power. It was noticeable improvement even at 50 feet away during the night. But again it also has the same xenon bulb which makes it a thirsty power consumer. Expect it to last no more than 20-30 minutes. I believe that this is brighter than the pivoting model but you lose duration for lumens. Also understand that this model has an odd feeling while holding it as the weight or the battery is on the bottom. Because of the design it makes hand holding it and trying to move it around annoying but not hard. Just think of the design similar to a high wire bicycle with the weight ten feet below the bicycle which keeps the bicycle from falling down in circus acts. So it tends to just like it to be held straight ahead.

With this Fluorescent model we can see an improvement in color. Although it is still tinted yellow, it is more of a truer white versus the other two traditional bulb flashlights. There are some design flaws or things you will have to understand and deal with with working with this flashlight. If you place it on the ground and expect some light to be thrown upwards, it really will not. It more or less throws the light 270 degrees. This is not a 360 degree lantern, the back part does at least have a reflector. But the up and down throw is limited to the design. So this is better for conditions where you are able to place it near the area you are going to work with. I unfortunately tried to use it mediocrely inside a closet in the basement where I was installing some drywall. Because of the throw it did not really provide light to where I needed it from the floor, but it you placed it sideways on the ground it would roll or generally throw its light straight up and into your eyes causing a lot of glare... Had they implemented a hing or such to be able to put the battery on the ground but pivot the light bulb itself horizontal to be able to throw some light higher would have been a nice feature.

And a final thing to know the design limitations, as with traditional bulbs you can see that the bulb is gradually getting weaker and weaker with a drop in brightness. With this fluorescent model there is no indication, it will once the battery current drops below a certain voltage will cease to provide any light. This is a thing to understand as if it is the only light you will carry in a pitch black place then it would be extremely advisable to carry another flashlight to switch the battery or whatever. With the other two you can still be able to get some light with the battery being slowly drained. But you will see about 40 to 50 minutes of run time with a fully charged battery. Also the brightness is between a 23 watt (100 watt equivalent) and 16 watt (60 watt equivalent) fluorescent light bulb. It says it is 13 watts but with the shape of the bulb and reflector it does seem to produce more lumen than the 16 watt fluorescent squiggly tail light bulbs.

I hope this helps.