better to light a single candle...

[Roger Wiegand]

So many of us with Rikon grinders have bemoaned the lousy light it provides. I've tried rigging up a couple of alternatives myself. A couple days ago while messing with it I realized that it wasn't a built-in permanent LED, but rather a screw-in light bulb. Well, we have choices in light bulbs!

It took a little fussing to get the right thing, but Amazon provided and I now have a light that is probably 20 times brighter! You need to look for a E14 base (common in Europe), bigger than a US candelabra base, 12V LED bulb. I bought these but many others will work.

I had to bend the outer ring contact in the socket out just slightly to make contact, the base is just slightly taller than on the original and the contact is deep in the socket.

Let there be light!

 

[Paul Grenier]

So many of us with Rikon grinders have bemoaned the lousy light it provides. I've tried rigging up a couple of alternatives myself. A couple days ago while messing with it I realized that it wasn't a built-in permanent LED, but rather a screw-in light bulb. Well, we have choices in light bulbs!

It took a little fussing to get the right thing, but Amazon provided and I now have a light that is probably 20 times brighter! You need to look for a E14 base (common in Europe), bigger than a US candelabra base, 12V LED bulb. I bought these but many others will work.

I had to bend the outer ring contact in the socket out just slightly to make contact, the base is just slightly taller than on the original and the contact is deep in the socket.

Let there be light!

There are so many choices. Which one did you get? Most of the ones I saw were 50 or 60 watt equivalent.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

There’s a link to the ones I got on Amazon in my first message. Click the underlined “these”. Can’t tell you they are “the best”, and unfortunately in packs of five.

the original is a 0.35 watt led, essentially a night light. The ones I got are 4 watt “equivalent to a 30W halogen “. They are dramatically brighter; even more would be great.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Thanks for the wonderfully enlightening tip.

Would an E17 intermediate base be too large? Would Vise-Grips help?

 

[Roger Wiegand]

E17 would be way too big, I'm afraid. (The number is the base diameter in mm,)

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

E17 would be way too big, I'm afraid. (The number is the base diameter in mm,)

I just looked up E17 lamp base where the outside dimension is listed as .542" or 13.77 mm

 

[Roger Wiegand]

OK, wrong again! The threads don't look the same but give it a shot. The source I was looking at indicated that these were primarily 120V bulbs, but if you have a 12V one I don't think screwing it in can do any harm.

Gives me an opportunity to bring out my favorite cartoon:

 

[Bill Boehme]

Maybe that explains why I haven't been getting enough sleep. (E17 base diameter is 0.669", not 0.542")

 

[Timothy Allen]

0.669" = 17 mm

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Roger, this is a great tip. I actually got a replacement bulb (from either Ken Rizza or Rikon) and it was just as bad as the original. Problem is not just that the bulb is dim, but it flickers. Has your replacement solved the flicker problem, too, or was that not an issue with your grinder?

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I never noticed mine flickering, but it was so dim who could tell. I've been working on another project, so have only used the grinder a couple of times. I did not notice any flicker. Not to say it's not there. I don't know how they're generating the 12v supply for the bulb, but I imagine that flickering is probably going to vary with the bulb electronics design.