ETERNAL FLAME

Eternal Flame LED Flame Lamp, retail $29.95 (www.superbrightleds.com/flame.htm)
Manufactured by Red Line Inc. (www.superbrightleds.com)
Last updated 11-08-03




I received one of these lamps about a week ago (around 08-19), and within an hour or so, one of the silk flames got sucked into the fan; I started smelling a "hot" odour coming from the other room. So I emailed superbrightleds.com to tell them what just happened, and as I was writing my message, the silk got sucked into the fan again, and it really got chewed up that time. Instead of just sending me a replacement silk flame, they sent me a whole new lamp, a spare set of silk flames, and a set of adhesive pads so I can try to repair my first lamp! Excellent and prompt warranty service even before I get the review written - what more could I ask for?

I took the new lamp straight to the bathroom (where there's a hook in the ceiling above the toilet) and hung it up with its included chain, plugged in its included AC adapter, and started snapping off pictures.

The Eternal Flame lamp features a large, flat-bottomed bowl, eight high intensity colored LEDs, two white silk "flames", and a small boxer type fan to produce a realistic flame effect when the lamp is on. The fan blows up on the two silks so they flutter and wave about, and the LEDs shine on the silks, giving a natural, flame-like appearance to them as they flutter around up there.

And because the Eternal Flame uses LEDs, it runs cool and won't set curtains, walls, or ceilings on fire.



The Eternal Flame comes pretty much ready to use right out of the box. Inside the lamp bowl you'll find the AC adapter for it (in bubble wrap), and somewhere inside the box you'll find the ceiling chain in a small plastic baggie. You'll need this chain if you want to hang the lamp from a hook on the ceiling, so don't throw it out. Put it in a drawer or something if you don't need it right away, but please don't dispose of it.

To use the lamp, first ensure the two silks aren't hanging down where they might get sucked up in the fan at the lower intake. You can just lay them across the center piece over the LEDs and the top of the fan, and be satisfied with that. Plug the small round plug on the AC adapter into the round socket on the upper edge of the lamp's bowl, set the lamp on a flat surface at or above eye level, plug the large end of the AC adapter into a 110VAC wall outlet, and turn the switch in the middle of the cord on. If you did everything correctly, the LEDs should come on, and the silk "flames" should appear above the edge of the lamp's bowl a second or so later.

You can also hang the lamp from a hook in the ceiling. To do this, remove the chain assembly from the baggie it comes in, attach the three small hooks to the three small holes at the top edge of the bowl, and hang it by the round ring from a hook in your ceiling. The lamp should hang straight. If it's crooked, you screwed something up and you'll want to try again.

When you set the lamp up, try and set it somewhere up high so people can't look directly at the LEDs in the bowl. If the lamp is set up high so the LEDs aren't visible, the flame effect will look much better.

Be sure the two silk "flames" aren't hanging down where they could get sucked into the fan intake. You only need to do this when you first set up the lamp, or when you move the lamp to a different location.



Since this product is AC powered, this section can be skipped.




Because this is a lamp designed to be put somewhere and not touched, I'll forego slamming it against a steel rod, flushing it down the commode, running over it with a Rascal scooter, and other "indecencies" a regular flashlight might have to endure. The instructional sheet does caution that you keep the lamp dry, and says it's for indoor use only, presumably so rain doesn't get in it. It also states that the flame lamp should be kept upright, and that it can only be operated from an AC 120 volt outlet.

The Eternal Flame is a deceptively simple, but well-executed product. When hung from the ceiling or placed on a flat surface at or above eye level, the flame effect is quite realistic. The model I'm testing has yellow and orange-red LEDs; the "flame" is predominantly orangish-red with yellow flashes at the base near the center. This lamp can also be purchased with flame colors of pink/purple, red, blue, green, red/green, orange, yellow, and aqua; you can also get a white bowl with titanium colored chain if black doesn't fit your decor. You can also get spare silk "flames" for your lamp for $4.95 if yours become tattered or worn out and you need new ones.

The silk "flames" attach to your lamp (on the side corners of the fan) with velcro fasteners, so you can remove the silks to iron them if they become wrinkled or trim them with scissors if the edges become ragged, or even replace them with new ones if yours become worn out.



Picture of lamp hanging from its included chain on the ceiling.
This location is in my bathroom above the toilet; the green
material in the picture is a poster on the wall behind the toilet.



Picture (without photoflash) showing the flame-like quality of it.

I can't take any light output measurements on this lamp, that's why you don't see them here. The lamp is fairly bright for an LED product; you may or may not find it too bright to place in a bedroom and use as a nightlight. The only way to know for sure is to try one in your bedroom and see if it's too bright yourself. You can also hang one in the bathroom to use as a nightlight.

One owner reported that the fan noise was objectionable, but I did not find that to be the case with the two lamps I have running here. Maybe the lamp owner has extra sensitive hearing, or maybe he got a lamp with a noisy fan. I'll never know for sure, because he's already changed the fan for one he thought was quieter.

In my testing, the fan noise was not objectional in any manner. The one in the bathroom reminded me of the cistern refilling after the toilet had been flushed, but it's quieter than that. If you stand up right next to it, a soft hissing or blowing sound can be heard; this is a normal sound made by a 12V boxer fan and should be ignored.


TEST NOTES:
Test unit was received about a week ago (around 08-19-03). A warranty issue was handled expertly and promptly by superbrightleds.com (they sent me a new lamp and some other goodies to possibly repair my first one with, which arrived today (08-27-03) and the lamp seems to be in fantastic working order.)
I installed one of the spare silks and velcro adhesive pads into my original lamp, and it seems to be working fine - though it's only been running for about half an hour as of this writing.


UPDATE: 08-28-03
My original (fixed) lamp continues to function like new. Granted, it's only been 18 hours or thereabouts, but I did leave it on overnight and this morning (I intend to leave the lamps turned on 24/7/365 since my electric bill won't go up very much), and it's still plugging along.


UPDATE: 09-14-03
My "original" (fixed) lamp seems to have pooped out. The silks seem to still be properly attached, but the fan seems to blow significantly less air than it used to. Turning it off and leaving it off seems to help a LITTLE, but not by enough to blow the silks far enough upward to get that flame-like appearance. I'm guessing something in the fan went bad after being stalled out for an extended period when the original silk detached and became sucked up in it; it had been in this situation for 30-60 minutes, before I smelled a "hot" odour in the air when I passed through the room it was in, and then noticed the lamp had malfunctioned.
The second lamp hanging in the bathroom appears to still be functioning correctly.


UPDATE: 11-08-03
The replacement lamp I received also appears to be pooping out too. The fan runs and all the LEDs are still shining brightly, but the silk "flames" are no longer being blown upward. Let me change the silks, and see if that helps. If it doesn't, I'll probably lop one of the stars off the rating below (from 4 stars to 3 stars) and update the website's What's New page with this page. The warranty service is great, but to have two lamps kick the bucket in three months, that doesn't say much for the quality of the lamps themselves, does it?

(Edit) I replaced both silks, and noted no significant change. So, off comes a star. :(


PROS:
Excellent warranty service
(So far) long silk life
Large bowl effectively blocks direct exposure to LEDs
"Flame" has a realistic fluttering appearance to it
Tested samples are quiet


CONS:
If silk becomes sucked into fan intake and you don't catch it right away, it could damage the fan
"Flame" has a decidedly red appearance to it (this was the result of an improvement, and should be ignored)
Two lamps have pooped out in three months - that can't be good. :o But the warranty service is great!!!


    MANUFACTURER: Red Line Inc.
    PRODUCT TYPE: LED Powered Household Lamp
    LAMP TYPE: LED, 5mm (six red-orange and two yellow)
    No. OF LAMPS: 8
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: Enclosed rocker switch inline with AC adapter cord
    BEZEL: N/A
    BATTERY: N/A
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Probably not
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: AC adapter, ceiling chain
    WARRANTY: Full 1 year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating









Eternal Flame LED Flame Lamp * www.superbrightleds.com/flame.htm






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