{"id":10059,"date":"2017-03-07T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/?p=10059"},"modified":"2026-03-19T09:31:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:31:28","slug":"cheap-forklift-warning-lights-could-be-incredibly-expensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/07\/cheap-forklift-warning-lights-could-be-incredibly-expensive\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheap Forklift Warning Lights Could be Incredibly Expensive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 420px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px;\" src=\"\/images\/albums\/JWSpeaker-Blue\/BlueLightMount.jpg\" alt=\"forklift safety light mounted on carriage\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You see them all over the place in warehouses these days &#8211; the ubiquitous <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/7099\/forklift-safety-light\">blue forklift light<\/a><\/strong> gliding over the floor ahead of or behind a lift truck as it winds its way between rack rows, down aisles, across docks, and out of trailers. A\u00a0wide variety of choices are available, including many inexpensive imports with a bewildering number of dense specifications. How can you tell the difference?<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s break down the ways you can avoid the &#8220;bargain&#8221; light that could <strong>cost you plenty.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<aside class=\"tldr-summary\" style=\"padding: 10px 20px 15px 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; border-radius: 15px; border: 2px solid #e4dddd; margin: 4px 10px 4px 10px; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);\" data-type=\"summary\">\n<h4>TL;DR \u2013 Hidden risks of bargain forklift warning lights<\/h4>\n<p>Choosing an inexpensive forklift safety light can lead to costly failures if the unit lacks the brightness and durability workers depend on.<\/p>\n<p>To ensure safe operation, prioritize lights with a lux rating of at least 900 for crisp, visible projection, and select a high-voltage range (12-110V DC) to ensure compatibility across your entire fleet. Additionally, superior heat dissipation and a minimum four-year warranty are critical indicators of a reliable light that won&#8217;t dim or fail when it matters most.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n  \"headline\": \"Cheap Forklift Warning Lights Could be Incredibly Expensive\",\n  \"name\": \"Cheap Forklift Warning Lights Could be Incredibly Expensive\",\n  \"description\": \"Bargain forklift warning lights often lack the brightness and reliability required for warehouse safety. Key specifications to check include a 900+ lux rating, a high voltage range for fleet compatibility, and robust heat dissipation. Investing in a quality light with a strong warranty ensures pedestrians can depend on the visual warning to prevent accidents.\",\n  \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/07\/cheap-forklift-warning-lights-could-be-incredibly-expensive\",\n  \"datePublished\": \"2017-03-07\",\n  \"author\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n    \"name\": \"Scott Stone\"\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Why the $39 forklift warning spotlight isn&#8217;t worth the savings<\/h3>\n<p>If workers rely on them, forklift warning lights must work every day, all day for many years. They must be reliable, bright and long-lasting. Since warehouse employees rely on them to see lifts before they arrive, dim, cheap lights that won&#8217;t last may actually make your forklifts less safe.<\/p>\n<p>What do you look for?<\/p>\n<h4>Don&#8217;t sacrifice on lux rating: it&#8217;s what makes a light crisp and visible<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lux rating:<\/strong> The purpose of these lights is to be seen, which means that their<strong> intensity<\/strong> is critical &#8211; and that&#8217;s measured by <em>lux, which is the amount of <strong>perceivable<\/strong> light projected onto a surface. <\/em>A forklift spotlight with less than 900 lux won&#8217;t be as intense, bright and visible as those with at least that much. The market is full of lights that range from a low end of 110 lux, and plenty of mid-range products in the 500-700 range. <strong><em>Don&#8217;t sacrifice on this critical specification.<\/em> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not focus on raw lumens.<\/strong> Raw lumens measure the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source, but don&#8217;t consider losses. For projecting a bright light onto a warehouse floor, lux is the appropriate success metric.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Only use lights with a long-term warranty<\/h4>\n<p>As a critical safety device, these lights should be reliable. You shouldn&#8217;t have to have a program to check and maintain them very often.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A key indicator of reliability is the unit&#8217;s warranty.<\/strong> Some lights have no warranty at all &#8211; avoid those entirely. Other cheap options offer just a year. The better lights offer at least four years, and only one &#8211; the JW Speaker 770 Series &#8211; offers a lifetime warranty.<\/p>\n<h4>Make sure your light has excellent heat dissipation; it will last longer and won&#8217;t fade<\/h4>\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, LED bulbs generate heat. They generate less heat than halogen or fluorescent bulbs, but they still get hot in an enclosed space like a warning light&#8217;s tight housing. Lights that don&#8217;t adequately dissipate heat will dim and won&#8217;t last as long. Well-designed housings, good circuit boards and heat exchangers help reduce the heat and make lights last longer.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/7099\/forklift-safety-light\">Cisco-Eagle Forklift Warning Lights<\/a> for detailed information<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4>Choose high-voltage range lights to reduce parts management complications<\/h4>\n<p>This is an important specification because the wrong voltage means your light can&#8217;t work with your forklift&#8217;s power.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Installing a light that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/7099\/forklift-safety-light\">12-110V DC <\/a>means the light will work on practically any forklift or other vehicle. <strong>This is critical because you&#8217;ve only got one part to manage for an entire fleet,<\/strong> and don&#8217;t have to fret about voltage matching for a wide variety of trucks, AGVs, carts, or other vehicles.<\/li>\n<li>Most of the cheap lights on the market are 12-48V DC. Both 48V and 80V are typical forklift operating voltage. Under certain conditions voltage may overshoot, and a 80V forklift may see voltage above 100V. Others are 12-96V DC, which will work in more applications than 12-48 lights, but still won&#8217;t cover everything.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right; width: 100%; max-width: 400px; height: auto; margin-left: 12px; margin-top: 12px;\" src=\"\/images\/albums\/JWSpeaker-Blue\/BlueLightApp1.jpg\" alt=\"blue safety light\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>A good light shouldn&#8217;t be a power hog<\/h4>\n<p>The lower the power consumption the better because more consumption means more strain on the forklift&#8217;s electrical system. Many forklifts are equipped with multiple peripherals, creating more strain. Some lights are wasteful, consuming as much as 56.32 watts. Choose a light that consumes single-digit wattage.<\/p>\n<h4>IP ratings for wet or moist conditions<\/h4>\n<p>IP ratings <em>&#8220;<\/em><span class=\"_Tgc\"><em>are used to define levels of sealing effectiveness of electrical enclosures against intrusion from foreign bodies (tools, dirt etc) and moisture.&#8221;<\/em> Most forklift spotlights fall into IP67 or IP68, with very low-end units in the IP54 range. All these have some resistance to water and airborne debris, <strong>but those of at least IP69K can resist washdown and pressurized moisture. This matters if your forklift is operating in wet\/moist conditions, outdoors, or must be washed down.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h4>You must have a UL-recognized light<\/h4>\n<p>Don&#8217;t use a warning light that isn&#8217;t UL Recognized. Many inexpensive lights are not UL-recognized and should be avoided.<\/p>\n<h4>Dimensions: smaller is better<\/h4>\n<p>These lights tend to be compact, but smaller is better in this application. Small packaging means a decreased chance for incidental contact between the light and its surroundings and resulting in a decrease in maintenance costs.<\/p>\n<h3>Check those specifications!<\/h3>\n<p>If the light you are considering doesn&#8217;t have these critical specifications, find one that does. For a few dollars, don&#8217;t make your workers less safe by using a light that isn&#8217;t bright enough, won&#8217;t last long enough, or can&#8217;t handle the environment you ask it to work in. Since these spotlights are &#8220;passive&#8221; (they are always on), people begin to rely on them. Make sure they&#8217;re relying on a light that can do the job.<\/p>\n<h4>More information:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/7099\/forklift-safety-light\">Blue safety lights on Cisco-Eagle.com<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Infographic: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/vector\/773\/pedestrianforklift-safety\">&#8220;Pedestrians &amp; forklifts shouldn&#8217;t mingle, but we have to make it work&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/11\/configuring-a-forklift-warning-light\/\">Setting up a forklift warning light: height\/angle<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You see them all over the place in warehouses these days &#8211; the ubiquitous blue forklift light gliding over the floor ahead of or behind a lift truck as it winds its way between rack rows, down aisles, across docks, and out of trailers. A\u00a0wide variety of choices are available, including many inexpensive imports with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[340],"tags":[550,295,847,848,837],"series":[],"class_list":["post-10059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aislecop","tag-dock-safety","tag-forklift-safety","tag-lights","tag-spotlights","tag-warehouse-accidents"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2027-04-07 23:23:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10059"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33923,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10059\/revisions\/33923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10059"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=10059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}