Reader review: Philips inspection lamps

Trio of lamps get full five star rating and had the entire workshop wanting them

Reader review: Philips inspection lamps
Gethin Hamer said the Philips RCH25 cordless work lamp became his go-to lamp in a GW reader review..

Recently launched by Philips, GW reader and workshop manager at Columbia Motors in Blackburn, Gethin Hamer has got his hands on three of the brand’s highly acclaimed inspection lamps.

Supplied by Lumileds, which is exclusively licensed to use the Philips brand for its automotive lighting and accessories range, the RCH5S pocket inspection lamp, RCH25 cordless work lamp and the PJH10 portable projector light are each designed for professional use in busy workshop environments.

Keen to try them out, Gethin described his workshop as “a bit gloomy” and said he relies on bright lamps to get the job done.

However, he admitted that he’d not experienced anything as bright as this latest offering from Philips.

“Much brighter than what I’d normally use”

Philips RCH25 cordless work lamp.

“These lamps are brilliant, so much brighter than what I’d normally use and yet the battery life is about the same, which is impressive considering how powerful they are,” he explained.

The RCH5S provides up to 300 lumen and can be dimmed to 30, the RCH25 offers up to 500 lumen and can be dimmed to 50, and the Philips PJH10 projects up to 1,000 lumen and can be dimmed gradually down to 100 lumen.

The LEDs have a colour temperature of 6000K and produce a natural white light.

The Philips RCH5S and Philips RCH25 also feature a powerful spot light to distribute the light exactly where it’s needed.

Gethin said: “I’ve had all the lads in the workshop asking me where I got them from because they really are that good.”

Battery life

The RCH5S and RCH25 are rechargeable via a docking station and the Philips PJH10 has a micro-USB cable for charging.

Both RCH5S and PJH10 boast up to 12 hours’ battery life in dimmed mode while the RCH5S can produce up to 2.5 hours of light, according to Philips specifications.

Gethin’s go-to lamp soon became the Philips RCH25 cordless work lamp, which has seen him through general servicing and repair work while the PJH10 portable projector light proved ideal for major suspension and engine jobs.

Philips PJH10 portable projector light.

Gethin said: “The projector does a great job and is slim enough to fit onto the bulkhead, behind the engine for when you’re working on the exhaust manifold, for example.”

As for the RCH5S pocket inspection lamp, he said: “It’s small enough to fit into my pocket so I’ve got it when I need it.

“It’s got the same docking station  as RCH25 cordless work lamp, which I think are great.

“I’ve got the stations set up in my lockable cabinet so I don’t have to worry about charging leads.

“I just slot the lamps into the chargers at the end of the day.”

Durability

The other stand-out feature for Gethin is the durability, which is of no surprise considering all three conform to one of the toughest international shock impact resistance standards – IK09.

Gethin said: “One of the biggest downfalls I find with inspection lamps is that when they get dropped, you usually find the lenses fly out and they fall apart.

“Now I managed to drop these lights on a few occasions but they’ve actually stayed intact.”

Gethin concludes his review with a full five star rating but added that if he was to pick a fault, it would be the battery life of the RCH5S pocket inspection lamp.

For further information about the complete range of Philips workshop lighting, select ‘more details’ below.

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