zlacker

>>ivank+(OP)
You could just purchase stage lighting.

Stage lighting fixtures use the halogen metal iodide bulbs that he salivates over at the end, and already solve all of the issues he outlined. They provide their own ballasts, are metal shielded, use a lens that acts as a UV shield, have built-in cooling.

In fact the only issues with stage lighting:

1) The cooling wasn't designed to be silent (it isn't expected to be near someone in a near-silent environment)

2) The lamp casing wasn't designed to be near anything flammable (they get very hot)

3) The lens and casing is designed to throw the beam in a very small angle of spread over a reasonably long distance (they're not designed to point at your face from a few feet)

But given that, it seems reasonable that one could put it farther away and reflect it into the space you want lit.

And if he really wanted to go crazy whilst staying with LEDs, then he could just get a few of these: http://pulsarlight.com/products/chroma-range/chromaflood200/ which are used in architectural lighting and each one produces 10k lumens, and they are safe for indoor and outdoor use, are waterproof, and can be driven from standard mains power.

>>buro9+od1
There's another issue with stage lighting, which is that they draw enough power to flip most residential circuit breakers and possibly to cause electrical fires as well. You're looking at 500W per lighting unit; 575W for the more modern ones with bluer hue. Most theaters are specially wired from the mains to a bank of "dimmers" that safely provide at least 2000W per circuit.

>>cauter+te1
That should be no problem in Europe, Australia, etc. There are portable 3000W appliances, like kettles, heaters and (Old) vacuum cleaners.

>>Symbio+Qe1
I had no idea! In most kitchens here you can flip the circuit breaker by running the microwave and toaster at the same time. I've also occasionally done it by turning the oven light on while both (gas) oven and microwave were in use. Sigh.

What does a kettle need 3000 watts for?

>>cauter+bf1
Boiling water?

3kW isn't a magic number for the kettle, it's just the amount of power you can get away with drawing when you've got a 240V supply rated at 13A. The more power, the faster the water boils.

As I understand it, freestanding kettles are much less popular in North America, presumably because a hob can draw more power?

>>andrew+5i1
North america just doesn't use as much hot water as Asia and Britain. No tea or instant foods. Pasta must be boiled, coffee is usually made in a dedicated device...

>>sliver+vk1
I (and I thought most people) preboil pasta water in a kettle. Then I can start cooking the pasta within 2 minutes instead of 15.

>>moogly+nm1
How does this work? If you are using the exact same heat source, then the only difference seems to be the metal/composition/thickness of the kettle vs. a cooking pot. Which doesn't intuitively seem like it will save 13 minutes out of 15.

>>polyno+9L1
You'll always save time with an electric kettle — it's likely to be better-insulated, have a lid, and the heating element is in contact with the water. It will still take 4-5 minutes though, even with a powerful kettle.

In case you're not familiar with them, we're discussing something like [1], or, to show these are very widespread commodity appliances, [2], which costs $7 including tax.

[1] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-Cordless-Indicator-Warr...

[2] http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9016710.htm