Must have: First LED sight-glass light made for craft brewers

On that first day in the universe, when god was about to create the ultimate brew, the very first thing she needed was light. Fast forward several billion years and anything worth drinking was made by someone who could see what the hell they were doing. According to L.J. Star President David Star, weak lighting makes it hard to inspect the characteristics of a brew, which is why L.J. Star has introduced the LumiStar1000. This is the first LED sight-glass light designed to give brewers a better view of their processes and a green-energy alternative to conventional halogen lights.

“Mounted over a sight glass, the LumiStar1000 LED light allows craft brew masters to clearly see and fuss over their products, while at the same helping them cultivate an environmentally conscious brand,” Star said.

Whether it’s a mash tun, brew kettle, fermenter, bright beer tank or serving tank, the new light gives brewers a better view of processes with light that is two times brighter than a typical sight-glass light. The new luminaire, which is capable of outputting 1,000 lumens at full brightness, produces twice the light output of a standard 100-W halogen luminaire with less energy and heat. It consumes less than 11-W of power at full brightness, one tenth the energy versus a traditional halogen light.

The stainless-steel, washdown-rated luminaire is equipped with a total internal reflection (TIR) lens with a 23-degree beam angle, which is ideal for vessel illumination through a sight glass because it maximizes light output by keeping output loss to less than 5 percent. Its cool-white (5500-K color temperature) LEDs maximize visibility in stainless-steel vessels.

Unlike an ordinary light, the LumiStar1000 has built-in microchip intelligence. The “smart” design allows brew masters to choose from four modes of operation: flashlight mode, timed mode, continuous mode and an optional dimmer mode. Its unique technology makes possible continuous mode, which is not available with other lights in its class. The LumiStar1000 is designed for cool operation with temperature-based current limiting and automatic dimming. Also, an over-temperature shutdown function enhances workplace safety.

It operates on 24V AC/DC or 110/220V AC power. An industry-standard five-pin M12 connector for power and remote switch can also be provided.