I find the cheap LEDs you can buy at any hardware store work GREAT for candling. Small, but incredibly bright and powerful. I could see into dark brown eggs and blue eggs with ease.
Good because I am going to town tomorow to buy one and I am going to get as bright of one as I can. You know the ones that will let you count the feathers... lol
Last time I used by super bright LED flashlight I almost burnt my hand it was so hot. How do you candle with them without burning the eggs? I tried cupping my hand and putting my hand between the egg and flashlight and it seems less effective.
Could you possibly attach a cardboard toilet paper roll to the light and then rest the egg on top? It seems to me that might be a good way to keep the egg off the light source, and the size sounds about right, but I don't have one sitting here to check it out.
I find an LED penlight to work well, just by cupping my hand. I also have creamy-white bantam eggs, so that's a lot easier. Good luck!
I actually candled eggs today using both a mini LED flashlight and also a powerful makita flashlight with a toilet paper tube resting on top. I've only candled a couple of times before this always using the big flashlight. Wasn't really understanding what all the candling fuss was about. Tried the mini LED today and OH MY! My DD and I were just amazed at what we could see! So detailed with just a little $5 flashlight and my hand.
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I am betting something was wrong with your flashlight, since LED bulbs themselves produce barely any heat at all, almost all the energy is converted into light rather than heat (in incandescent, much energy is lost in heat). A malfunction with the wiring could lead the batteries to get hot though, which is dangerous if it damages the integrity of the battery and causes an acid leak. Definitely not the norm at all.
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I am betting something was wrong with your flashlight, since LED bulbs themselves produce barely any heat at all, almost all the energy is converted into light rather than heat (in incandescent, much energy is lost in heat). A malfunction with the wiring could lead the batteries to get hot though, which is dangerous if it damages the integrity of the battery and causes an acid leak. Definitely not the norm at all.
I use a coffee can with a new coiled up light bulb. I have 20 or so soft black egg protectors that get used once and washed this allows me to turn the egg and really see when candling.