Comparison Article

Flood Spot and Combination Beam Patterns Compared

Choosing the beam pattern before the wattage saves more complaints than any other decision in a lighting order.

Flood

A flood optic spreads light across a wide angle and gives up distance to do it. That is what you want when the work happens close to the machine: a loader bucket, a tipper body, a tractor fender position, the area around a service vehicle. Fit a spot lamp there and the operator gets a bright circle with darkness around it, which is harder to work in than a dimmer even spread.

Spot

A spot optic concentrates output into a narrow angle to reach distance. It belongs on the front of a vehicle that moves at speed: a driving lamp on a bull bar, a light bar on a mining light vehicle, a bar on a recovery truck running unlit routes. Used as a work lamp at three metres it produces glare and hot spots.

Combination and Line Beams

A combination arrangement puts spot optics in the centre and flood at the ends, which is why it appears most often on longer bars. Line and arch beams are a different idea entirely: they are shaped to project a visible boundary onto a warehouse floor as a warning marker, not to illuminate a work area.

Matching Pattern to Mounting Distance

A practical rule is to match the pattern to the distance between the lamp and the work. Under about five metres, flood. Beyond about twenty metres and moving, spot. In between, either a combination bar or a pair of lamps with different optics on the same mount. Most Dantech work lamp housings are offered with flood or spot optics, so the bracket and the harness stay common whichever you choose.

Ranges Covered