Stanley has come out with a new rechargeable LED worklight, the Satellite, model SAT3S.
This is the newest in a long line of Stanley LED flashlight and worklight products. Some, like their small tripod worklights (~$15 via Amazon) are quite good (I’ve got two of ’em), and others, like this recent floor-standing tripod-mounted LED worklight, have not earned favorable user reviews.
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The Stanley Satellite features a built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery pack that can last for up to 6 hours of runtime. You could also tap into the battery to recharge your portable electronics, using the built-in 1A output USB power port, but it might not have enough juice for more than just an emergency partial recharge.
From the product description, mainly the power in/power out USB port part, it seems that the worklight can be recharged using the same USB port.
The Stanley Satellite can emit up to 300 lumens of light, and there’s mention of any lower intensity brightness options.
It doesn’t look to have many mounting options, only a wide bottom base that looks to be magnetic. There’s a triangular loop towards the top of the worklight, but it’s probably meant more for a convenience lanyard than for hanging the light.
When standing the Stanley Satellite LED worklight on a flat surface, you can tilt the light head downwards at up to about 90° for better aiming.
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This can come in handy, especially when you’re barbecuing outside in the dark. (Dear Stanley: There was no better way to show this functionality?)
Another of Stanley’s product images shows the worklight being used under a car. With the exposed USB charging port, it’s probably not water or dust resistant. Using it on dry and not-too-dirty ground should be okay, but I’d probably reach for a headlamp or sealed worklight for wet, dusty, or other demanding environments.
Seeing as how this product image shows the Stanley Satellite mounted on the underside of a car’s hood, I’m assuming there’s a strong magnet embedded in the worklight’s base.
There’s also a lantern mode, which looks to give fuller 360° light spread.
Price: $40
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Right now Amazon is saying that the worklight will ship within “5 to 6 months.” My guess is that it’s intended for holiday season release. You could still order one now, or wait until it’s fully in stock. Or put it in the back of your mind until the first user reviews are in.
First Thoughts
Stanley’s last LED worklight attempt resulted in many negative user reviews. As of the time of this posting, 78% of the user reviews rated their LED tripod worklight with just 1 star out of 5 on Amazon, which is the lowest rating you could give.
But I have also had very positive experiences with Stanley’s handheld tripod LED worklights.
I think that the Stanley Satellite LED worklight design looks very promising, but the vagueness of the product description has me left wondering and frustrated.
It looks to me like the center is a spotlight-style flashlight, and the 3 surrounding parts are diffused floodlight worklights. The ability to toggle between the two would make the Satellite a much more versatile piece of equipment, and even more so if the brightness levels are adjustable.
$40 might seem like much, but don’t forget that the Satellite has a built-in Li-ion battery.
As mentioned, I think that the new Stanley Satellite LED light looks promising. The design is appealing, and I’m hoping there’s greater adjustability than the product description shares.
What do you think? Looks good, or a piece of junk?
On a somewhat related tangent, check out our review of the Black & Decker rechargeable Snakelight! It’s not new anymore, but it’s still a stellar lighting product.
Nathan
would have preferred a removable battery setup of some sort. (2 9volts or whatever necessary)
and of course – neat as this is I’d love to see a Dewalt/PC version for purchase using those rechargeable batteries – but like usual I don’t want much.
agree on the selectable lights.
also that one pic – at least the guy has a weber grill.
Toolfreak
I agree on the removable battery. I’ll never buy another worklight, or any light, with a built-in battery. The battery goes dead (sometimes just from sitting on the shelf unsold for awhile), you can’t get a replacement, you have a paperweight.
It makes WAY more sense to use AA batteries in these things. They are inexpensive, you can use rechargables, and it takes a lot of the cost out of the price.
Juan
Wel i just recently bought one and it wont turn off
Gil
The page at Amazon says it will ship in 5 to 6 months…
Stuart
Yes. This is what I said about that in the post:
Right now Amazon is saying that the worklight will ship within “5 to 6 months.” My guess is that it’s intended for holiday season release. You could still order one now, or wait until it’s fully in stock. Or put it in the back of your mind until the first user reviews are in.
Michael
Honestly, it looks like it was designed by an engineer that doesn’t really use a worklight.
Mike
Too many moving and fragile parts. If those hinged wing lights don’t break from normal use or being struck/dropped, they will when I roll over onto the light.
Am I alone in thinking BBQing in the dark is a pretty normal thing? Or that working under a car supported only by a jack and balanced on several pieces of wood is very stupid?
Seb
Ahah funny but true !! “Or that working under a car supported only by a jack and balanced on several pieces of wood is very stupid?”
Derek
As with most Stanley products that are more advanced than a pry bar, it looks like a piece of junk. Probably fragile and not very useful.
For $75, I have a streamlight knucklehead flood light that will dance circles around this. There are several led options on amazon for a lower price that are more practical and durable.
Toolfreak
I actually like the design of this thing. I think it looks pretty futuristic and is the real-life plastic version of something you’d see used in a sci-fi movie.
That said, they went way too far with USB ports. Simple and inexpensive would have been better. This thing would be a lot, LOT better if it were sealed up and the lenses and gaskets all had o-rings so it could be used wherever. It would also probably sell better if it were $19.99-29.99, which would be an easy price point to hit with no USB ports and no internal rechargable battery.
I hope similar futuristic designs come up, though. This does seem cool in a lot of ways.
Jennifer
We just got this light in a few minutes ago. Bought it for my husband. Came charged ready to go. Gave off great light and had different settings but for some reason we now can’t turn the light off. Power button won’t work to turn it off. Bought off Amazon last week. So now it’s hanging in the guest room waiting for it to die and we’ll see if it does it again
Stuart
If the power button’s stuck-on, it’s probably defective. If in your shoes, I would return it right away for an exchange.
David
Same problem. From SAMs. purchased 2 of them. Both with same issue. Won’t turn the F off Broke in first 180 seconds of opening package.
Send help. Battery getting hot. Becoming fire hazard. Going back to SAMs tomorrow.
David2
Same as above with David. Light won’t turn off; bought from Sam’s Club. Guess we will have a “bright” Christmas until the battery dies and we can return it. Upside: Santa won’t miss our house this year.
Bob
Same problem. Bought from SAMs. Won’t turn off have tried everything but throwing it up against the wall.
yardwork
Same Problem. Will not turn off, within moments of using. Was gift, this morning, from wife. Not able to access battery and it is hot. This is going back to SAM’s.
Milwaukee
Sounds like SAMs got a bad batch haha. Turned it on tried the settings and then stuck on. Waiting for it to die then heading to SAMs.
Dan Radice
I think I got one of the good ones. Mine lasted an hour before getting stuck in the on position. My fire extinguisher is at the ready.
Kevin C.
I had the same initial problem where the light would not turn off. It may have occurred when I inadvertently pressed the USB button and the power switch at the same time (or nearly the same time), or perhaps because the battery voltage was low, as this happened pretty much right out of the package.
HERE’S A FIX THAT WORKED FOR ME (your mileage may vary): Open the case halves (4 Phillips head screws–note that one of them is a smaller size than the others), and then disconnect the plug from the little circuit board inside. Plug it back in. The light should now be OFF. Follow this up with an overnight charge and the light should begin working properly. I did this, and have not had a problem since. Obviously, Stanley missed something in the design of this thing, but it’s actually a pretty cool and useful light. If it happens again I’ll be disappointed and have to return it, but I’m hoping for the best!
Milwaukee
Thanks for the info. I’ll try it out tonight. I definitely hit the USB button first which caused the problem as the kill switch wouldn’t work.
Kevin C.
Thanks for the feedback–we may be on to something about what causes the issue in the first place!
Shane
Thanks for the Macgyver assist, it helped.
carl
I have it its worthless on the car the magnet is not strong enough to hold on anything .
Its always blinding you making it unusable.
Not only that mine is not on and wont go off.
mike
UNplugged my battery and the software rebooted.
Don’t think it was the button press that caused it . Mine was not charging and I then pressed the button. I think the software had already corrupted before the button press and pressing the button crashed it.
Also letting the battery run down wont cause a reboot because it wont run all the way down. You have to force a reboot. Looks like a software bug.
Cody Price
i have a fix for the light staying on to get it going again.
open it up and there will be a connector coming from the battery with 4 wires on it cut the white and gray wire. charge it up and she will work like new. the problem is the battery temp sensor shorting out.
Bryan
Cody hits the nail right on the head.
Instead of cutting the wires you can just remove them from the white connector using a pin to press down and pull the wire out.
Be careful if doing this as the sensor is there as a safety measure and I wouldn’t leave this unattended in the on position or charging.
JC
Thanks for all the tips on the gray and white wires, it’s all working out for me. Has anyone gone the distance on fixing the root cause, i.e. replacing the entire battery component, or maybe just replacing/repairing the faulty battery temp sensor?
Chasha
I cut the white and gray wires and now it is charging, before the light would not turn off or show a charge on the blinking indicator light. Plugged it back in and is now showing to be charging. Thanks for the tip!!!
James
Junk! Worked one time now won’t charge or do anything. Waste of money.
Kevin C.
Since I opened the light up and briefly disconnected the circuit board plug (see Jan. 5, 2016 post above), the light has not acted up again, despite several rechargings. Perhaps I’m just lucky, but I’ve come to like this light. The magnet on the base could be a bit stronger, but overall, it is doing the job I expect it to do.
Shelley
Un freaking believable. I looked for the stupid, USB to USB cord that it came with for weeks. Tried to buy one with no luck. Found the cord in my ex’s …make up bag. Plugged it in thinking I’m finally gonna get to use this thing. No dice!!!! So I read these posts, which is not like me. Unscrewed, disconnected, cut wires, re connected and the stupid thing is working….WTF….gratifying yes but geezzzze I could have gotten a freaking candle….
Kevin Carey
Congrats on getting it going! Mine is still working fine as of this date, but I keep the “plug-disconnect” trick in mind if it should ever act up again. As for the USB-to-USB cable, I also misplaced mine for a time. You can buy them very inexpensively on Amazon.com. For some reason these are not very common in the stores. I bought an extra cable just to have. Enjoy your light!
Dan
Cut gray and white wires and now mine is charging! Thanks for the help!
RoxAnne
I’ve used mine a lot in the past several months. We keep getting power outages here. I like that it charges fast and holds it. It also allows me to use it a lot hands free with all the different options..it also has a hook to hang it when your not near magnetic type surfaces. I have not had any troubles out of it . I need a few more..
I use it to chase away the darkness.