Longlevity of LED bulbs not so long

[4675636b596f75]

On 6/23/2019 at 6:11 PM, THAIPHUKET said:

I m a light freak. 6x13 W for small room .

If you were really a "light" freak, you wouldn't dare use fluorescent lighting.

[manarak]

4 hours ago, emptypockets said:

So roughly 2.2KW equivalent of lighting in your condo. Do you wear a welding helmet most of the time?

huh? your question doesn't compute.

 

[Fat Prophet]

On ‎6‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 6:20 PM, Crossy said:

With that much light Trinity House may be able to help https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_House 

 

Seriously, the cheap (Chinese) units seem to be less reliable than the bigger names (Lamptan seem to be our favourite, YMMV).

 

Find a brand that suits you, add some extra surge protection if you have a lot of lightning.

 

I buy LED lights in bulk (50 at a time for about B500, depending on size) directly from China. The price is cheap, and you do not need to buy a large quantity to get the offered price. My house has more than 60 recessed ceiling lights inside and another 25 outside. When I bought the house about a year ago, about half of the lights were fluorescent and half incandescent. I have changed almost all to LED. I will do the last batch upstairs this week. Of the 50+ or so that I have changed thus far, 3 failed almost immediately -- two were cheap Chinese bulbs, but the other was a Lamptan LED bulb that I purchased locally before I found the Chinese supplier. Two lights that failed were outside, one inside. I have also had problems with Lamptan fluorescent lights purchased for my other house earlier, enough so that I try to avoid Lamptan (indeed, MMVs). Three almost immediate failures out of 50 bulbs is quite a high rate of failure, but given the exceptionally low price (average about B10 per bulb) I do not mind at all, so long as the bulb is not in a very high location and difficult to replace. The rest of the bulbs are all doing fine, but it has only been a month or 2 since I changed the bulbs, but I found a line of 4 bulbs over the upstairs balcony that had been on continuously for about 1 month, until a neighbor pointed out that lights were on during the daytime (nice neighbor). I have some bulbs that are more than 5 meters high in vaulted ceilings that have dead fluorescent bulbs in them, and when I replace them soon, I will opt for the most reliable LED bulbs that I can find regardless of the price.  I have no idea what that/those is/are at this moment. 

[tjo o tjim]

On 6/23/2019 at 7:56 PM, mahjongguy said:

I have a range of brands and wattages of LEDS in the house and I am satisfied with them. But, there are five bulbs outside and none of them are long lasting. Sure, they're on for twelve hours a day but that's no excuse for burning out in four months. All of them are in enclosures and they all get extensive exposure to the sun. They seem to fail during the day when they're not in use, so it seems to me that they can't take the heat. 

Make sure the LED chip is not facing the sun. We saw a number of failures from that type of issue where the heat when they were off destroyed them. 

 

What kind of enclosure?

[mahjongguy]

Frosted weatherproof glass cylinders. They get hours of direct afternoon. These lights are the typical "lightbulb-shaped" type that emit through the top hemisphere (or slighter more). They too are frosted so I can't tell how to orient them.  

[tjo o tjim]

If they are frosted then it is ambient temperature killing them.  

[PETERTHEEATER]

On 6/24/2019 at 5:12 AM, Crossy said:

Believe it or not, considering their much lower power consumption than conventional lamps, heat is the big killer of LEDs (and CFLs). They get nowhere near as hot, but, like all electronics, cannot stand even moderately high temperatures. Ensure good ventilation / cooling and they will give a decent life.

 

Putting a LED in a closed fitting (downlighters are most guilty) intended for a conventional lamp is a guarantee of a shorter than expected life.

 

 

On 6/24/2019 at 5:12 AM, Crossy said:

Believe it or not, considering their much lower power consumption than conventional lamps, heat is the big killer of LEDs (and CFLs). They get nowhere near as hot, but, like all electronics, cannot stand even moderately high temperatures. Ensure good ventilation / cooling and they will give a decent life.

 

Putting a LED in a closed fitting (downlighters are most guilty) intended for a conventional lamp is a guarantee of a shorter than expected life.

 

Three years ago I rewired my perimeter wall lights and all are in sealed fittings except for six lamps out of the twenty-two. I put in a mix of name brand LED bulbs 3.5 to 4 watt each. The cartons of all brands cautioned against not using the bulbs in enclosed fittings. The lights are controlled via a light sensor switch and average around 12 hours per day ON.

 

In three years I have had only two bulbs burn out. One at 6500 hours and the other 10120 hours approx.

 

I am well satisfied.

[atyclb]

On 6/23/2019 at 8:45 PM, mahjongguy said:

I don't mind getting a bad deal sometimes for 120 baht. What I don't like is climbing a ladder to change bulbs.

 

[mahjongguy]

That would be fine for a bare bulb in a stairwell. My case is heavy glass enclosures, one person on a ladder with a helper below.

 

The worst two to change are just ornamental so when they fail again I will revert them to small CFLs.

[Formaleins]

Big differences in brands - I have found that EVE seem to be pretty good for the price but I have never had an LED bulb last as long as those fluorescent spiral energy savers.

[atyclb]

On 6/25/2019 at 5:15 PM, Crossy said:

 

I bought a bag of these chaps http://www.mynpe.com/mynpe/more.php?data=116450101007&quantity=$quan&c=$data

 

 

One placed in each and every LED light fitting, not had a lightning related LED death since. We also have a big front-end supressor.

 

Of course YMMV.

 

how exactly is this wired in? where the current connects to bulb fixture?  polarity important?

[Crossy]

10 minutes ago, atyclb said:

how exactly is this wired in? where the current connects to bulb fixture?  polarity important?

 

It just goes between the incoming L and N, polarity unimportant.

 

Do sleeve the bare legs and keep away from flammable stuff (inside a metal fixture is good). They don't normally get warm but have on rare occasions failed in rather hot ways.

[tweedledee2]

I replaced all my circular fluorescent ceiling lights with magnetic attached LED's. Illuminates the rooms better, but have had to replace several after lightning power surges. Originally used EVA brand, but now use Racer brand from Thai Watsadu which have a warranty. Have had two occasions a light was replaced at no charge. 

[The Fugitive]

On 6/24/2019 at 7:25 AM, RJRS1301 said:

Oh boy, that's one for the data collectors, keeping a log book on your light globes

I worked with a lady who was careful about retaining paperwork (just in case). In 2004 she still had pre-decimal (1971) gas, electricity, water, rates, insurance and telephone bills etc. on shelving installed into her loft.

[atyclb]

34 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

It just goes between the incoming L and N, polarity unimportant.

 

Do sleeve the bare legs and keep away from flammable stuff (inside a metal fixture is good). They don't normally get warm but have on rare occasions failed in rather hot ways.

 

 

yes, important to sleeve the bare leg lol

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, atyclb said:

yes, important to sleeve the bare leg lol

 

Especially in fishnet stockings ????

 

[lagavulin1]

On 6/23/2019 at 6:20 PM, Crossy said:

With that much light Trinity House may be able to help https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_House 

 

Seriously, the cheap (Chinese) units seem to be less reliable than the bigger names (Lamptan seem to be our favourite, YMMV).

 

Find a brand that suits you, add some extra surge protection if you have a lot of lightning.

 

Copy that on surge. We've lost 4 led sets in the Country and one in Udon due to lightening. 

[atyclb]

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

12 minutes ago, atyclb said:

yes, important to sleeve the bare leg lol

 

Especially in fishnet stockings ????

 

never have there been truer words spoken

[DrPhibes]

In a separate family house.  Name brand LED units, some in can lighting as well as open lighting interior, put in when we got to CM 3 yrs ago in.  Not the best electricity quality with brown outs and lightning fluctuations.  Not one has failed so far.  Just ta let ya know.

[CGW]

On 6/23/2019 at 8:45 PM, mahjongguy said:

What I don't like is climbing a ladder to change bulbs.

Get a bulb changer pole, thats all we use now - easy.......

 

[bankruatsteve]

6 minutes ago, CGW said:

Get a bulb changer pole, thats all we use now - easy.......

 

 

AND, in case you didn't know, those things are great for grabbing papaya.  Now one of my wife's must-have tools.

[Jaxxper]

I've noticed they don't last as long as the stated longevity on the packaging, but who keeps a receipt for a Thb 150 light bulb to take it back and complain.

[The Deerhunter]

On 6/23/2019 at 8:00 PM, BritManToo said:

LED bulbs you can pull apart and repair.

They are fairly simple, and the failed part is usually obvious.

Keep the broken ones, and cobble together new ones from the good parts.

That's not long life. That's reincarnation.

[atyclb]

interesting read about led bulbs and some scamming in bulb history

 

https://hackaday.com/2019/02/05/what-happened-to-the-100000-hour-led-bulbs/

[atyclb]

2 hours ago, bankruatsteve said:

2 hours ago, CGW said:

Get a bulb changer pole, thats all we use now - easy.......

 

 

AND, in case you didn't know, those things are great for grabbing papaya.  Now one of my wife's must-have tools.

 

if it were me id be scared she might grab my papayas with that thing

[HHTel]

I've changed almost all my bulbs, both inside and out, to LED.  Only been in a few months so nothing to report as yet.

I've one bedroom with 4x 60W bulbs (old style - works with a dimmer).  The room is used every night and the bulbs (around 20 baht today) have been there since 2005.

[emptypockets]

On ‎6‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 9:14 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

Humm your maths maybe a little off (55x40=2,200) or perhaps you have really sensitive eyes. If they were 6W LED's it might reach to a little over 10,000 lumens, my work shop has about 80,000 lumens available and neither sunglasses or sunscreen is needed.

 

The living room has about 30,000 lumens of indirect light and about 12,000 in dimmable direct lights and a few Hue lights

 

Being able to switch in as much light as you can want or have as little as you need is really nice.

My maths are just fine thankyou. You do understand SI units - Kilo being the term used for 1000?

2,200 is therefore 2.2K.

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, emptypockets said:

My maths are just fine thankyou. You do understand SI units - Kilo being the term used for 1000?

2,200 is therefore 2.2K.

I agree that your maths is fine, I was mistaken. However you understanding of the amount or light emitted by those lights seems to be way off.

[mike324]

branded ones have a warranty of couple months I believe, I buy mine from homepro and always gets it exchange if it fails within the warranty period, easy to exchange and no questions ask, just have to keep the box and receipt.

 

Majority of them have lasted over 2 years so far, they seem to last longer than conventional bulbs for me.

[unblocktheplanet]

Remember the promise of saving the planet through cheap, cool lighting for the future? 18 years per bulb!

 

Of course, 18 years had not elapsed. Give me a B25 incandescent any day. Far better light, more gentle on the eyes.

 

And do the experient I did, light a house plant with LED... Just saying.