LED bulbs suck!

[jtr1962]

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You can get filament led bulbs that are DC powered,
I have several in different voltages that run off various power sources (batteries 2S~4S or powerbanks)

Also worth a mention that practically any LED bulb (or tube) will run off high voltage DC. Some bulbs start to light up at only a few tens of volts. Others might stay dark until you're past 100 VDC. Generally most of them will get to full brightness around 150 VDC or higher. This makes sense given that practically all LED bulbs use a full-wave bridge rectifier. The circuitry uses the high-voltage rectified DC to supply power to the emitters. You get DC on the output of the bridge whether the input is AC or DC. I actually used this to my advantage once to get rid of flicker in LED tubes. I put a full-wave bridge rectifier and large capacitor inside the fluorescent fixture I was converting to LED. This gave a nice, steady ~165VDC which drove the LED tubes without flicker. There wasn't room for a larger filter cap inside the tubes.

Those bulbs using a capacitor-fed full-wave bridge which both rectifies AC, and limits current, won't light at all on DC.

 

[bigburly912]

Apparently after looking a lot of my problem is the brands I've bought over the years. Utilitech lights of America and feit (which one member here said did well for them) are some of the most problematic. Hmmmmm. The plot thickens.

 

[N8N]

Apparently after looking a lot of my problem is the brands I've bought over the years. Utilitech lights of America and feit (which one member here said did well for them) are some of the most problematic. Hmmmmm. The plot thickens.

I did mention having good luck with Feit, but at the time I bought them I considered them a bottom tier brand but gave them a try because they were cheap and advertised as high CRI. It's entirely possible that prior to that their reputation was deserved, and I believe I mentioned that their "100W equivalent" bulbs worked well but had shockingly short life, so there's that.

 

[Dave_H]

I'm a bit skeptical of some of the 100W equiv. typically 12-14W in A19-ish format. Most of them seem to run hot to very hot on the collar. I think it's pushing the limits of that form factor. Around here these get used where not turned on for long periods, in closets and basement etc.. No idea of the lifetime but probably nowhere near what's claimed.

Unless OP comes back with any detail, at this point I think it's mostly a rant, not much more to be done.

Dave

 

[Dave_H]

Apparently after looking a lot of my problem is the brands I've bought over the years. Utilitech lights of America and feit (which one member here said did well for them) are some of the most problematic. Hmmmmm. The plot thickens.

Lights of America...yikes! I thought they were long gone. Some just started showing up in surplus department of a Canadian chain, for whatever reason.

Dave

 

[orbital]

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Most of my filament led bulbs are from Lighting Science; 2.5W ~ 5W in those,, have several 6 pack boxes
(those are the bulbs I've had outside for years & years)

,,bought out my local Menards when they went on clearance
After clearance price & 11% store rebate, I paid around $1.25/bulb... unbelievable value per joy.
Also have some Sylvania & some no-name filament led

No, LED bulbs don't suck!!___

 

[twall13]

This thread title caught my attention as my experience mirrors that of the OP. I've tried three different brands and have had failures in all three over the course of the last 5 years. I suspect my issue is with my electrical system, and not the bulbs. Every so often a large power draw (a/c unit kicking on, etc.) will cause the lights to dim slightly in the house for a split second and I think that's killing the bulbs. I plan on ordering some dimmable LED bulbs to see if I have better luck with them.

 

[PhotonMaster3]

Ya dude I hate LED bulbs almost as much as I hate fluorescent ones. I refuse to use anything other than incandescent bulbs in my house. Sucks to have to pay out the *** for them on eBay now. Wish I'd had the foresight to fill 10 storage units with them before our rulers took them away from us.

 

[vicv]

Ya dude I hate LED bulbs almost as much as I hate fluorescent ones. I refuse to use anything other than incandescent bulbs in my house. Sucks to have to pay out the *** for them on eBay now. Wish I'd had the foresight to fill 10 storage units with them before our rulers took them away from us.

Remember, just because you are being paranoid, does not mean that everyone is not out to get you

 

[jtr1962]

This thread title caught my attention as my experience mirrors that of the OP. I've tried three different brands and have had failures in all three over the course of the last 5 years. I suspect my issue is with my electrical system, and not the bulbs. Every so often a large power draw (a/c unit kicking on, etc.) will cause the lights to dim slightly in the house for a split second and I think that's killing the bulbs. I plan on ordering some dimmable LED bulbs to see if I have better luck with them.

Definitely try the dimmable ones. Without getting into a dissertation on electronics suffice it to say the circuitry which enables dimming also adds another layer of protection from surges and spikes.

Another potential cause of the problems already mentioned in this thread is running bulbs base up. This can potentially cause the electronics to run too hot in the higher wattage equivalents. However, as we get ever more efficient, this problem should disappear. The 60 watt equivalents I bought recently only use 4 watts. Maybe they make 1.5 watts of waste heat. They practically run at room temperature. It should be the same once we have 200+ lm/W bulbs on the market for 100 and 150 watt equivalents.

 

[Dave_H]

I have been checking local outlets, including HD, for the new 4W Philips bulb, have not seen any so far. Still, the next best 60W eq. filament bulbs at 6.5W-7W typically, are still pretty good.

Also wondering how reliability of filament bulbs compares with SMT LED bulbs as their construction and thermals are different. Depends on the drivers of course. I suspect most filament bulbs can use linear regulators as the filament voltages are designed to do so (e.g. 70v each, 2S combos for 120vac bulbs).

Typical cheap SMT LED bulb has a series resistor in the base but little if any filtering or other protection; one did have a transient suppressor diode though. Diode bridge is usually rated 400v.

Usage/environment matters including use in partially/fully enclosed fixtures and as noted base-up or down (or sideways...). That's what I am asking OP (if still around) and others complaining of bulb failures.

Dave

 

[Pellidon]

I replaced our incandescent lights in our building lobby 8 years ago with LED lights. They have been working 24/7 365 without a single failure. They are not in an enclosed fixture so they don't get that hot. The bulbs that we put in enclosed fixtures last about a year. I think it's the heat that is the deciding factor in the lifespan of the bulbs.

I have found that enclosed fixtures are the death knell for my LED bulbs. Fortunately, I don't have that many enclosed fixtures. My power company "gave away" 40 watt equivalent LED bulbs a few years ago so I haven't bought any new ones lately. I have two dozen that should last me a long time. I do have a 150 watt equivalent in my kitchen that has been holding up well for a few years so far. I didn't put the globe over it on that fixture to keep it cool.

There are bulbs designed to tolerate enclosed fixtures that seem to hold up well. Can't recall the brand.

 

[bykfixer]

I have found that enclosed fixtures are the death knell for my LED bulbs. Fortunately, I don't have that many enclosed fixtures. My power company "gave away" 40 watt equivalent LED bulbs a few years ago so I haven't bought any new ones lately. I have two dozen that should last me a long time. I do have a 150 watt equivalent in my kitchen that has been holding up well for a few years so far. I didn't put the globe over it on that fixture to keep it cool.

There are bulbs designed to tolerate enclosed fixtures that seem to hold up well. Can't recall the brand.

Stands to reason, same with flashlights. Those high powered ones with lousy heat sync cook themselves to death much faster than those with a good way of disipating it.

I bought some filament type 25 watt equivilent bulbs for a lamp with a lamp shade but have not used any yet because the curly fry currently in it is still going.

 

[LED Lights Ireland]

If you purchase a good quality bulb there are only TWO reasons for failures:
1. Too much voltage
2. Too much heat.
If you have the correct voltage and plenty of air circulating there is no reason not to get the specified 10,000 working hours from a LED bulb.
We supply all models of bulbs from cheap and cheerful to high end expensive bulbs and both have the same lifespans and the only difference may be the quality of the diodes. Higher end diodes give off a lot more light but also a lot more heat!
So make sure there is enough air to keep the bulbs are a normal working temp.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I have a few of the original Philips "alien head" bulbs that are still going strong after several years. Those were pretty over-engineered at the time so it's not too surprising. Not the best CRI but they're good enough. I also have a mix of mostly COB bulbs with a few filament bulbs here and there, mostly Sylvania or Feit. The only ones that seemed to lose brightness fairly quickly were the early Osram bulbs with the LED chips mounted on a vertical circular heat sink. Those seemed to disappear from the market fairly quickly.

Overall I've had good experiences with household LED bulbs, and they last far longer than any incandescents I've ever had.

 

[raggie33]

i payed 1.25 cents per led bulb and there also smart bulbs that work with alexa or google

 

[iacchus]

I use all Kasa smart bulbs. Slowly switched the whole house over to 'em.
About half can change colors. What's nice is I can tell the house to make a certain lamp or room say, 3500K...and you know what? It does.
The wife just laughs at me, but it's pretty awesome.

I've had good luck with their longevity too. Only one has ever gone out on me, and I think that lamp was bad anyway.

 

[PaladinNO]

I swear by Osram or Philips LED-bulbs. Still haven't found the "perfect" bulb (want to try some hCRI E27 60W, but availability is far from the best here), but even the $10 tri-packs (EAN 8719514266759) works fine for me.
They don't give the claimed "10 years runtime" (more like 6), though I have never bothered to date stamp my bulb changes to verify.

But I have found the more expensive dimmable bulbs work better and for longer, even when used in a non-dimmable fixture.
My guess is the dimmable ones, at least when buying the more expensive bulbs, got more robust electronics in them to handle the dimming feature.

What I have found with LED-bulbs though, at least the cheaper ones, is that they just go dimmer and dimmer before they die. Or start randomly flickering, which is the worst. The expensive ones just suddenly goes dark.

I have 4x older R7s uplights that I almost threw away a couple years ago, as I didn't want to keep using the extremely hot halogen bulbs!
This was before I randomly discovered LED-replacements even existed. And from both Osram and Philips! At $25-30 per bulb, they weren't the cheapest, but I wanted uplights, and the alternative would be 4x $100 and upwards for new LED-uplights - with NON-replaceable LED-chips!

I ordered the bulbs I needed from Philips the same day, though when they arrived I discovered the fitment wasn't identical in the uplights, and 2 of the 4 R7s LED-bulbs I had ordered were too bulky to fit. Fortunately, Osram had a bit different design on their R7s-bulbs, so I ordered 2 of them as well, and they fit perfectly. Was about a $150 experience / lesson, but it was worth it to me, to keep using my existing uplights. And not having to pay $400-500 for new ones.

 

[Dave_H]

I

But I have found the more expensive dimmable bulbs work better and for longer, even when used in a non-dimmable fixture.
My guess is the dimmable ones, at least when buying the more expensive bulbs, got more robust electronics in them to handle the dimming feature.

Not necessarily more robust. I have opened lots of low-cost A19 bulbs and small spots e.g BR30. With linear regulation the only difference is a slightly different chip which can monitor the dimmer duty cycle and adjust output current to match, probably costs a few cents more including some extra small passive components.

Dave

 

[bykfixer]

I had a cheap Phillips LED bulb in a room lamp start going bad the other night. It was about a year old. It ran about 4-5 hours a day. Not complaining.