Best fake candles?

[TPA]

If I had the time, to develop it, I'd be building them and selling them. Throw a wireless DMX receiver in there and sell them to a ton of theatrical places.

 

[Dave_H]

I agree, warm white might be more realistic for top part of flame, although yellow is not far off (but amber/orange less so). I lit up a few different candles, noted blue base section but it was barely visible, not nearly as much as your image (birthday candle?). Unless you want an absolutely accurate reproduction, blue can probably be dropped, leaving the pale inner core and bright upper part.

Might be possible to modify colour on an otherwise good design by changing LEDs, but may have issues with vf and current differences between yellow/amber/orange and white, which in most cases not likely modifiable.

Some cheap candle imitations overdo the flicker depth as if in a drafty location.

So where does that leave things: need to find a really superior imitation product, or invest in a custom solution. Might be a market for this for usage you mention, maybe more generally depending on cost.

Dave

 

[Dave_H]

Just broadening the topic a bit, I've had a look inside some small devices which flicker LEDs, single and multiple (i.e. torch).

(1) Solar lamp with flickering warm white LED uses YX806 4-pin device. Datasheet text is mostly chinese and cannot read detail if any about flicker effect.

(2) 3AA lantern using multiple amber LEDs with torch effect uses 8-pin control IC marked RC0156F. Unfortunately, search comes back with an unrelated part with same number. It might be useful (assuming you could obtain them) for somebody wanting to experiment with a more compact i.e. candle flame emulation.

(3) Another torch flame imitation lamp uses an unmarked 8-pin IC to control a total of 96 SMT LEDs (not sure how they do it!) organized as columns of 5 or 6 LEDs on a flex PCB, wrapped into a tube. Another circuit boosts 18650 Li-ion to about 11v. Nice to watch but not all that realistic IMO, for all that complexity. I got this as a clearout for $2.

Dave

 

[pumps]

I agree, warm white might be more realistic for top part of flame, although yellow is not far off (but amber/orange less so). I lit up a few different candles, noted blue base section but it was barely visible, not nearly as much as your image (birthday candle?). Unless you want an absolutely accurate reproduction, blue can probably be dropped, leaving the pale inner core and bright upper part.

Might be possible to modify colour on an otherwise good design by changing LEDs, but may have issues with vf and current differences between yellow/amber/orange and white, which in most cases not likely modifiable.

Some cheap candle imitations overdo the flicker depth as if in a drafty location.

So where does that leave things: need to find a really superior imitation product, or invest in a custom solution. Might be a market for this for usage you mention, maybe more generally depending on cost.

Dave

The Best Flameless Candles | Luminara

Luminara offers the best flameless candles on sale, with a bright flicker, paired with wax color for convincing home decor, perfect for transforming your space.

luminara.com

 

[Dave_H]

OP should like this, although the prices are a bit steep.

Dave