Feit Electric Enhance 90 CRI bulbs 6 for $3 at MD Costco and I like them!

N8N

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Subject says all... stopped at Costco in Columbia, MD on the way back from Baltimore to get a few staples and since it was around lunchtime grab some snouts as well. They had a big display with these bulbs #1200258 which are a 2700K, 800 lumen, 8.8W A19 format bulb, and the similar 5000K daylight version. They were $12.99 for 6 but had a $10 "utility company incentive" on them (this is how I got my L-prize bulbs affordably back in the day before they disappeared, just at HD not Costco) so out the door these were $2.99 for 6 plus tax. Not bad.

Since I was out of LED "60W" bulbs, I didn't expect much but grabbed a pack anyway. The copy pushed all the right buttons on the box so what the heck.

So. These are definitely lighter in the hand but very similar in appearance to the Cree bulbs I've been using, the SA19-08127MDFD-12DE26-1 (I can't seem to get True Whites here on the east coast).

I put one in the dining room chandelier (it's a three bulb fixture) in place of a Cree. Works fine. Color is a little different but not objectionable. Cree looks a little purple next to the Feit. Actually may like the Feit better.

Then I put an L-prize in place of another Cree. Reset the dimmer, a Lutron Maestro, to test low level dimming. The combo of three different bulbs did not work well at all (all started to flicker). I replaced all bulbs with the Feit ones and WOW! these things will reliably go dim. Far, far dimmer than would the Cree bulbs. I reset the low level setting of the dimmer then walked away for 10 minutes and all three bulbs powered back on on the low setting. No perceptible buzz. Color me really impressed.

So specs are:

800 lumens (Cree is 815)
90+ CRI (Cree is 85)
8.8W (Cree 9.35W)
Both are dimmable but the dimming performance of the Feit is shockingly superior.
Feit is rated for enclosed fixtures. Cree is not.
Both are suitable for damp locations.
Feit is rated at 15,000 hours. Cree is 25,000. (this is what I want to see. I've already had some "Utilitech" 3000K bulbs fail but no others, so I'm a little sketchy about non major brand stuff. If these do last, Feit has got a winner on their hands.)

Soooo... assuming that my eyeball's impression is that the light quality isn't too bad, and also that these things last, these are winners given the quiet, superior dimming performance. Two thumbs (tentatively) up. And for the price what have you got to lose by trying them.
 
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N8N

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So now it's dark enough to really evaluate these things. These are astonishing. These are the first non-incandescent lights I've EVER had that truly dim like an incan, all the way down to barely glowing. If only the CCT lowered with lower light levels you'd be hard pressed to tell these from incans.

I'm going to be really sad if these die young as I expect from an "off brand" like Feit, but they're damn good otherwise.
 

louie

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I've been giving these Costco Feits a try, too, gradually replacing failed original hi-CRI Crees. The Crees have been all dying after some 3-4 years, quite disappointing. I agree, the Feit hi-CRI 2700k seem a little different tint than the equivalent Cree. One big plus is that the Feits are all plastic and much lighter (better in a spring-arm lamp), and maybe safer than the old glass-in-silicone Crees with huge heatsinks.

Sadly, my price in Jan.'18 was $14.99 regular, $11.99 after utility rebate. We shall see how long they last.
 

N8N

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I've been giving these Costco Feits a try, too, gradually replacing failed original hi-CRI Crees. The Crees have been all dying after some 3-4 years, quite disappointing. I agree, the Feit hi-CRI 2700k seem a little different tint than the equivalent Cree. One big plus is that the Feits are all plastic and much lighter (better in a spring-arm lamp), and maybe safer than the old glass-in-silicone Crees with huge heatsinks.

Sadly, my price in Jan.'18 was $14.99 regular, $11.99 after utility rebate. We shall see how long they last.

Yeah traditionally Feit has not been associated with reliability...

If it makes you feel any better I have never been able to buy high CRI Crees. we only get the 85 CRI ones here. 3-ways I think are 80 CRI but I haven't needed any in a while.

I did actually make a three way adapter for a torchiere that held three individual bulbs because of the unavailability of LEDs at the time of >60W equivalent. Works great. Still use it (with the now 5 year old L-prize bulbs still in it)
 

louie

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Went to Costco today (Shoreline, WA) and it looks like the regular price is now $12.99 with a Seattle City Light rebate of $2, final price $10.99. Still not as good as $2.99. Reasonable for a mere light bulb. I also have some Feit 5k daylight 90CRI, but they seem so blue inside, that I can't figure out where to use them.
 

amd20x6

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I have these. They're unreliable but Feit has been good about replacing them under warranty. They also flicker quite a bit (120Hz), so I can't use them anywhere I'll be for too long. They ended up in closets.

Besides the 120Hz flicker, they also flicker very noticeably at a lower frequency if there's a voltage drop on their circuit.
 

N8N

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So I was at Costco the other day and they had the "100w" version of these bulbs so I bought a 4 pack because they were under $3. NOT RECOMMENDED. One was flaky out of the box and one has failed after two days of use. So the 60W ones are ok but the 100w ones are not worth the almost free price. I figured it would be nice to put them in the dining room chandelier so I could crank it up really bright if I needed to use it as a work space but I was wrong. The 100W ones are garbage.
 
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