# "Black" light A19 filament LED bulb from Sylvania - don't waste your money



## PhotonWrangler (Sep 6, 2020)

As I'm always on the lookout for a decent LED blacklight, I just bought a 2 pack of Sylvania "Black" LED filament bulbs at a chain DIY store that starts with M. These bulbs don't say "black light" on the carton, just "black" with a drawing of a violet bulb. Hmm. It says the same thing on the screen printing on the top of the bulb itself. There is no mention of the wavelength on the package.

The LED filaments are coated with a phosphor. This should have been my first clue that something was amiss. Why would you need to use a downconverting phosphor to produce UV?

When I turned the bulb on it produced a sickly pinkish-purple color. Turning it back off and illuminating the phosphor coated strips with an external blue/violet source, the phosphor glowed pink. This is way at the opposite end of the spectrum from black light. WTH?

These bulbs aren't even useful as Near-UV lamps, nor do they even suffice as a normal pink bulb. The color is just weird. I have no idea what they were thinking at Sylvania when they produced these.

A 2-pack cost me $10. Save your money for something else.


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## Dave_H (Oct 12, 2020)

*Re: "Black" light A19 filament LED bulb from Sylvania - don't waste your money*

Thanks for the warning. I too was skeptical seeing supposed "black light" filament LEDs in stores for as much as $10 or more each, right beside other "coloured" LED filament bulbs in green, red and yellow for half the price. Seems to be one step up from the dollar-store incans with a coat of violet paint. For Hallowe'en I still have a real long-wave UV spiral CFL which gets light use and has lasted years. There may be some still out there. Dave


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## PhotonWrangler (Dec 24, 2020)

*Re: "Black" light A19 filament LED bulb from Sylvania - don't waste your money*

I visited the store when I bought this lamp recently and I noticed that they were heavily discounted from the last time I saw them. Apparently there are others who share my opinion of these bulbs.


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## Dave_H (Dec 25, 2020)

*Re: "Black" light A19 filament LED bulb from Sylvania - don't waste your money*

I saw one of these "UV" bulbs rated 75W on 1/2 price ($3.50) after the big event (such that it was).
Was able to slip it out of its box and put into a light fixture in the store. What I could see was a weak
incan filament shining through a purple filter. Did not put down any money, another misleading/overpriced 
product. Possible that the bulb/filter if detached would be useful with an actual UV source (mentioned in
another thread) but not planning to try this out just yet.

Dave


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