Modern light bulbs....

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mike campbell

Single-Sixer
Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Messages
247
City & State/Province
Western NY
I'm old and I don't like change. Old people are well advised to find something they like....and buy a lifetime supply quick.

I like lots of light.

Well, I wasn't quick enuff to buy up all the 100 watt incandescent light bulbs I'd needed before they became almost impossible to find, so I've been stuck. I call BS on all the "100 watt output for only 72 watts" types and those curly fluorescent bulbs that don't put out light AND don't last nearly as long as claimed.

Today I bit the bullet and bought some "100 watts" LED bulbs for 14 watts. They claim 1500 lumens and a $104 savings over their lifetime. They cost me $5 each, so we'll see about the savings. But dang, I'm amazed with the brightness and the fact that they are practically cold to the touch no matter how long they've been on. That means I can run them in little lamps rated for only 40-60W. I'm impressed.
 
I replaced the lights in my shop with 4ft LEDs 55,000 lumens each claim to have
a 45,000 hrs usage.
They are very bright white light, I like them I need all the light I can get. The improvement
over florescent is unbelievable. Miles ahead of CFLs too. ps
 
mike campbell said:
I like that signature line....a gun is like a parachute.

I'd add, "don't shop for the cheapest one." lol
Click to expand...

I'd add, "pack it yourself!"

I replaced the 2-ft fluorescent light in our master closet with an LED fixture. I was skeptical at first, that is, until I turned it on for the first time. Wow, was it bright! Instant on, instant bright, and no hum!
 
mike campbell said:
I'm old and I don't like change. Old people are well advised to find something they like....and buy a lifetime supply quick.

I like lots of light.

Well, I wasn't quick enuff to buy up all the 100 watt incandescent light bulbs I'd needed before they became almost impossible to find, so I've been stuck. I call BS on all the "100 watt output for only 72 watts" types and those curly fluorescent bulbs that don't put out light AND don't last nearly as long as claimed.

Today I bit the bullet and bought some "100 watts" LED bulbs for 14 watts. They claim 1500 lumens and a $104 savings over their lifetime. They cost me $5 each, so we'll see about the savings. But dang, I'm amazed with the brightness and the fact that they are practically cold to the touch no matter how long they've been on. That means I can run them in little lamps rated for only 40-60W. I'm impressed.
Click to expand...
...........LOL, welcome to this century. Many new and better things are.........well.......BETTER...............LOL!!!!
 
I tried the CFL twist bulbs for a bit, but had several die on me way too early. One did a "zzzat" sound and died and I looked at it to find the plastic collar around one of the glass shafts was brown and melted. Oh, that's really safe, I thought. I contacted GE and they sent me a coupon to get some free bulbs and to ship them the light back. I finally got 100 watt equivalent "daylight" bright white LED bulbs from Walmart and really like them. Instant on, no more "warm up" like the CFL's, and so far so good on the life with no problems on any of them.
 
You fellers farther east must get better versions of the new fangled light bulbs.

I hate them. Less light, more expensive, and no matter what they claim, they don't last very long.

Even the state of Oregon is pushing these, and they sent us a big box of them for free. They are crap.

WAYNO.
 
gtxmonte said:
...........LOL, welcome to this century. Many new and better things are.........well.......BETTER...............LOL!!!!
Click to expand...


Yeah, well.....I ain't giving up my single actions OR my phone.

cellphone.jpg
 
You can't use LED's in enclosed fixtures. The heat will fry the electronics. And my wife won't have them because they're just plain ugly.
 
Somewhere someone recently mentioned GE Brightsticks. Well I was at the store and they were on the shelf. Bought a box (they come in threes?), not cheap, but they do work as advertised. It actually takes some getting used to but so far it's all good.
 
My home blows standard bulbs all the time. I switched to the coil type bulbs and they were worse. The new LED, maybe even CREE, bulbs have been fantastic! I havn't blown one in 6 months, and their output is 2nd to none, and with no heat. The lumens are very high for the power consumed. I like daylight in some areas, soft white in others

Gunny, I run these in enclosed fixtures with no problem because, I believe, there's no heat with them.
 
Cholo said:
My home blows standard bulbs all the time. I switched to the coil type bulbs and they were worse. The new LED, maybe even CREE, bulbs have been fantastic! I havn't blown one in 6 months, and their output is 2nd to none, and with no heat. The lumens are very high for the power consumed. I like daylight in some areas, soft white in others

Gunny, I run these in enclosed fixtures with no problem because, I believe, there's no heat with them.
Click to expand...

All the ones I've seen on the shelves at stores state on the pkg that they are not for use in enclosed fixtures. There are some that you can use, but you need to read the labels. Look it up: "led bulbs in enclosed fixtures".
 
Yeah - I've got both types. (Enclosure-approved and non-approved) There are a LOT of options these days for bulbs. I threw a hissyfit when the CFL came out as the 'replacement' for the incandescent bulbs. The CFLs were and are crap in my experience. I stocked up on a bunch of old fashioned bulbs at very cheap prices, but the LEDs have turned out to be the best solution.

Anyone wants a bunch of incandescent bulbs for their energy museum, I got 'em! ;)

Best regards, Pete
 
From what I've read, the warning about not using LEDs enclosed is that the bulb life will be shortened from the heat buildup.....but I can light up a 1500 lumen bulb and touch it indefinitely.

That's sort of like "no, shooting your Ruger is not dangerous, but it will wear out faster if you do!"
 
I replace a fluorescent shop light fixture in our laundry room with an LED "fluorescent tube shop light from Costco. They're great. No more hum, screwing around with ballasts. Instant on, with much better light. $39.00 and I probably won't have to touch it again in my lifetime.
 
steveodtw said:
I replace a fluorescent shop light fixture in our laundry room with an LED "fluorescent tube shop light from Costco. They're great. No more hum, screwing around with ballasts. Instant on, with much better light. $39.00 and I probably won't have to touch it again in my lifetime.
Click to expand...

If you watch the sales at Costco they can be had for 25 or $30. My test is in the winter well below freezing (18* today) they light instantly.



Cholo said:
My home blows standard bulbs all the time. I switched to the coil type bulbs and they were worse. The new LED, maybe even CREE, bulbs have been fantastic! I havn't blown one in 6 months, and their output is 2nd to none, and with no heat. The lumens are very high for the power consumed. I like daylight in some areas, soft white in others

Gunny, I run these in enclosed fixtures with no problem because, I believe, there's no heat with them.
Click to expand...

If I were you I monitor my power for a bit. It sounds like you either have a lot surges/spikes or your power is generally running higher than 120v.
 
This is interesting. I professed that I don't like the new-fangled lights, but seems I am the odd man out.

I googled reviews, and although I don't always agree with Consumer Reports, I figured I'd give their review a read.

In a nutshell, they often preferred incandescent over LED. So I guess I'm not alone.

I also googled availability. Each time I clicked on a product that interested me, I found the product no longer available.

So, I guess I'll continue to use incandescent as long as I can get them. And save more money in purchase than I'll save in use.


WAYNO.
 
GunnyGene said:
You can't use LED's in enclosed fixtures. The heat will fry the electronics. And my wife won't have them because they're just plain ugly.
Click to expand...
For the last 2 years I've had one in the hall light fixture - which the wife leaves on for days at a time with no problems. I just bought some 4' fixtures at Costco for $20 each. I'm replacing the humming slow to light recessed fixtures in the kitchen and those in the garage. Light output seems fine.
 
WAYNO said:
You fellers farther east must get better versions of the new fangled light bulbs.

I hate them. Less light, more expensive, and no matter what they claim, they don't last very long.

Even the state of Oregon is pushing these, and they sent us a big box of them for free. They are crap.

WAYNO.
Click to expand...
I had the opposite experience. I was using 1500W of 100W bulbs to light my garage/shop, switched them to LEDs and now the power draw is 139W for whiter, brighter light. I've gone on and have replaced nearly all the light bulbs in the house with LEDs. More than satisfied with them. Now when I forget to turn off the porch lights I really don't care much.
I also got the box of "free" LEDS from Pacific Power. They were the sizes I asked for and work just fine. I've got most of them in service.
One extra benefit of LED bulbs is in drop light use. I put a 60W equivalent LED in my drop light and voila, no more burned fingers, the light stays at room temperature, no heating and no more broken filaments if you knock the thing around. I was a bit wary touching it after it had been on awhile, old habits die hard, but when I did there was no heat in it.
 
GunnyGene said:
You can't use LED's in enclosed fixtures. The heat will fry the electronics. And my wife won't have them because they're just plain ugly.
Click to expand...

I've got a several of differing sizes running in enclosed fixtures. Been running about a year so far with no problems. The only LED I have that does give off some heat is a three way in a lamp that gets pretty warm, not quite hot but warm.
 
Hi,

I have close to a lifetime supply of incandescents in various wattages up to 95 stashed away (missed out on the last of the 100s), stocked up when they were still available in the early days of the CFL changeover. CFLs were (are) the most useless things I can imagine in the lighting department. There's no need to say why, as I'm sure you all have plenty of your own stories about them! About half the house has LEDs now, but I still prefer the light from incandescents for some uses. Plus, I have quite a few enclosed fixtures to deal with.

As for enclosed fixtures, I've put "no enclosed fixture" bulbs at the lower end of the output spectrum in a couple of hall fixtures which are enclosed. So far they're doing well, but the higher output bulbs in a couple of table lamps do get hot enough at the base to cause a mild burn, so maybe that warning is "across the board" just to simplify things.

Overall, I think with ongoing developments with color temperatures, a wider range of approved uses, and the economies of scale making these things more affordable (first ones I bought were $15 ea, last ones $5/pair), folks will get used to them and have fewer complaints and worries... I would feel a whole lot better if that "Made in China" sticker wasn't on most all of the packages. They make all the CFLs I've seen over there, and I never saw much to convince me their quality control was up to standards with those, but maybe they'll improve? Or perhaps GE can be convinced by the new administration why it's a good idea to come back home... ;)

Rick C
 
The LED bulbs continue to evolve. The energy they use are slowly decreasing. That is to say newer generations of LED bulbs are more efficient than those produced several years ago. A 60 watt equivalent LED might have used 12 or 13 watts a few years ago. Now some are only using 9 to 11 watts. I heard an engineer from a large lighting company on a radio program state that in the future, we will be amazed at how inefficient early LED bulbs were. He said that we would look at today's bulbs as wasteful energy hogs.
I have had a small number of customers have problems with their garage door opener remotes when using LED bulbs in their garage door opener unit.
Not all LED bulbs are equal. Some are lessor quality than others. Plus lifespans vary also ranging from as low as 7 years to as much as 40 years.
 
I was hesitant at first but now I'm completely sold on LED's. I started converting all ours about 3yrs ago when we built a new garage. Now they're everywhere. I have them in our porch and garage lights that have been on constantly for 3yrs. We've also got LED outdoor floods that come on at dark that have worked flawlessly for 3yrs. Waiting on an order of candelabra bulbs right now for a new chandelier we put up over the weekend. They actually have LED filaments in them so they even look like a traditional bulb.

One other advantage is that they don't heat up a room like halogens.

In flashlights, LED's have REALLY come into their own. A $79 two-cell Streamlight LED SuperTac is brighter and has greater range than a $400 4-cell Surefire M4 incandescent.
 
I have a CFL in the living room in non-enclosed fixture. This light is on more than any other in the house. It's been going since CFLs came out...just lucky I guess. :)
 
Cholo said:
My home blows standard bulbs all the time. I switched to the coil type bulbs and they were worse. The new LED, maybe even CREE, bulbs have been fantastic! I havn't blown one in 6 months, and their output is 2nd to none, and with no heat. The lumens are very high for the power consumed. I like daylight in some areas, soft white in others

Gunny, I run these in enclosed fixtures with no problem because, I believe, there's no heat with them.
Click to expand...

It's not just your home blowing bulbs. Was a time when GE and the like bragged about the life of their bulbs. When the new energy efficient ones came out, they stopped bragging. The newer bulbs lifespan is very short compared to older incandescent bulbs. I'm sure someone can explain how a bulb that last about 1/4 the time of an incandescent bulb is better for the environment. Especially when you now have to have two light bulbs to give you somewhat near the light we got from the older bulbs.

CFL's claimed great life, but who can stand the weak and sickly colored light from them. Halogens literally burn themselves up they run so hot.
 
We have 8 lights in the ceiling of our kitchen. They are ceiling mounted cans.
We had the fluorescent screw in type and it just didn't look right.
When LED came out I bit the bullet and bought them (took out a second mortgage)
and wham!!!!!.........I can get a suntan in there now. I love them.
It's a nice bright white light with no yellow.

We have LED lights all over the house now.
The light is whiter and our old eyeballs love it.
 
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