These are realy cheep ones from China, so far ive had no problems with them. They are very simple & don't produce any RFI (no switch mode used as in others)

 

Another similar style cheep from China that also has been reliable so far.

 

Update on the first LED bulb to fail:

Up this morning because I can't sleep, I decided to take the circuit board from the first LED bulb that I de-potted and see if I could figure the rating on what I THOUGHT was a fuse. The circuit board is labeled FR by the component so I assumed it was a fuse. The component, which now appears to be a burnt out resistor was shrink sleeved. Why does one shrink sleeve a resistor? If it IS a resistor (characteristic size and shape) then there's no hope of getting any value from a color code, it's that fried. And it's open.

I looked closer at the solder joint and there's evidence it was getting hot enough to melt the solder. Since I don't know if it was a tin/lead solder or a lead free solder, I can't begin to guess at how much heat it would take to reflow the solder. And I have over 30 years experience with solder and solder joints. (this is through-hole)

Anyway, no question or concern, just thought someone might like to know. I stripped the shrink sleeve off of it. That's how I know it's not a fuse.

The current path flows through the resistor, (half watt, twice the size of a quarter watt) through a toroid transformer to another resistor and to the base of the bulb. The second resistor, Brown Black Black Gold (10Ω) appears to be just fine. The only other thing on the inlet circuit is a blue device, looks like a varistor, but it is wired and acts like a capacitor, that bridges the toroid. It's difficult to see the markings but it looks like I can make out a 471K. I could be wrong.

If you put a resistor on one side of a toroid and one on the other, wouldn't their values be basically identical? Why would you put a much higher resistance on one side and a much lower resistance on the other? 120 volts through 20 ohms would be 6 amps and 720 watts. I'm sure the toroid transformer in the middle is dropping that drastically, otherwise a half watt resistor would never survive, not even a half second under 720 watts. I know virtually nothing about transformers, so - - - . Anyway - .

 

Just received this from Sylvania:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us about your SYLVANIA products. Your questions, feedback, and opinions concerning our products are important to us. Occasionally a product is defective or mishandled during shipping. We believe you will find this the exception with SYLVANIA and not the rule. We apologize for the inconvenience. You will receive a replacement product in 4-6 weeks.

LEDRs are expensive, and what you are mainly paying for is the long life, besides the lower wattage. The key to long life in LEDs is heat management. LED chips generate heat. Those fins you see on the outside of the lamps are “heat sinks” designed to pull the heat away from the LED chips. If you enclose the fixture, the heat has nowhere to go and will cause the bulb to overheat and burn out early and void the warranty.

Thank you,

The SYLVANIA Lightbulb Team

So apparently because I told them one of them failed that was in an enclosed fixture they are not going to replace that one. That's OK. Now I know to remove any insulation that is holding in the heat. Maybe even put a few ventilation holes in them. If I REALLY want to get extreme I could put cooling fans inside them. But that's a bit drastic, don't you think?!

 

Just received this from Sylvania

How did you contact them and how long did it take them to get back to you?

I contacted Philips via their website Thursday and am still waiting for a response. They claimed response time would be 1-2 business days.

 

I went to their website Sylvania.com and clicked on the "Contact" button. There was a place to leave a comment so I did. I believe that was last Friday. If not, it was last Thursday at the most. So they responded fairly quickly. As you can see they're sending me a replacement - just one, probably for the one that was in the floor lamp because it didn't suffer heat damage. Should be here in 4 to 6 weeks.

Earlier I thought it was a fuse that blew in that particular lamp. It wasn't. It was a resistor they heat shrunk tubing over it. There's the resistor, the toroid primary winding and another resistor comprising the 120 V input. There's also a capacitor across the primary windings of the toroid. The second resistor did NOT have shrink sleeving on it. It's a 10 ohm resistor. So I'm guessing the one that burned up must have been likewise a 10 ohm resistor as well. But there's no way to tell for sure because it's fried. No color code left to recognize and the resistor is burned out.

I contacted Philips via their website Thursday and am still waiting for a response. They claimed response time would be 1-2 business days.

Maybe they count Friday as their first business day, and today is business day #2, and they just haven't contacted you yet. But I'm shaking my head no. Maybe tomorrow.

 

Tonyr. If you look at the first of my posts there is a resistor in heat shrink (10 ohm], this is what they use as a fuse & that's why its in shrink tubing. It does help if you post pictures of what you have to get answers. When I resoldered the dry joints the lamp did work but couldn't be reassembled, but I did satisfy my curiosity.

 

Just looked back at when I posted this. Apparently it was last Thursday that I contacted them. And I don't recall what their claim for response time was.

 

If you look at the first of my posts there is a resistor in heat shrink (10 ohm]

Yes, I did see that.

I didn't bother posting pictures because I was asking if others are seeing LED's fail. I'm not trying to repair the circuitry. But I do find it a little strange that they would heat shrink a resistor. After all, how's it supposed to dissipate heat? And mine was not adjacent a heatsink, it was deeply embedded in potting.

 

Mine was also deeply imbedded in a grey rubbery compound, that was easy to dig out. I suspect the sleeve over the resistor is possibly a flame retardant, just a guess.

 

Just today Sylvania came through with replacements. I didn't expect to get a replacement for the one that likely overheated but they gave me both bulbs.

Yeay Sylvania! Happy camper now.

 

Perhaps invest in a whole house surge protector. They are easy to install. They install in the panel and will protect ALL of your electronics.

 

I think I put a LED version in a hard to replace location and it blew last week. It's used a lot. 3-way CFL's had very little life. I bought a Phillips LED light that's non-dimmable and it didn't work in a UPB controlled fixture. Basically dim or on. I added an incandescent along side and it's OK.

I have a CFL on timer with one on/off cycle per day, one in the attic along with a Halogen lamp )infrequent use), One CFL in a post lamp (infrequent use); One CFL in a pantry which seems to work OK.

I bought a couple of mini-CFL's at Ikea and they work fine.

The 3-way LED lamps have been working fine. A LED outdoor flood lamp has been working fine.

Then there is a LED flood in the bathroom that takes about 5 minutes to get full brightness. There is also a multi-color LED nightlight there.
I haven't found a good 7W LED night light replacement yet.

When I need a bulb for a refrigerator and a dryer. I didn't go cheap. The manufacturer required an RFQ to get them. They are working great. Very high quality. Smaller bulb shape for the appliance bulb. This http://www.ledtronics.com/Products/product_new.aspx?id=DEC-A14C-3W-XHW-120AWD&d=Decor Bulbs one us dust/humidity protected and for outdoor use.

The reason why I went LED for the fridge is that the fridge is probably 40 years old and the bulb holder is getting scare even if found used. The bulb holder had to be replaced. The LED lamp I bought would hit the end of the socket before the center made contact, so I had to do something creative: I soldered two of the tops of these https://www.amazon.com/School-Smart-Brass-Plated-Fasteners/dp/B003U6QNDY brass paper fasteners to the center pin of the E26 base lamp. I then added a bit of PTFE tape at the end of the bulb threads.

I think the one I put in the hard to reach spot had a really fragile envelope. In other words, it didn't survive the shipping journey t the first time and was replaced.

Car LED's: Wierd issues. I bought a bunch of 194 replacements from ebay and for the most part they worked nicely. The 194 version didn't work very well in the trunk. They were not bright enough for a trunk application, so I got some US made ones for that. Here http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/194-168-158-led.html is the #194 versions. They really aren't created equal.

I needed a 921 lamp for another trunk light and that issue is not solved yet. I need to add a parallel resistor. This one is a GM vehicle with retained accessory power and dimmable interior lights that all were replaced with the Chinese 194 replacements. So, this lamp will glow bright if a door is opened at the same time briefly or continuously, otherwise it will be dim. It's a nice feature that you don't end up with a dead battery if you leave the trunk or door open. There are 7 #194 lamps for the interior: Mirror map light:2; feet: 2; glove box:1; side windows: 2. Not at $14.00 each.

I really like the LED replacements for the dome and trunk lamps.


The LED/CFL quality control just isn't there.

The 3-way from Switch lighting was amazing, but they are out of business. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?383834-Switch-Lighting-out-of-business-or-what

 

I did a search on the first bulb mentioned and it has been discontinued, so maybe a problem with the design.

As far as leds go, some get hot some don't, it all depends on the wattage, downlights bulbs that are 3 watts or so don't really get hot and it is the heat that kills them.

Led strips that are high power produce a lot of heat. The bulb you have has quite a few leds close together so heat build up will be high and cause problems with proper heat dispersion.

Is the application just a house light?

 

Is the application just a house light?

Yes.

I have four outdoor LED's that have been working nicely for 4 years. I've tossed two floods in my back porch PIR lamp. The lamp is designed to come on soft and then dim out when the time has expired. The two LED Floods flash on nearly full brightness, and then after the time up, they dim out. The fixture is not meant for LED's and the LED's are not meant for out door use. So if they blow - oh well. I knew I was using them in an unapproved manor.

 

Tonyr, you mention Lowe's, and I have some experience with them, but more w HomeDepot. I think they both do the E-mail receipt, which lets you have copies for this stuff, and since you yourself point out that "these things aren't cheap",,,, well, I'm not you mom or your uncle.......

I'm using lots of medium base LEDs and CFLs at my place, and heat is clearly the cause of failure for both, but I believe I've only had 1 LED fail yet. It's often the plastic used for the housing (which also provides structure) which cracks or distorts and I feel initiates a "snowball effect" of further small damages, so I rarely take the time to do any disassembly to find which piece appears to have been the last straw.

CFLs are being manufactured as a disposable device, and their engineering is being done primarily on a cost basis, I'm sure LEDs will follow. Will consumers actually attempt to acquire warranty replacement of lamps a few years old? If so, how many will have their proof of purchase, etc to force it? How many distributors will push that back onto the manufacturers?

The actual lamp life of CFLs compared to T style bi-pin lamps and other lamps with separate ballasts is pretty big, but since the retail customer is accustomed to incandescent lamp life, they tolerate it, even though they are drawn in by the marketing of long lamp life at the point of purchase.

 

you mention Lowe's, and I have some experience with them, but more w HomeDepot. I think they both do the E-mail receipt, which lets you have copies for this stuff, and since you yourself point out that "these things aren't cheap"

True enough. Even still, Sylvania has taken me at my word. I suppose I could keep receipts and claim a bulb has burned out, with proof of the receipt and not being asked to return the defective bulb. On that premises I could buy a single bulb and then claim it burned out in two weeks. Have them send me a new bulb and end up with two new bulbs for the price of one.

Now, I'm not one to play the system against itself. But even storing e-mail in a receipt file won't make finding that receipt all that much more easily managed. How would I know which receipt goes with which bulb? Since I didn't buy all thee bulbs at the same time, finding the right receipt would be somewhat difficult. However, I DO keep receipts for big ticket items such as a water heater, furnace, water softener and so on, along with maintenance records covering each unit. I DO keep the important stuff. But honestly, who ever thought to keep receipts for bulbs? These two LED's are the first I've ever seen or heard of blowing out.

Happy new year to all.

 

I have nearly all LED bulbs in the house. So far I've had a Sylvainia bulb burn out, less than one year. Just now a second bulb burned out, maybe in service for two years - another Sylvania, and not that many hours on them. Smaller than the other one, but it burned out nonetheless.

At first I tapped it. It flickered. So I removed it and set it on my workbench. It flickered there too. Tapped it a few more times and again it flickered a few more times. It no longer flickers, the capacitor inside must have discharged.

Anyone else experiencing LED bulbs burning out? They tout that they're supposed to last 10 years. OK, the LED part of the bulb will likely last that long, but the electronics inside them are burning out far short of the 10 year proclamation. The first bulb to blow, it appears the main fuse internally has burned out. I took it apart and de-potted it. Also damaged the LED element so I couldn't put it back together, but nevertheless, it burned out. OR perhaps more appropriately expressed, "Failed".

These things aren't cheap. They're SUPPOSED to last 10 years. This is really bugging me. ESPECIALLY with Sylvania. I thought they were one of the better name brands. Does this mean ALL my LED bulbs are unreliable? I don't have exclusively Sylvania, but most of them are.

Maybe I should call them and complain.

[edit] and hot as hell too. The heatsink that is.

The only LED bulb failure I've had is one that's left on 24/7.

Most I've seen have a series chain of SMD LEDs - if one fails OC, they all go out.

The one I autopsied had several dim or completely failed LEDs, they may have dropped less voltage and put more strain on the others.

 

The one I autopsied had several dim or completely failed LEDs

I've only done post mortem on one bulb. What I found was (what I originally though was a fuse) was a (probably) 10 Ω 1/2 watt resistor had burned to cinders. I haven't messed with the second one yet, but it's failure was peculiar in that after removing it when I set it on the table it flashed. So I tapped it a few times and each time it flashed. So I'm expecting either a broken wire or a failed solder joint. Perhaps I'll photo document its disassembly and autopsy. Normally I'm pretty bad at documenting things. I'll try to do better on this next one. After all, I am curious as to failure mode.

The first failure was in a unit that was absolutely ventilated. The second was unvented, so it's probably a solder joint. The bulb WAS too hot to hold continuously. I HAD to put it down quick. Hence, the flash on the desk.

 

The two SWITCHLED (Switch Lighting) bulb I have was actually gorgeous at $50.00 USD, as it should be. 1/2 price for the second during a closeout. I'd buy them in a heartbeat. Liquid cooled and relatively heavy. The company is no more. I do not know if they are dimmable.

One LED bulb I bought had an envelope as thin as an eggshell.