More LED bulb options

[kurtmccaslin]

I am one of those guys who likes to tear things apart to see how they work. I really wanted to tear one of the Phillips LED bulbs apart, but just couldnt see doing it to a $40 bulb. Here they did it for us.

http://www.edn.com/blog/PowerSource/40512-Remote_Phosphors_Philips_LED_bulb_Tear_down_Part_II.php

 

[edge]

I just installed these in the recessed kitchen fixtures:

They're Philips AmbientLED 13W (65W equivalent) BR30 floods designed for recessed fixtures. Fully dimmable. The 3000K temp is perfect for the kitchen as its a bit whiter than an incandescent but still soft. The family loves them! $38 at Home Depot...

Please let us know how these work for you.
I installed 4 of these, and after about 6 months of heavy use, 3 of them started a random flicker. Put them in different fixtures same issue. Replaced them with 3 of the same, and so far no issues

 

[kwilcox]

thanks for the heads-up. I'll save my receipt...

 

[apostolakisl]

thanks for the heads-up.  I'll save my receipt...

And the UPC off the box. The warranty on these things is 99% scam. They expect you to save the receipt and the upc off the box.

 

[michelkenny]

And you need to pay the shipping cost back to them... that usually makes it not worth it.

 

[fwd03]

I made my own LED bulb, it uses 10W power and output 900 lumens, brighter than 60W GE halogen bulb.

 

[fwd03]

but it is not dimmable. cost < $10 each.

 

[gatchel]

View attachment 4187I made my own LED bulb, it uses 10W power and output 900 lumens, brighter than 60W GE halogen bulb.

Pretty sweet. Care to share the details?

 

[fwd03]

10W LED driver:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120829227606
10W LED chip
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110794905338
Then, I took the Intel heatsink fan apart, throw away the fan, got 3 of those heatsinks glued together using thermal glue like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270717020058
This big tube of glue is good for probably 200 lamps and heatsinks.

Epoxy the driver board into a regular light bulb's base by trimming the two corners off from the driver board.
Solder the wires. Found an old PC rs-232 9 pin connector with metal plate, remove the 9 pin D-sub, screw two
little L shae metal brakets to the metal plate. then secure the driver board to the L brackets, screw the metal
plate to the heatsink.

I also glued a small heatsink to the power IC on the driver baord. Now, all the chips, including LED, run at about 110F or about 40C. They run for two months now without problem. Cost not counting the heatsink, glue, and metal bracket, is $9.x each.

 

[gatchel]

Thanks. I have some Torchiere lamps that I'd like to experiment with and your custom LED parts might be a solution. How is the color temp as compared to other LED bulbs (Philips, Cree, etc)?

 

[fwd03]

The color is very good. Very close to GE 60W halogen bulb. I don't have Philips or Cree to compare. It is warm white LED at 3000-3500K.

 

[kwilcox]

After the glass bulb dropped off 2 of our Philips Marathon R40 CFL downlights, I decided to put in Cree CR6s also known as the ecosmart 575-L over at Home Depot. They were on special for $40 with a limit of 10 per trip, so I made two trips...

All I can say is wow. Perfect color temp, super clean appearance, quick install. Dim perfectly with my US-1130 SAI switches.

Turns out that Philips has a recall going with the Marathon Classics. They are refunding my purchase price: 14 lights and they really want to see them (2 of the failed ones weren't on the recall date stamp list, and a third, also not on the list, was about to fail), so I'm getting a check for $90 up front along with pre-paid packaging to send all 14 back. When they receive the lights, they will mail me the balance of my refund.

No questions, no UPCs, no receipts. Now that's customer service!

 

[Desert_AIP]

I really love the CR6s. They work perfectly with my SA UPB stuff. My wife likes the trim rings better than the OEM ones I replaced.
As you said, perfect color and dimming. They now have 4" models withtthe same drivers/emitters so I replaced my over sink lights too and color matched the entire kitchen. I wish they made an angled ceiling trim ring.

I was lucky to find a $19.99 price online for the CR6s and get it price matched at the local HomeDepot. I bought 30.

 

[signal15]

I really love the CR6s.  They work perfectly with my SA UPB stuff.  My wife likes the trim rings better than the OEM ones I replaced.
As you said, perfect color and dimming.  They now have 4" models withtthe same drivers/emitters so I replaced my over sink lights too and color matched the entire kitchen.  I wish they made an angled ceiling trim ring.

I was lucky to find a $19.99 price online for the CR6s and get it price matched at the local HomeDepot.  I bought 30.

Where did you find the $19.99 price? I will buy some if I can get them for that price.Also, I saw above someone was building them. I thought about that. However, looking at the investigation that was done on my buddy's house when it burned down and the crap the insurance company pulled to try to get out of paying, I probably would avoid doing this. If I could get UL listed drivers, it might be a different story. But I doubt most of those are UL listed. Even if it was, if you're soldering it into a light bulb base, I think that would be something that would require recertification. DealExtreme has some awesome 10,000 lumen LED panels and all of the stuff required to drive them, trim rings, etc. I really would like them in my garage, but haven't figured out a good way to make a fireproof "can" for them.

 

[Desert_AIP]

It was about 6 month's ago.
Connecticut was subsidizing them.
I logged on to Home Depots site and typed in a Connecticut zip code.
It displayed the price as $19.99.
I took that print out which showed the store number and SKU to my local store.

Apparently for a time they were available online at that price with free shipping to the local store.
But Home Depot changed their website.