Author Topic: LED Lightbulbs (Read 4437 times)

Bogie · « **on:** July 14, 2007, 08:28:17 AM »

Okayfine. Got motivated.

Bought two of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Small-lamp-7-LED-Lightbulb-Light-Bulb-E27-Super-White_W0QQitemZ4402315634QQihZ001QQcategoryZ3201QQcmdZViewItem

They're small, and bluish, and not overly bright (I think it's okay to say that...), but they draw next to no power.

One's going in the "always on" lamp that's hooked up in The Bunker (to a UPS, so when the power goes out, I don't fumble all over the place...), and the other will be tried in an outside fixture that requires a dimmable light. Several more will follow, along with possibly some of their "warm white" candelabra bulbs.

I'll probably also outfit the shooting trailer with some 12 volt ones.

Thor · « **Reply #1 on:** July 14, 2007, 08:38:46 AM »

Those are a LOT cheaper than I've seen from other places. The last I looked at the LED light bulbs, they were far more expensive. I'm not real enthusiastic about the bluish tint. I noticed that tint with some Christmas lights we purchased last year.

Sergeant Bob · « **Reply #2 on:** July 14, 2007, 08:39:16 AM »

They certainly do use way less power than most other bulbs. I have a 7 element LED flashlight which I use every day which has not had new batteries in about 8 months.

If they will suit your needs they are definitely the way to go.

Bogie · « **Reply #3 on:** July 14, 2007, 10:00:47 AM »

Well, these little buggers are NOT bright enough for ceiling bulbs, and I don't think I'd like the light long-term, but they're more than adequate for my "the power just went out" light, and the outside lights by the garage.

They also make some (brighter) candelabra-type bulbs... Gonna have to get some o' them...

Firethorn · « **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2007, 10:17:51 AM »

Quote from: Sergeant Bob on July 14, 2007, 07:39:16 AM

They certainly do use way less power than most other bulbs. I have a 7 element LED flashlight which I use every day which has not had new batteries in about 8 months.

If they will suit your needs they are definitely the way to go.

They're actually only about twice as efficient off of new batteries than a standard incandescent bulb. What they are good for is that as the batteries drain and the voltage drops they merely dim while incandescents tend to shift into producing non-useful infrared light. Well, they produce the infrared light anyways, it's just what gets produced first, before the white light.

lee n. field · « **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2007, 04:16:48 PM »

What's the actual wattage on these (not the "incandescant equivalent")?

Bogie · « **Reply #6 on:** July 15, 2007, 06:03:17 AM »

low millivolts, I'd guess...

K Frame · « **Reply #7 on:** July 15, 2007, 08:35:01 AM »

I'm surprised at you.

These things are even more evil than compact fluorescents...

Headless Thompson Gunner · « **Reply #8 on:** July 15, 2007, 12:37:15 PM »

Quote from: Mike Irwin on July 15, 2007, 07:35:01 AM

I'm surprised at you.

These things are even more evil than compact fluorescents...

LED bulbs can be made with a proper color balance, they don't flicker when they come on, they don't have any disposal problems, they could be manufactured cheaper, they'd never need to be replaced, they can't poison you, and for those of you who care, they're even more energy efficient.

If LEDs live up to their potential they'd have all of the benefits of an energy efficient light source, all the advantages of incandescents, and none of the crappy aspects of CFLs.

Sergeant Bob · « **Reply #9 on:** July 15, 2007, 03:01:29 PM »

Quote from: Headless Thompson Gunner on July 15, 2007, 11:37:15 AM

If LEDs live up to their potential they'd have all of the benefits of an energy efficient light source, all the advantages of incandescents, and none of the crappy aspects of CFLs.

And one bulb can display multiple colors.

lee n. field · « **Reply #10 on:** July 15, 2007, 05:45:54 PM »

Quote

none of the crappy aspects of CFLs.

Both my musician daughters say CFLs have an annoying hum. OK, so their room gets incandescents.

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 15, 2007, 06:32:17 PM »

And they stay crunchy, even in milk! grin

Wonder how the LED bulbs handle -20 temps?

Sergeant Bob · « **Reply #12 on:** July 15, 2007, 08:04:56 PM »

Quote from: Gewehr98 on July 15, 2007, 05:32:17 PM

And they stay crunchy, even in milk! grin

Wonder how the LED bulbs handle -20 temps?

-20 has no effect on LED's. A lot of semi trucks have LED turn signals and running lights and they work fine on them.

Bogie · « **Reply #13 on:** July 15, 2007, 08:23:01 PM »

We'll know next winter...

...in Misery...

Rocketman56 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 15, 2007, 09:36:24 PM »

Here's some place building them for boat usage..

http://www.bebi-electronics.com/index.html

So, people are starting to use them.. (and yes, one of my other hobbies is building/refitting boats!)
Some of these might be useful, if you want to provide light using a battery (or batteries) in a
extended blackout situation..

Steve

SomeKid · « **Reply #15 on:** July 15, 2007, 10:12:12 PM »

For those of us who don't like eBay, is there a place we can buy those that is trustworthy and accepts CC?

I would really like to get my hands on a few of those.

Is there any downside to LED lighting?

AJ Dual · « **Reply #16 on:** July 16, 2007, 06:56:17 AM »

Go to www.candlepowerforums.com home of the flashlight, LED, and Laser geeks. Don't search for "AJ Dual", please, I'm not there. Really&

There is a sub-forum that should cover LED light bulbs, which are "best". If searching does not come up with what you want, register, post and they should be able to help you with some good vendors and product recommendations.

A "Good" LED bulb that has sufficient lumen output, and a good color-balance to compete with CCFL's and Incandescent won't be cheap, but they're already awesome for non-critical maintenance lighting like basements and garages, accent lighting, like under cabinets and in moldings for effect lighting.

The good news is that LED's have a semiconductor economy, that they'll get exponentially cheaper as demand rises. And they do last for hundreds of thousands of hours if driven properly. Some of the high-end emitters are within spitting distance of achieving 100 lumens per Watt, which would be something like 60-75% efficiency, and they'll cost pennies apiece.

Right now the state of the art in high-end flashlights and such is about 40% efficient, but that's still HUGE, as compared to approximately 5% efficiency for incandescent.

Bogie · « **Reply #17 on:** July 16, 2007, 09:34:00 AM »

Sam's has some LED nightlights that only come on when it gets dark, and which have a battery-backup flashlight for use in power outage (auto on when power off). $20 for 3-4, I think... Kinda cool.

Saw them yesterday.

Firethorn · « **Reply #18 on:** July 16, 2007, 02:50:12 PM »

Quote from: Bogie on July 15, 2007, 05:03:17 AM

low millivolts, I'd guess...

Watts, not voltage. I'm willing to bet they're getting 120 volts, just like everything else on a split phase.

If I'm remembering right, there should be an AC-DC transformer in there, it should be outputting something like 6 volts.

crt360 · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:32:09 PM »

Quote from: Bogie on July 16, 2007, 08:34:00 AM

Sam's has some LED nightlights that only come on when it gets dark, and which have a battery-backup flashlight for use in power outage (auto on when power off). $20 for 3-4, I think... Kinda cool.

Saw them yesterday.

I got some cheap (less than $2 a piece) LED nightlights from Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. The yellow/white ones suck. The blue ones put out a remarkable amount of light, especially in a room with a high ceiling (like a stairwell). I think they are either .5 or .25 watt. They stay on all the time and do a decent job if you don't mind the color.

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 19, 2007, 06:16:27 PM »

Quote

Sam's has some LED nightlights that only come on when it gets dark, and which have a battery-backup flashlight for use in power outage (auto on when power off). $20 for 3-4, I think... Kinda cool.

Saw them yesterday.

I was dumpster diving the other day near the University of Wisconsin dorms. Those kids throw out everything after the semester's over. So I have this light that comes on when it's dark outside, and has two bright yellow LEDs inside. All I had to do was put two new 6-volt lantern batteries in it. I can set it to either flash or stay constantly lit. Cool! grin

Thor · « **Reply #21 on:** July 19, 2007, 06:21:47 PM »

Quote from: Gewehr98 on July 19, 2007, 05:16:27 PM

Quote

Sam's has some LED nightlights that only come on when it gets dark, and which have a battery-backup flashlight for use in power outage (auto on when power off). $20 for 3-4, I think... Kinda cool.

Saw them yesterday.

I was dumpster diving the other day near the University of Wisconsin dorms. Those kids throw out everything after the semester's over. So I have this light that comes on when it's dark outside, and has two bright yellow LEDs inside. All I had to do was put two new 6-volt lantern batteries in it. I can set it to either flash or stay constantly lit. Cool! grin

are we related ??

Bogie · « **Reply #22 on:** July 19, 2007, 06:32:21 PM »

Hmmm... Wonder where THAT came from?

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 19, 2007, 07:42:01 PM »

Dunno.

I'm just glad they didn't swipe a stop sign somewhere to decorate their dorm rooms.

But you can buy the barricade flashers online, I found out, $29.95 each. Same goes for the spare parts.

Mrs. G-98 won't let me use it as a bedroom or upstairs hallway night light, even after I reset it from flashing to constant on. "Doesn't go with the decor, trashes the place up..." Bummer.

She doesn't know it yet, but I'm gonna bolt it to the patio deck upper stairwell landing, a safety feature to prevent stubbed toes and skinned knees. Then I'll set it to flash so it'll drive the neighbor lady nuts. cheesy

Nick1911 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 19, 2007, 07:59:01 PM »

Quote from: Gewehr98 on July 19, 2007, 05:16:27 PM

Quote

Sam's has some LED nightlights that only come on when it gets dark, and which have a battery-backup flashlight for use in power outage (auto on when power off). $20 for 3-4, I think... Kinda cool.

Saw them yesterday.

I was dumpster diving the other day near the University of Wisconsin dorms. Those kids throw out everything after the semester's over. So I have this light that comes on when it's dark outside, and has two bright yellow LEDs inside. All I had to do was put two new 6-volt lantern batteries in it. I can set it to either flash or stay constantly lit. Cool! grin

I don't' know why; but when I look at this picture, all I can think is: "Man, that chair looks comfy"

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Author Topic: LED Lightbulbs (Read 4437 times)