# Picked up a LED bulb for my floodlight last night



## EatenByLimestone (Apr 15, 2009)

It was time to get new tires for the wood hauler last night.  I got a great price at Sams and had some BFGs LT tires installed for $369.   There is a sale running right now on a couple different BFG tire lines if anybody else is in the market.  

So I start walking around the warehouse looking for neat things.

I came across some LED lights on a normal screw in light base.  It said it produced the light of a 45W incandesant and used 5W of electricity. 10,000 hours of life IIRC.   It was $12-14 I think.  This weekend I'll climb the latter and give a report back on how well it works.  

They had other LED bulbs there also.  I saw packs of the small socket chandeleer lights and small, regular bulb lights.  Since LEDs are directional they are probably for can lights or something.   

I had seen the LED retrofits on the net, but never seen them in a store. 

Matt


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## EatenByLimestone (Apr 15, 2009)

just looked at the package.  It's rated for 30,000 hours.  

Matt


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## Nofossil (Apr 15, 2009)

Been waiting for those to get cheap enough and bright enough. I use cfl bulbs all over the place, but there are several real shortcomings:

1) They don't work well in the cold.
2) The lifespan is dramatically shortened if they're installed in a recessed ceiling mount can.
3) They fail by gradually getting dimmer, so in many cases the useful life is much less than advertised.
4) They're not dimmable.

I know that some designs address some of these issues to some degree, but cfl technology is not the answer for many applications at this point. I'm hoping that LED offers a solution. Let us know how they work for you.


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## Highbeam (Apr 15, 2009)

Don't forget that they are slow to put out full power, they need to warm up.

The instant on of the LEDs is what I like to hear about.


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## karri0n (Apr 15, 2009)

I got an LED mag-lite and I think it's actually brighter than the standard krypton(?) bulb. Battery life is much much higher as well. Let us know how the LED bulb works out.


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## d.n.f. (Apr 15, 2009)

They don't work well in a smoke filled environment.
If it is not going to be attached to your fire helmet then you can move along and ignore this.


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## karri0n (Apr 15, 2009)

I would imagine, with the white light being the same color as the smoke, not great. Fortunately, I don't have any mag-lite duct taping projects with a helmet involved any time soon.


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## EatenByLimestone (Apr 16, 2009)

The light is going to shine down the back lawn onto the drying firewood.   Lets hope it keeps away from a smoke filled environment until it gets brought inside to the stove.   

Matt


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## Dune (Apr 16, 2009)

This is a good thread. We all need to be constantly reminded of any ways to cut energy use. Thanks.


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## mbcijim (Apr 16, 2009)

My company bought some $250 LED Wall packs to replace 400W Metal Halide ones.  The new LED wall packs aren't great, although they are 50W.  I wouldn't recommend them yet.  Not bright enough in that situation.


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## Hansson (Apr 16, 2009)

In my new kitchen i put up cree leds in the roof and i very satisfied whit them.
I can dimm them to


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## karri0n (Apr 16, 2009)

mbcijim said:
			
		

> My company bought some $250 LED Wall packs to replace 400W Metal Halide ones.  The new LED wall packs aren't great, although they are 50W.  I wouldn't recommend them yet.  Not bright enough in that situation.




What are wall packs?


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## mbcijim (Apr 17, 2009)

The most common use would be installed on the exterior wall on a commercial building.  A lot of time they are used in a rear parking lot, or a small parking lot where a pole isn't needed.


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## rowerwet (Apr 17, 2009)

karri0n said:
			
		

> I got an LED mag-lite and I think it's actually brighter than the standard krypton(?) bulb. Battery life is much much higher as well. Let us know how the LED bulb works out.


I hope they have improved the quality on these lights, I work out side at night year round so I have to have a good small (belt carried) light, I bought two of the minimag leds, they both failed the same way inside of 3 months, other mechanics I work with found the same problem. We all found the rayovac 3w led to be the best, right now I have a cabelas 3w led on my belt (6 months and going strong), I don't want a flashlight that needs expensive batteries either, AA or AAA is stocked in our parts room.
 with the new led technology maglite managed to get the minimag led to have dead spots in the contact points, the same as their large lights.
Walmart has led 40 and 20 watt bulbs, I am waiting until they are dimmable to try them out.


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## karri0n (Apr 17, 2009)

I agree about the mini mag lites. Never had much luck with them. the keychain ones are even worse. I do like the full size D cell ones, pretty reliable in my experience and the price is right.


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## Delta-T (Apr 17, 2009)

Odd, I've had a minimag with the aftermarket LED conversion by nite-eyez for several years with no problems. I beat on this thing too. I do backpacking and wilderness canoeing (nevermind using it for nearly every home repair situation), its also my 6 year olds fav "lightsaber", and have never had a problem with the LED's. The original bulbs would stop working if you looked at them wrong (probably why they come with the spare). 

I would be interested to hear about any app of LED's with dimmers as well.

I also have an 8 LED flashlight (forget the brand) that takes those darn expensive special batteries that works like a champ and is quite useful for blinding yourself or others if used appropriatly. Hands down far superior to any incandescent bulb i have ever tried.


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## rphurley (Apr 17, 2009)

Hansson said:
			
		

> In my new kitchen i put up cree leds in the roof and i very satisfied whit them.
> I can dimm them to



Sharp looking setup, but here in the states we're probably 5 years behind in consumer LED technology, as is true with everything else. Except for weapons and space exploration of course!


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## rowerwet (Apr 19, 2009)

Delta-T said:
			
		

> Odd, I've had a minimag with the aftermarket LED conversion by nite-eyez for several years with no problems. I beat on this thing too. I do backpacking and wilderness canoeing (nevermind using it for nearly every home repair situation), its also my 6 year olds fav "lightsaber", and have never had a problem with the LED's. The original bulbs would stop working if you looked at them wrong (probably why they come with the spare).
> 
> I would be interested to hear about any app of LED's with dimmers as well.
> 
> I also have an 8 LED flashlight (forget the brand) that takes those darn expensive special batteries that works like a champ and is quite useful for blinding yourself or others if used appropriatly. Hands down far superior to any incandescent bulb i have ever tried.



I have two minimags with nite-eyez conversions, they work great and are the only reliable (for industrial use) mag made, the c and d cell lights will develop dead spots in the focus, most of the guys who use them just get used to wacking the light against something hard and turning the focus (head) to get a light back.
the mini mag with nite-eyez is too dim for me to use (I keep them in the car) at work. they do make a 1watt that can also come with a push button tail cap that dims the bulb and flashes it, it is pricey $25 on top of $10 for the light, I can get a good 3watt led 2AA light for $25 or so, so why bother.
I want to be able to clearly see the top of the rudder (25+ feet) from the ground at night so nite-eyez conversions don't work as they are area lights and don't focus well at a distance. I will never buy a light that requires batteries that my company doesn't stock.


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## Hansson (Apr 20, 2009)

CTburns said:
			
		

> Hansson said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thats strange.I think Cree is an American company ?


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## Flatbedford (Apr 29, 2009)

I found these dimmable LED bulbs.
http://www.earthled.com/lumiselect-dimmable-led-light-bulbs.html?gclid=CLSm_bbMlpoCFQJ2xgodjU8AhQ
They are not cheap! Maybe in a few years. I think this is the way to go when they become a little more common and affordable.


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## Chain (May 13, 2009)

I renovated my kitchen last year and considered LED recessed lights to replace the old track lighting that was previously the main lighting in the old kitchen.  After a great deal or research I was able to locate a company that made a unit that you can screw into a regular recessed can that were also dimmable.  Basically a conversion kit.  My local company where I bought my new cabinets, counter top, and helped design the new space was able to purchase them if I desired.   Turns out they were going to cost about $165 dollars apiece not counting the recessed light fixture.  Given I needed to install ten lights, I found it to be too costly.  I've see a few LED conversion bulbs for various applications but none yet that replace the R-30 incandescent bulbs currently in my new recessed cans.  I'm sure they will be available soon, however.  I'm really excited and intrigued with the progress we're making toward energy efficient lighting in this country.  Soon LED will be the norm and even the sometimes unreliable CFL's will fall by the wayside.


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## drizler (May 13, 2009)

For the outside floods on my deck I went to a pair of the CFL type.    $6 at Sams Club and they do the job pretty well though they take 5-10 minutes to get full bright at -30F.   Not as bright as the regular type though but only 25 W each.   So far they have lasted 2 winters fine.    The big thing to watch for with LEDS is that they can only shine directly one way.   Mount one sideways in a taillight holder like on my snowmobile and they don't work well at all, very dim.   Mount them straight back like on my other snowmobile and they are very bright.   They do make side studded ones but the cost is way up there last time I looked.   If you want a damned good little almost disposable led flashlight look on the counter by the cash registers at Advance Auto Stores.   They used to be $5 but they dropped them to 2.50 last winter.   They are a very nice little 2AA 7LED light with aluminum body for the $$$.      I have at least 10 of them scattered in every remote location and car glove box, boat ect  You can't beat them for the price if you can find any.   They seem to dissappear fast and the reason is obvious.


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## Jerry_NJ (Jun 4, 2009)

I think we all have experience with LED flash lights, the original post here was on the subject of the "new" LED packages that have a standard A/C screw-in base for operation on 115 VAC.

I've tried the Walmart bulbs, three of then now.  The first two burned out in less than a week, I took them back and got replacements, the third (the last replacement) worked for about a month...so I didn't take it back even though its life was far-far below what was advertised.  I also found the "45Watt" equivalent to be closer to a 15 Watt in terms of it light output.  The compact florescent lights give far more light per watt, I believe.  

My experience, the LED screw-in bulb for use in 115 VAC applications isn't ready yet, I'll wait for the next generation before I buy any more.


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## jtp10181 (Jun 4, 2009)

I saw the LED light bulbs at Wal Mart just today and took my time investigating. Since they did not advertise the lumen's output I came the same conclusion Jerry did after purchasing them. They don't put out as much light as they say (45w incandescent comparable). I bought a two pack of daylight color CLF bulbs instead (for the same price as one LED light).

As for the AA LED Mag lights. I bought one for myself at work a couple months ago, love it. Still on the same batteries. Would have gone through 3 sets of AA's by now on the normal mag light I had before. One of my techs was using some sorry old flashlight so I bought him one also, he likes it as well. They are much brighter then some of the older LED flashlights I have used. I have been disappointed by older LED flashlights with 6 or more LEDs in them, this single LED maglight beats all the others I have used.


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## vandall (Jun 30, 2009)

I just bought the same bulbs from Sams. But, I get a flicker. What is a relay based motion detector? Where do I find one? Went to the local Ace hardware none of the motion lights mention anything about relay based motion detector circuit.


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## TreePapa (Jul 2, 2009)

I've seen the screw-in bulbs @ Home Dope-Oh recently, but I have not liked the Price$$, so I've passed. But the LEDs are purty nice in the "small" applications - we have a 4 or 6 LEDG booklite (very bright and white), a 1 LED flexible flashlite (bright enough), and a few others. But my favourite is an LED "camplite" (similar to this http://www.energizer.com/products/flashlights/outdoor-lights/Pages/batteries-lantern-headlamp.aspx but in red). My favourite part is that it still has the same D-cell alkaline batteries I put in it when I first bought it and the light is as bright as ever. And it "runs cool" ... it doesn't put out any heat.

I s'pect that it will take a while for LED lights to be effective and cost efficient for regular home use, but for some specialty apps, they're great. And when one of the posters above listed CFL's shortcomings, he forgot to mention the mercury in the bulbs that makes them haz waste when they burn out. Rather a pain in the Donkey, esp. since, as other posters have pointed out, they don't last as long as advertised in some applications.

Peace,
- Sequoia


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## Cluttermagnet (Jul 7, 2009)

LED lamps in the higher wattages are still too costly. I find the light a bit harsh, as well. The big issue with the LED lamps is that the service life is still being held back by the lower life expectancy of the electronics onboard. The actual LED elements will outlast the electronics. It gets darned hot inside these.

This same issue plagues CFL's, by the way. They work best upright, like a traditional incandescent lamp with a shade clamped to the bulb. Invert them and they die sooner due to heat buildup. Coop them up inside a non ventilated fixture, and the life goes way down. The electronics inside of these gadgets are just not yet up to the job. I am using a lot of spiral CFL's around here, however- and getting pretty good life.

BTW please remember, ladies and gents- the CFL's have toxic mercury in them. Not good to just toss 'em in the trash. They need to be recycled as hazardous waste.


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## maverick06 (Oct 16, 2009)

I've been thinking about getting the LED lights for a while, but havent heard much about them..... So am a little concerned. I have found some good deals here: http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.907  but havent tried any. i have some CFL that work forever, some seem to be highly overrated! (not even in enclosed areas).


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## btuser (Nov 4, 2009)

I can see LED bulbs working great for a spot light but notsomuch for a flood light.  The light output for these bulbs is often mis-stated, because they beam in one direction and don't diffuse.   So you end up with a really bright pin-point that fools a light meter.  I hope I'm wrong and they've suddenly gotten better, but many of the efficiency claims about these bulbs are false. Maybe the newer multi-led assemblies are doing better.  I've got a 22 led flashlight that does pretty well.  

 I have two incandescent bulbs in my house. One is in my fridge and the other is in my daughter's easybake oven.  Everything else is CFL.  Well, that's not true.  I've got two 50w halogen on the back porch.   Once I changed all the bulbs I didn't notice a difference between the CFL and the toaster lights.


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## kobudo (Nov 4, 2009)

We use LED lights in our cabin as our main source of light since we are off the grid and rely primarily on solar.  Just to correct one post:  The LED's are great in cold weather.  We have arrived to the cabin when the interior temp. was 4*F and they work just fine.  The flrsnt. lights are however problematic in cold weather.
During the winter months we do use some 60w incndsnt. lights because the LED's are directional and don't provide the rooms with the warmth and light of traditional bulbs.


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## Gooserider (Nov 5, 2009)

One LED light that I've found very useful because you tend to always have it, is a little key-fob light.  Couple inches long, maybe about 3/4" wide and 1/4" thick.  Has an LED in one end, a loop for your key-ring on the other, and a momentary push button on one side to turn the LED on.  Puts out about as much light as one of the old doctor's "Open wide and say Arghhhh" penlights - it is no searchlight, but it's great for finding keyholes, or checking a mailbox, looking for footing, and general light duty flashlight stuff.  Runs on a couple of the little coin size hearing aid batteries.

I've found them in hardware stores for a buck or two, and even picked up one or two at trade shows as "give-away chachkes" 

Well worth the space on a keyring...

Gooserider


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## ROBERT F (Nov 5, 2009)

Just got a letter from lights of america, stating that the life listed on their led bulbs was mistated. And that if I so desired i could return them to the store of purchase and get a full refund. that would mean that bulbs that are 2 years old or close to it could be replaced with new ones at no charge.  I have multiple 5 watt multi-leds on dusk to dawns, providing light on my wood stacks, front and side parking areas, and up the front driveway. they are resonably bright, but have a very blueish hue that makes everything kinda hard to see.


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## rowerwet (Nov 5, 2009)

back when my dad worked for GE they had an article in the co mag about the future of indoor lighting, GE is working on having whole panels of leds for room lighting, they would make a whole wall or ceiling the light fixture, they were working on office space installs at the time, retrofits to exsisting houses are down the road from there. The cost would be high initialy, but pay for itself over the life of the building due to reduced power use.


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## DenaliChuck (Nov 12, 2009)

Just heard a NPR story about the Dept of Energy(?) doing a contest to get a LED that is an exact replacement for a 60w incandescent.  Phillips submitted 2,000 for testing and 4-5 other companies are nearing submittal.  The had to be the same lumens, be dimmable, be the same color temperature, be omni-directional, size...etc.  Sounds like some better LEDs are on the way soon.


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## velvetfoot (Nov 29, 2009)

Last I looked, the LED's put out comparable lumens per watt as the compact fluorescents (I could be wrong).
The CF's really aren't too bad, except for the warmup time and dimming.
I'm thinking some other technology will come along and leapfrog led's for general lighting.


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## rowerwet (Nov 30, 2009)

the big problem is LEDs are directional, great for reading in the car or plane, lousy for lighting up the whole room, might be time to go back to polished tin ceilings to spread the light around.


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## peakbagger (Feb 10, 2010)

I realize this thread may be getting old but I did want to report on one brand of LED lights to avoid. I had picked up about 20 Osram Sylvania LED strip lights for a home remodeling project. They were intended to be installed in a very hard to reach location whihc made the long life claims a big plus. Before I could install them, I needed an under desk light for my office and hooked one up. This is a very similiar installation as an undercabinet light with ventilation on three sides and being fed from a commerical grade UPS that supplies all my office equipment. To date I am on my fourth light in about a year. The light is typically run 8 hours per day 5 days per week. I have done a postmortem on one of them and its obvious that one of the LED's have failed. The way the units are wired when one LED goes the entire fixture stops working. I usually can detect significant dimming before they go out.  

These units are made in China for Osram and of course Osram no longer sells the units. Nevertheless Osram Sylvania is a legitmiate brand and therefore even bug names havent figured out all the bugs with LED lights.


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## Gooserider (Feb 10, 2010)

One thought I've had, but not looked into very much, is to wonder about trying to use some of the LED lights developed for the automotive / trucking industry, like these just as a sample (Haven't done business w/ this outfit, just giving the link as a type sample).  I haven't done anything with the white LED vehicle lights, but I have used the red and yellow versions on one of my sidecars, and have been VERY impressed with the amount and quality of the light they put out, not to mention the low current draw and long lifespan...

Obviously since vehicle lights are designed for 12VDC power, one would need a transformer of some sort, but they draw so little power, you could probably run several off a "wall wart" style power cube...

The only question might be how much actual illumination they put out, but since they are being billed as good for cargo and back-up lights, both of which are apps where one expects to get illumination, they might do pretty well...

The other thing that might be nice about them is that they are quite compact, and don't need a lot of room to mount...

Gooserider


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## Chris S (Feb 10, 2010)

I saw the cree lights in january 09 at a trade show in Vegas- dimmable and very good light.  The display showed a convetional lamp,  next to their LED.  they are costly, but I am really opposed to CFLs .  I have tried LED from the big box store, and some I bought on line, and am not happy with any of them, except for that the draw is very low.  I did buy a flood light- intended for an outdoor fixture, and was dissapointed in that as well.
i do beleive however that it won't be long before Leds overtake cfls.  the technology just has to evolve a little more
I have them on every corner of my truck, and love them
I had to order the Cree lamps-  putting them in 6" recessed lights,  I'll be sure to report back


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## Cluttermagnet (Feb 11, 2010)

I'm just barely beginning my adventure with commercial LED lighting. OTOH I have worked with smaller LED indicators in electronics for 30-40 years now, so I'm not at all unfamiliar with their evolution.

LED lamps are pretty darned pricey. I did spy some discontinued ones in my local Walmart, and I bought a couple of them. Made by "Lights of America" (in China, of course). Designed for 12VAC power in track lighting or landscape lighting. These are model 2001LEDG53-65K and I paid 5.87 each for them. A pretty good price for an LED lamp, I'm thinking. A lot of what I saw in stock recently had price points of around 12 bucks, 25 bucks, and on up to 40+ bucks for floodlight replacement units. Yikes! I think I'll stick with incandescents for floodlights. They are much cheaper, and last for years, normally. Yes, they use more power. But I don't think they have a really reliable LED product yet.

BTW check packaging carefully. If it is tamperable, chances are some dishonest clown is going to be doing swapouts occasionally, at the stores expense. This was the case with one of several units I purchased. The plastic clamshell package has little 'pegs' which are easily and undetectably reclosable. I have a sharp eye, but this one fooled me at the store. Got it home and, under test, about 5 out of 20 of the clear plastic T1-3/4 size individual LED's were clearly nearing end of life. They were noticeably dimmer, and their color had migrated off from white to clearly a more yellowish hue. You are only safe from this scam if the packaging features 'destructive only' style opening. In retrospect, I *might* have detected a small portion of the bozo's fingerprint burned into the lens of that lamp. Maybe. 

I am intrigued with these little 20-LED lamps, just the same. They only draw about a watt at 12VAC. I plan to build one or two battery operated 'trouble lights' for general purpose use around the homestead. And of course I have to incorporate a DC-AC converter to get the 12VAC needed to run them. I'll also build in a 120 to 12V transformer to allow power line operation and charging of the battery.

Bear in mind that pretty much every kind of LED lamp uses digital switching technology to convert whatever supply voltage to the correct one needed by the individual LED(s). Digital switchers are notorious RFI generators, so if you happen to like to listen to AM radio or you are a Ham or CB radio type, these little wonders may prove to be a major RFI nuisance. To most folks, this is of no consequence, but to radiomen, it really matters.


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