Sylvania 1600 lumin LED replacment bulb - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 04:32:53 am
content: It is a shame there is no law against building and selling Crap.About five months ago I picked one of these at CostCo which is a chain of big box warehouse stores that sells everything from food to tires.This seemed like a good idea at the time and I had been looking for an LED replacement for 100W bulbs which I use in my desk lamp on my workbench. The bulb generated 1600 lumins and for all intents and purposes put out as much light as a 100W bulb.All was good until Yesterday when it became intermittent and died.Well first I thought I would take it apart and try to fix it. Yah Right....After some work with a mallet and chisel I got the cover off...I liked the design what is not to like about a ring of LEDs and a light guide...A close up of the light guide.Continued....

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 04:41:57 am
content: After the hardware was removed and the ceramic carrier for the LEDS was removed then we find how crappy this bulb really is...First let me apologize for the quality of the picture I couldn't clamp it very well in the vice to get a good picture so I held it...Needless to say this heatsink is crap, there is very little contact aria under the LEDs To add insult to injury the metal isn't even a decent grade of aluminum, it is pot metal.Here is the housing / heatsink, LED array, and light guideIt gets better the driver assembly was potted with silicone potting compound so at this point there was no need to go on.Here is a view of the driver assembly contained in a plastic tube filled with silicone snot....Continued...

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 04:44:34 am
content: Here is one last look at that crap heatsink straight on...There is basically nothing under the lEDs, there was some silicon grease. The grease was not well applied and I think we have found our mode of failure.Crap Design....Oh and this thing was just over $20.00 US...

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 04:59:14 am
content: Look at bigclivedotcom's YouTube channel for reviews of substantially cheaper LED bulbs.

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 05:36:24 am
content: Sylvania should be a quality brand. I have bought better from China, at a tenth of the price you paid and they managed to last over two years before failing due to bonding in the LEDs.

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 06:57:36 am
content: Wow. That's a bummer. It looks like the heat sink was doing a lot of nothing for those poor LEDs.FWIW I've had good success thus far with the Cree and Phillips LED lamps sold by Home Depot. I've only used up to the 75W equivalent ones so far, though. Around here at least, HD seems to have a much better selection of LED replacement bulbs than Lowes does. That may not be the case in Southern California.-Pat

author: neslekkim
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 07:41:27 am
content: Quote from: AF6LJ on January 11, 2016, 04:32:53 amWhat failed in the lamp?, the led's itself?, or the psu?I have had some lamps failing, that should be kinda good quality, newer seen the leds itself failing, but the psu, and most often, an capacitor, due to the excess heat accumulated in the psu part, the the part that definately doesnt have any cooling/heatsink.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 08:18:47 am
content: Quote from: Towger on January 11, 2016, 05:36:24 amDid you bother to measure power consumption? Most likely it's not what written on them. Their efficiency sucks too, usually worse than fluorescent bulbs. And thirdly, there is no proper PSU inside. Just diode bridge and film cap inside, this crap is flashing with 100Hz frequency what is no good for the eyes at all.

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 02:16:58 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on January 11, 2016, 08:18:47 amI wasn't going to do that for a bulb, no point..The assumption was the efficiency wasn't my concern. I just wanted the light.All 33 LEDs are connected in series, on the one hand that is smart, it lowers the burden on the PWM driver.After my roommate gets off work we plan to do some shopping so maybe I can find another brand to try out.

author: Seekonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 03:56:48 pm
content: I just bought a Philips 9W E27 lamp. This one is rated at 9,000 hours because it is all plastic. Remember when LED lamps were rated for 35 years?

author: djQUAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 04:06:31 pm
content: Quote from: AF6LJ on January 11, 2016, 02:16:58 pmLooks to me they have 11 LEDs in series with three parallel strings.These lights usually have decent switching LED drivers in them. Much better than what BigClive has been tearing apart which only have capacitive droppers and diodes.here are some I have taken apart and peeled the potting compound off.http://quan-diy.com/projects/led/convert.htm

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 12, 2016, 12:31:10 am
content: Quote from: djQUAN on January 11, 2016, 04:06:31 pmActually you are right.I might have to fire this up and see if it is still good.my first thought was the driver being bad.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2018, 10:19:17 pm
content: I've had a couple of the Cree bulbs fail too, one I repaired by cleaning the contacts that connect the LED assembly. I had another one where the glue failed and the bulb dropped off the base. I was using it in a small fully enclosed fixture though despite the instructions saying not to.

author: MacMeter
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2018, 05:19:25 pm
content: I probably should have started a new thread with a more appropriate title, but .....I just got re-involved with my household LED’s. Several years ago I bought all Cree brand bulbs, 40, 60, 75, and 100 watts, all 1st generation, the ones with the heavy base with visable COOLING FINS. All worked fine with the dimmer listed below. Recently, the 75w bulb that had an occasional flicker spike now and then, just failed, this one in an open air fixture in the bathroom NOT on a dimmer.So I looked at the Cree lineup again, to discover there was a 2nd generation series with cutout slots on the bulb for heat escape, these are no longer made. The latest 3rd series have a smooth, no fin design. Example:https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-100W-Equivalent-Bright-White-3000K-A21-Dimmable-Exceptional-Light-Quality-LED-Light-Bulb-TA21-16030MDFH25-12DE26-1-11/304473207This is a new option in this wattage, and not yet available in other then 100 watts just yet. It’s color temperature is 3000K, before this, you only had 2700K, and 5500K. Also rated at a higher 90 CRI. I bought two of these to replace the 1st generation 100w ones I have on dimmers. I left the review below on the Home Depot site:“This 3rd revision Cree 100w bulb NO longer works properly with the Lutron Maestro CL MACL-153M dimmers. ISSUE: Enter room, press ON, dimmer leds (on left side of switch), ramp up, bulb does NOT dim up, a second later, ramps up a 2nd time, light dims up. A total DELAY of 3 seconds before light is on.”I spoke to both Cree and Lutron tech support departments, as these 100w bulbs as well as my specific dimmer are listed as “compatible” on their CONFUSING websites. Basically I was told I could try replacing my $25 dimmers with $90 dimmers, here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EFVJDM/?coliid=I3UGHWLDLCYU7C&colid=1LVJPD6XPZIME&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_itThese are called ELV type (Electronic Low Voltage) and are much more expensive. I mentioned to both companies it’s ridiculous and expensive to suggest people change all their dimmers to try and match bulbs, and there is no guarantee they will work as expected, though you could return the bulbs easier then the dimmers.While dimmers are upgraded/updated with less frequency, the bulbs from all the manufacturers are constantly being changed, new housing designs, but more importantly, the internal electronics, I suspect the LED drivers getting updated or just them using a newer or different type then in the past, or perhaps even in the same series. These companies do their own testing, and don’t talk or share a common database, as was my suggestion to both the companies I spoke with.After posting my “warning” review on Home Depot, I received an email from a Cree customer service rep. with an invitation to call if I wanted to. I called and it was an odd conversation. The rep got frustrated after awhile, and kept claiming people didn’t have to buy $90 dimmers, and they had some on their “compatible” list that were cheap. These of course had no where near the functionality of even my $25 lutron dimmer. I was then asked if I wanted my money back, as I declined, saying I was calling to try and give their company some real world feedback. Basically a waste of my time.Someone had given me a daylight version of a Home Depot “storebrand”, called “EcoSmart”, not sure who makes them for HD? They are less expensive, and I tested the one I had on hand, and there was NO long delay when turning on. So I bought two 100watt in that brand. A bonus is the bulb shape is the smaller A19, not like the Cree 100w, that is the larger A21 size. The color temperature is also 3000k, which I prefer over the warmer 2700K, though the latest 100w Cree is now offered in 3000K which is what I bought and tested, and ended up using in two non dimmed lamps. The downside to the EcoSmart 100w. bulbs are they are only 80 cri, not 90 cri like the Cree. And while they are instant “ON”, the slow dim out setting that is programmable on my Lutron dimmer, is not as smooth a dim off curve. I tried resetting the dimmer to default, as well as setting both high and low end, no change. I can live with that, but not a 2-3 second ON delay.So what’s it all mean and what have I learned? If you don’t use LED’s on dimmers, you have a lot less to worry about. If you do use dimmers, expect a lot more compatibility issues between every type and brand bulb and dimmer. These companies don’t seem to care about creating any real standard of testing. The point I tried to make with both companies, is most folks go into a store to perhaps change from their old standard, working tungsten bulb, to an LED, then go home assuming it’s just a simple matter of screwing in the new bulb. Most folks, for many understandable reasons, are NOT going to research what type or brand, or model dimmer, works with certain brands and wattage LED bulbs. And even if they did, as I tried, they may find all those variables listed as “compatible”, when they may not be, and the fine print relieves them of any responsibility. Sure you can keep going back to the store and try another brand, or worse keep shipping them back, that’s a huge hassle.The consumer LED bulb and dimmer world, is still the WILD WEST!

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2018, 10:26:12 pm
content: A large part of the problem is that designing a good dimmer for incandescent lamps is very easy, and designing a good dimmer for LEDs is not particularly difficult, but requires quite a different approach. Designing LED lamps that will work properly on a dimmer designed for incandescent lamps is not trivial. I have found that many dimmers perform far better with a small incandescent load across them, for example you could have 10 LED bulbs on a dimmer and they will be unstable and flicker, but put a 5W incandescent nightlight bulb on the same circuit and everything settles down. I've been meaning to try a small power resistor to see if that has the same effect.