Suggestions for good GU10 bulbs? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 04:24:10 pm
content: We have this 4 socket GU10 fixture in our kitchen, which has gone through more bulbs than I pairs of pants. We keep buying cheap bulbs, so I'm wondering if there's any general advice to be had on buying 120V GU10 LED bulbs. Brands, specific example, Amazon links work good. My first instinct is to buy LG, but they seem to only have cold white on Amazon (which I'd settle for in a pinch), but for all I know is they're shit. The rest on the first page of Amazon results seems dubious to my eyes.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 04:57:36 pm
content: Have you tried LED bulbs for enclosed fixtures – if they are?

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 05:02:53 pm
content: They are not particularly enclosed. They have a glass surround, but an open back. I doubt any of them died due to heat.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 05:04:17 pm
content: I've heard ceiling halogen lights will kill the bulbs too often when there is not enough ventilation, and the bulb+fixture overheat.

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 05:14:33 pm
content: Halogens probably, but these are lower power LED bulbs, with plenty of airflow.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 06:25:54 pm
content: Cheap LED bulbs are mostly junk. I've had pretty good luck with Philips and Cree, I have not tried any of their GU10 offerings though.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 09:29:50 pm
content: Try the philips, they are hardly expensivehttps://www.amazon.com/Philips-LED-Flicker-Free-Certified-3-Pack/dp/B07VMBGJHX/IF those fail, then there is some other electrical issue in that area. eg. I had one LED bulb in parallel with an old fluorescent ballast, and that would kill it incredibly quickly.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 09:55:50 pm
content: Yeah, Philips. I put them in my kitchen fixture years ago, now are still all the same brightness, same color, no failures.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 10:22:31 pm
content: "Good GU10 bulbs?"Har har har! (Slaps thigh).The whole LED thing is a joke.I've had Philips, Osram, Sylvania, you name it. No cheap Chinese stuff for me from the internet.Those things burn out randomly within a month or two years.My Halogens would last for 5...10 years, depending on use.Biggest ripoff ever.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 10:29:24 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on November 01, 2022, 10:22:31 pmThere is something wrong then. I've been using LED bulbs almost exclusively in my house for a decade and I can count on one hand the number I've had fail. The Philips bulb in my front porch light was installed in 2011 (I wrote the date on it) and it's still going strong, it runs dusk till dawn every night.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 10:35:41 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on November 01, 2022, 10:29:24 pmI believe you there, but I'm sure you're talking 12 V LED lights. Those work.But the 230 V GU10s are pure junk.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 10:42:31 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on November 01, 2022, 10:35:41 pmNo, I'm talking about 120V A19 style bulbs, ie ordinary light bulbs. I don't have anything that takes GU10 so I have no experience with those. They're much more compact though so they might have thermal issues.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 10:56:29 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on November 01, 2022, 10:22:31 pmI wouldn't say that. Perhaps the issues are limited to small globes with the electronics stuffed into a small space. My entire home is fitted with LED down lights, with a seperate transformer module (this is pretty standard practice in Australia in newer homes) and after 7 years, none of them have failed or undergone any visual changes.I did have one transformer fail, but it was a simple job of unplugging the primary and secondary connectors and swapping it out.

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2022, 11:11:41 pm
content: I went with some Sylvania bulbs, as I learned they're just rebranded Osram, and that amused the German half of me.Phillips would have been my second pick, and if these die an early death, I'll report back and look into those.I /know/ good LED bulbs can be made, but as it has always been with light bulbs, why make decent things when garbage sells faster?

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2022, 02:29:31 am
content: Quote from: Ampera on November 01, 2022, 11:11:41 pmAs far as I know, Osram and Sylvania have been the same company for decades.Well when you make garbage it doesn't take long to tarnish your reputation. Most reputable companies at least try to make stuff that lasts long enough that customers don't feel ripped off.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2022, 06:43:30 am
content: As someone who's done far and away too many downlights for the 240v Au market, heat is your enemy.Regarding regular halogen downlights before LEDs.The downlights that have a separate transformer/driver should be, technically, in a holder. These have come in various forms. A metal cone was made so that the downlight gimble could still remain open at the top for 50wGU5.3base halogen globes. The iron core transformer usually just sat on the insulation but they always should have been placed on a square of fibro, away from any timber.The metal cone was good because the 92mm hole could be drilled and the light fitted from underneath. When the equivalent, better, 35w halogen showed up, you could use a plastic box that needed to be attached on the roof side. It had a 92mm hole which lined up with the ceiling hole and also had a pocket for the newer solid state transformer so it was not sitting on the ceiling and had airflow. But they were a bastard to fit, for obvious reasons. Government jobs they considered mandatory and new house work they were 'supposed' to be.Luckily the low-watt LED replacement alleviated much of the waste heat and therefore the worry. The separate driver should be placed in the enclosure and they do make all in one 92mm driver LED with a cord. But those do fail early due to heat.The GU10 240v incandescent light fittings were hit and miss. The rule of thumb, never put them outside (under the eaves). The globes ran so hot that if the fitting was sealed, it failed early or if unsealed so it could breathe, it attracted moisture which got into the cracked terminals and springs of the GU10. So the globe would blow and you'd be up for a new fitting.Inside the house, though, they were fine. You'd find them used often in short track lighting with not too many problems. It depended on the condition and quality and plating of the terminals of the lamp and the fitting. And, again, how much heat.

author: jonpaul
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2022, 06:57:56 am
content: The GU-10 contacts and sockets are an issue as the cheap materials can start to oxidize, then a successive contact failure occurs.A new lamp in old socket can be contaminated and fail.The sockets are usually cheapest plated contacts.Suggest high quality brands eg Sylvania or Philips (in EU) or similar.For bad contacts in the socket, try Replacing it in a troublesome fixture.Jon