2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.

On 3/13/2019 8:57 AM, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


I had 2 fail within a year. Also had early failures on CFL's.

My observation on the CFL's was that if they were in places like
bathroom fixtures where they were constantly being switched on and off
that this is what led to premature failure.

Maybe same applies to LED's. Switching on and off probably stresses
components thermally leading to early failure.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 8:57:42 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


Name brand or no name Chinese junk? If you got them at Lowes, HD, etc
I'd take them back and/or contact the company. Another possibility is
they got done in by a power surge, but if everything else is OK, that
seems doubtful. Unless the fan motor created enough of a spike to do
them in.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 9:05:54 AM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 8:57:42 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


Name brand or no name Chinese junk? If you got them at Lowes, HD, etc
I'd take them back and/or contact the company. Another possibility is
they got done in by a power surge, but if everything else is OK, that
seems doubtful. Unless the fan motor created enough of a spike to do
them in.

I'll check the brand tonight. I still have the box, might be able to return them. The fan has not been turned on since the bulbs were installed so it's not a surge.

I wish there were an easy way to replace sockets on ceiling fixtures and fans with higher quality models. I have a German pole lamp with some of the highest quality sockets I've ever seen. (I completely disassembled it thinking I had a bad connection, and it turned out to be two bad bulbs, the one in the lamp and the new one I put in to replace it. But it was interesting to see how it was designed and built, basically bullet proof.) The only problem of course is the E26 vs E27 standard. Bulbs have low enough quality control you can find one that works, but there's luck involved.

On 3/13/2019 8:57 AM, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


The main issue with LEDs is not the bulb (diode) themselves, but the
driver. LEDs can last a lifetime but if a manufacturer uses cheap
drivers, they will die soon. Stay with quality brands and you'll find
these units may outlive you.

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 8:57:42 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb
20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has
not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a
sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to
relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet
but will do that, it could also be the socket.


Name brand or no name Chinese junk? If you got them at Lowes,
HD, etc I'd take them back and/or contact the company.

Another possibility is they got done in by a power surge,

If it was that, you wouldnt be able to get
them to flash briefly by wiggling them.

That has to be a bad contact somewhere or a dry joint or cracked trace.

but if everything else is OK, that seems doubtful. Unless
the fan motor created enough of a spike to do them in.

Ditto.

"TimR" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 9:05:54 AM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 8:57:42 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb
20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that
has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a
sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to
relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet
but will do that, it could also be the socket.


Name brand or no name Chinese junk? If you got them at Lowes, HD, etc
I'd take them back and/or contact the company. Another possibility is
they got done in by a power surge, but if everything else is OK, that
seems doubtful. Unless the fan motor created enough of a spike to do
them in.

I'll check the brand tonight. I still have the box, might be able to
return them. The fan has not been turned on since the bulbs were
installed so it's not a surge.

I wish there were an easy way to replace sockets on
ceiling fixtures and fans with higher quality models.

There usually is.

I have a German pole lamp with some of the highest quality sockets I've
ever seen.
(I completely disassembled it thinking I had a bad connection, and it
turned out to
be two bad bulbs, the one in the lamp and the new one I put in to replace
it. But
it was interesting to see how it was designed and built, basically bullet
proof.)

And the best of them are ceramic so will last forever.

The only problem of course is the E26 vs E27 standard.

You can buy them all now.

Bulbs have low enough quality control you can
find one that works, but there's luck involved.

On Wed, 13 Mar 2019 13:07:25 -0400, Meanie wrote:

On 3/13/2019 8:57 AM, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


The main issue with LEDs is not the bulb (diode) themselves, but the
driver. LEDs can last a lifetime but if a manufacturer uses cheap
drivers, they will die soon. Stay with quality brands and you'll find
these units may outlive you.

I went all LED about 2 years ago, about 20 bulbs. Haven't had a single one fail.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 3:34:30 PM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:
On Wed, 13 Mar 2019 13:07:25 -0400, Meanie wrote:

On 3/13/2019 8:57 AM, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


The main issue with LEDs is not the bulb (diode) themselves, but the
driver. LEDs can last a lifetime but if a manufacturer uses cheap
drivers, they will die soon. Stay with quality brands and you'll find
these units may outlive you.

I went all LED about 2 years ago, about 20 bulbs. Haven't had a single one fail.

I have about 8 here for about 2 years too with no failures. Two are outside, but protected.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 4:02:33 PM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
I went all LED about 2 years ago, about 20 bulbs. Haven't had a single one fail.

I have about 8 here for about 2 years too with no failures. Two are outside, but protected.

The first one I bought was probably 8 or 10 years ago, and it was expensive enough I only bought 1. It's still working. I still have a few CFLs from that period too. It seems ones I've bought recently, both CFL and LED, have not held up as well. That's why I've started writing the install date on every bulb.

On Wed, 13 Mar 2019 14:34:23 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Wed, 13 Mar 2019 13:07:25 -0400, Meanie wrote:

On 3/13/2019 8:57 AM, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.


The main issue with LEDs is not the bulb (diode) themselves, but the
driver. LEDs can last a lifetime but if a manufacturer uses cheap
drivers, they will die soon. Stay with quality brands and you'll find
these units may outlive you.

I went all LED about 2 years ago, about 20 bulbs. Haven't had a single one fail.
I started my switch-over about 5 years or more ago with some chinese
G10s which failed quickly and often.
I switched over to brand name stuff and have not had a failure since -
have the whole house except the bathrooms switched over to LED -
including the garage and yard-lights 4 4ft tubes, 4 par38s, 4
"tri-lights" 5 candelabra, and the rest standard bulbs or specialty
fixtures (integrated LED)

I've been slowly switching over the church - have replacedall the
basic incandescents - have a few floureschents and compact
flourescents that will be replaced with LED as they fail, and a few
Halogens that will likely remain halogen for the forseeable future as
they are halogen specific fixtures that I have not found LED retrofits
for. The 6 high-bay "compact" flourescents will be a challenge when
the time comes too - 400 watt Mogul base inverted with fan forced
cooling onthe ballasts - considering an adapter from single Mogul to 4
or 5 E26/E27 and just install regular LED bulbs but I don't need to
make that decision untill after we install the last spare (only one
has failed in 6 years and I managed to find 2 replacements at about
$115 US each - - -

On Wed, 13 Mar 2019 13:24:45 -0700 (PDT), TimR
wrote:

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 4:02:33 PM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
I went all LED about 2 years ago, about 20 bulbs. Haven't had a single one fail.

I have about 8 here for about 2 years too with no failures. Two are outside, but protected.

The first one I bought was probably 8 or 10 years ago, and it was expensive enough I only bought 1. It's still working. I still have a few CFLs from that period too. It seems ones I've bought recently, both CFL and LED, have not held up as well. That's why I've started writing the install date on every bulb.
My first CFLs wouldn't last 4 months - didn't matter what brand. The
last one I pulled and replaced with LED was over 7 years old and still
working.

Some of my first LEDs didn't last a month. The oldest one in the
house now is over 5 years old and I have not had a single failure
other than the first batch of MR16 and G10 ChinaCraps that I bought
off FleaBay.

I currently have some Philips, Feit, Noma, and a lot of TCP.
The direct fit tube replacements were whatever Costco had on sale a
couple years ago.
They are half the price now.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 8:57:42 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.

They are GE 60 watt equivalent dimmable. I don't remember why I bought dimmable, as there are no dimmers in my house.

The package says 5 year warranty, just return them to GE with proof of purchase. Well, that's long gone.

I tried them in another lamp. Same symptom, by screwing in and out I got the occasional flash but couldn't reliably repeat it. I took the CFL out of that lamp and put it in the bathroom fixture the LED failed in, and it worked fine. So, it's the LED not the fixture.

There's nothing obviously wrong with the LED bulb - no cracks, corrosion, arc traces, etc. I don't know any way to test these, it's not like you could put an ohmeter on the filament, there's electronics between power and LED..

TimR wrote

They are GE 60 watt equivalent dimmable. I don't remember
why I bought dimmable, as there are no dimmers in my house.

The package says 5 year warranty, just return them
to GE with proof of purchase. Well, that's long gone.

I tried them in another lamp. Same symptom, by screwing in
and out I got the occasional flash but couldn't reliably repeat it.

Then there is a cracked pcb trace or dry joint in the bulb itself.
Making intermittent contact as you apply pressure to the bulb.

I took the CFL out of that lamp and put it in the bathroom fixture
the LED failed in, and it worked fine. So, it's the LED not the fixture.

Yes.

There's nothing obviously wrong with the LED
bulb - no cracks, corrosion, arc traces, etc.

You dont get arc traces with cracked
pcb traces or dry joint with LEDs.

I don't know any way to test these, it's not like you could put an
ohmeter on the filament, there's electronics between power and LED.

You should be able to use a meter in various places
to see where the cracked pcb trace or dry joint is and
may well be able to fix the problem by soldering the
dry joint or bridging the trace crack if you can get
into the electronics without wrecking the bulb.

On Wed, 13 Mar 2019 17:37:47 -0700 (PDT), TimR
wrote:

They are GE 60 watt equivalent dimmable. I don't remember why I bought dimmable, as there are no dimmers in my house.

The package says 5 year warranty, just return them to GE with proof of purchase. Well, that's long gone.

I tried them in another lamp. Same symptom, by screwing in and out I got the occasional flash but couldn't reliably repeat it. I took the CFL out of that lamp and put it in the bathroom fixture the LED failed in, and it worked fine. So, it's the LED not the fixture.

There's nothing obviously wrong with the LED bulb - no cracks, corrosion, arc traces, etc. I don't know any way to test these, it's not like you could put an ohmeter on the filament, there's electronics between power and LED.
Where did you buy them? Pay with credit card? If so most places can
give you a "duplicate" receipt.

On Thu, 14 Mar 2019 06:20:09 +1100, cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot
Speed blabbered, again:


I wish there were an easy way to replace sockets on
ceiling fixtures and fans with higher quality models.

There usually is.

You know NOTHING about his situation, senile psychopathic asshole!

--
Marland addressing bull****ting senile Rot:
"Stay in your wet paper bag you thick twit."
MID:

On Thu, 14 Mar 2019 11:57:11 +1100, cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot
Speed blabbered, again:



Then there is a cracked pcb trace

You'd better worry about your cracked senile head, senile Rot! BG

--
The Natural Philosopher about senile Rot:
"Rod speed is not a Brexiteer. He is an Australian troll and arsehole."
Message-ID:

On Thu, 14 Mar 2019 05:54:46 +1100, cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot
Speed blabbered, again:


Name brand or no name Chinese junk? If you got them at Lowes,
HD, etc I'd take them back and/or contact the company.

Another possibility is they got done in by a power surge,

If it was that,

In auto-contradicting mode again, senile idiot? BG

--
Norman Wells addressing senile Rot:
"Ah, the voice of scum speaks."
MID:

On 3/13/2019 8:35 PM, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 8:57:42 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
2 of 3 LED (60 w replacements) bulbs I put in a ceiling fixture on Feb 20th have failed. There is no heat trapped, it's a ceiling fan that has not run since it's winter. I write the date I put a bulb in with a sharpie so I can track, I'm suspicious of these predicted lifespans.

When I wiggle them I can get them to flash briefly. It doesn't seem to relate to how tight or loose they are screwed in.

Defective bulbs? I haven't had time to try them in another fixture yet but will do that, it could also be the socket.

I've replaced most of the bulbs in my house with LEDs and for the most
part, they have lasted. I think only one has failed and one was
mechanically broken. But, in the gateposts in the front of the
subdivision, there are 2 very large light fixtures with 2 bulbs each.
We were going through incandescent bulbs at the rate of about one 60
watt bulb per 3 months. When I replaced them with LED candle bulbs from
Lowe's, I was still getting failures. I changed brands and they are now
working for 3 or 4 years. Lowe's quit selling that original brand, I
suspect for obvious reasons, as they always made good on the returns. I
think, out of the 4 lamps, there is still one of the original "bad"
bulbs which seems to have held up.