Old fluorescent light - do they have starters?

[robinbanks]

Did you ever hear of a Dubai lamp?

 

[Justin Passing]

LED lamps seem to be generally run with too much current to last. You can try it with a humble little 5p led, turn the current up then it runs really bright, then fairly slowly, burns out.
With some type you can get to the driver circuit and change a resistor (see youtube) . Run them with 30% less current and they go 100x longer, sorta thing.
In other words, it's bloody annoying. They could put two leds in instead of one for a few pence more.
There's a long way to go in LED house ligting. Better CRI (spectrum) is so much nicer, you get proper colours. I've used them for photos. A bit more expensive, but not crippling. Can't find many in BC or ES mounts.

 

[robinbanks]

Philips make some really long lasting ones, but I've always wondered "where Dubai them from in this country?"

 

[SFK]

Dubai lamps : extra LEDs that are run at lower power so they last longer:

 

[potterton678]

I have replaced may LEDs that failed after a couple of years.

I understand why people purchase them but the life expectancy quoted by manufacturers doesn't always seem to align with their claims.

I believe the tubes last longer than the LED's which seem to fail regularly.

 

[mikehammer69]

I believe the tubes last longer than the LED's which seem to fail regularly.

There is that aspect to it

You could maintain the old fluorescent fitting with a new tube and starter

Starter holder overheating and end-caps were troublesome with them though

 

[ericmark]

Things have moved on, 6th July 2023 not that long ago, but still we are seeing the price of LED lamps dropping so today I can get one for £5, often a lot less.

The problem is the light does not come out in the same direction to the old lamps, be it tungsten or fluorescent, so we have to be careful what we select.

I have two carriage lamps outside, one is integral and one has a bulb, it seems the integral one is far the better of the two, but it is really because the integral has the light at the top shinning down, and the bulb has the light at the bottom and shines up, use of a reflector has improved the bulb one.

But it seems although the LED bulb emits the light in a different direction, carriage lamp manufactories have not changed their design to suit.

 

[plugwash]

No contest, it's not worth messing with, just replace it with a complete LED fitting. Some fittings didn't use/need a starter,

If it's a common size, I'd convert it for use with LED tubes.

Nowadays I avoid integrated LED fittings where there is a reasonable alternative (sadly in some cases there isn't). I've just had too many failures.

 

[plugwash]

I have two carriage lamps outside, one is integral and one has a bulb, it seems the integral one is far the better of the two, but it is really because the integral has the light at the top shinning down, and the bulb has the light at the bottom and shines up, use of a reflector has improved the bulb one.

But it seems although the LED bulb emits the light in a different direction, carriage lamp manufactories have not changed their design to suit.

When it comes to LED bulbs for replacing incandescents there seem to be two main styles.

One style has the LEDs on a flat circuit board at the base of the bulb, this projects most of the light forward.

The other is the "filament" style which has a load of tiny LEDs mounted between pairs of wires, so they look a bit like a filament. These tend to give a more "sideways" light. The downside seems to be it's difficult to find them in higher lumen output, they also always seem to have "clear" rather than "pearl" bodies.

 

[ericmark]

I have one bulb with wings, so you can one get a higher output,

BA22d connection and 80 watt, 9000 lumen output. Had these been around when we moved in, likely would not have bought an expensive chandelier that uses 8 bulbs.

But outside my carriage lights with bulbs, shine the light up, I have fitted a reflector, but most the light is waisted.