Quartz to LED conversion

[ericmark]

I have tried GU10, but wife has bought a 120W outside light from Aldi think it's called an R7 tube very like the old 500W tubes but a bit shorter.

It lasted 3 days before the tube failed. OK she was right I do need a lamp to assist when getting out of car and putting out the bins. But 120W is really OTT. So I have ordered a:-

R7s J78 Energy Saving White 24 SMD LED Halogen Light Lamp Bulb 5W

Seems more like the size required, but will the movement/light sensor work with a 5W bulb? The sensor has a neutral feed so question is really what power leaks through the relay I heard it click so I am assuming not electronic so should work?

Tells me arriving 27th Jan 2016 which I am sure originally said 7th Jan so if the sensor is not going to work then a simple timer seems best option it can run for 2 hours for same price as 5 mins on original bulb and I am sure it will get triggered by passing traffic but main point is it should last more than 2 days. So if I need a timer rather than use the sensor would be better to order now.

I am also crossing fingers that it will fit.

looks a bit chunky.

Did look at LED lamp, but 10W seems OTT street lamp lights most of front it is just a small area where the cars hid light from street lamp. Has anyone tried these LED conversions and if so how well did they work?

 

[Taylortwocities]

If it looks like that and it is round then it will not fit, but most of those are sort of triangular so should be OK, The spec should say diameter and length, so you can compare.

If your PIR "clicks" then it indicates a relay output, so should work with any lamp. No power "leaks" through the relay.
The instructions for the fitting should say what lamp(s) are compatible.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am also crossing fingers that it will fit.

I think you should be crossing your fingers about more than that...

looks a bit chunky.

It's direct from China and it looks like it has the same basic construction as a corn-cob lamp.

Be very careful.

 

[winston1]

If anything only lasts 3 days I take it back for a refund.

That R7 lamp you have ordered. Is it the type with bare LED elements that could be at mains voltage and sold on ebay from China? They are illegal here and rightly so.

 

[ericmark]

In an earthed metal box with toughened glass window supplied from a RCD I am not worried about live parts the two contacts are also live, but you are not allowed to run a quartz halogen lamp without a glass to both stop red hot bits and harmful rays from the lamp both of which are stopped by the glass. I will admit fitted instead of a bulb there could be a danger, but this design of lamp requires a tool to access the lamp so would comply.

I clearly think it will work OK or would not have ordered it. However just not sure on physical size although it states 9 x 8 x 3.8 cm it is all dependent on where the contacts are. My hope was some one has used these before and could say how they found them.

 

[Taylortwocities]

If it is like this, then they are not as deep as the OP's picture makes it look.

But shipping all the way from China ia a long way to find this out!

 

[Iggifer]

Toolstation stock them, but they appear to be a bit more basic, with a much more omnidirectional light beam, but for £5 it might be worth a punt

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Lig...ED+Halogen+Replacement+Floodlight+Lamp/p28889

 

[ericmark]

Thanks, wish I had seen that first. It would have been up and running now.

 

[ericmark]

It has arrived fitted easy and bright enough for the job, that is some reduction 120W to 5W. Dropped a nut nothing to do with the item but as a result don't want to play with settings, at the moment does go off and does go on with movement so working A1.

 

[333rocky333]

is it still working eric

 

[ericmark]

Well time for a report. The LED converter has worked well, there is ample light from it to light up to end of drive where the street light takes over. However there was a hick-up. The cheap lamp took in water first I realised when when it did not go off in the morning, I part dismantled the PIR both to drain excess water and see where the active parts were, then drilled a very small hole in the PIR to allow the unit to breath and since then it has worked great. I think some muck got in with the water as the sensitivity seems to have dropped, but that's easy to adjust.

All in all a good conversion drive is about car and a half long, and it is ample. Lidi did a LED lamp at under £10, and to be frank it would have been better to have bought the LED version in the first place theirs was 8W so would have been brighter than my 5W version. Lidi also did some stand alone PIR's less than £5 can't remember the exact price I think a simple lamp with PIR may have looked better. But I was presented with the lamp with instructions put this up will you so did as I was told.

At least I can replace the LED with the Lidi type if LED goes it's a new lamp. Picture taken at night with strong flash gun you can just see small hole drilled in bottom of PIR.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What's your final considered opinion?

I salvaged one of those portable site halogen floods from a skip - dunno why it was there, as it is intact (apart from no plug), the lamp terminals are springy, and there's continuity between the ends of the flex and the lamp terminals, but hey-ho.

Anyway - I could just go and buy some 500W R7 lamps, or I could go for an LED replacement.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

I need one like that for my loft, one day i went up in my loft and turned on the 250watt halogen light and forgot all about it for nearly 10 days! that is 6kwh per day and 10 days cost me 60kwh or nearly £8.00.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Lucky plod didn't break your door down - I think they've been known to use thermal imaging cameras in helicopters to look for people with hot lofts....

 

[ericmark]

It is working A1 very satisfied with it since drilling drain hole. both the light and the conversion to LED. Clearly the 5W is no where near as bright as the integral 10W units but the light is well spread and it does what it was bought for it lights up a dark area of the drive between the two cars and is very handy when visiting the bins.

In my case 10W would have been over kill I am only needing to light about 10 foot from the house there is a street lamp which lights after that point. Speck for the replacement bulb was Type R7S, Watts 5, Volts 85~265, Lumen 400, Lumen per watt 80, Energy rating A. When I got it out of the packet I did not think it would fit, but it did and has been great.

Do remember with second picture I used a powerful flash gun so looks brighter than shown really, picture taken to show the small drain hole which worked well.