LED Lights Go Bad

[bookman51]

Abour four or five years ago I put two of those three winged LED lights in my attached garage. It is a three bay garage with very high (at least 12 foot) ceilings. Today I went out to the garage and one LED was completely dead and the other one had one wing dim. The third light, which is in the middle, is a CFL I put in maybe 15 years ago. While probably not putting out the light it originally did, the CFL is working fine. I thought LED lights were supposed to last a long time? What to you think happened and what do you suggest I replace these lights with? I do not recall, but I probably purchased them from the local Menards store. Thanks in advance.

 

[Omnirod]

Just buy cheap ones. LED's were always praised as long lasting to offset the cost of them...and I have yet to ever see this.

 

[reader2580]

The LEDs themselves typically last a long time. It is usually the driver circuits that convert from 120 volt AC to whatever DC voltage that fail. I have both Philips and GE LED light bulbs from 2014 still working today. They get used every day that I am home.

 

[u2slow]

Mfr's have figured out they sell more product overall if it doesn't last forever. The cited hours of lifespan claimed are supposedly an average, never a minimum. How big a batch do you want to buy for testing to attempt to prove them liars? Lol!

Hopefully you can find another brand that lasts better. Simply paying more is no guarantee either.

 

[scooterbum46]

The LEDs themselves typically last a long time. It is usually the driver circuits that convert from 120 volt AC to whatever DC voltage that fail. I have both Philips and GE LED light bulbs from 2014 still working today. They get used every day that I am home.

I checked. Nope, I can't buy new drivers for the **** FEIT, GE and Phillips bulbs that typically last less than two years. You're correct, but I don't buy light bulbs as a kit.

What are today's most reliable LED bulb brands is my question. We need Project Farm on the job!

 

[bluedog225]

Yep. There was a minor panic in the lighting industry with the prospect of 25 year bulbs. Then they quietly decided to handicap the electronics. F the consumer. F the environment. Gotta keep selling stuff.

 

[purplezr2]

Just buy cheap ones. LED's were always praised as long lasting to offset the cost of them...and I have yet to ever see this.

Really, I moved into my house 10 years ago in July. The previous tenants took all the light bulbs(no idea why as they were renters)

I installed all Cree LED bulbs due the rebate at the time through my local Coop, I think there were roughly $2 each after rebate. I have had 2 fail in the last 10 years out of the 30 or so I installed. Cree warranted both of them(they were both early on).

Just not having to deal with them has been nice. I would say 10 year life is pretty close to what was predicted when I purchased them

I forgot about my outside light, they were all changed 8 years ago, they are Phillips bulbs, they run for about 3 hours on the longest daylight day of the year to about 10 hours a day on the shortest daylight day of the year as they are on a timer. Have 8 of these with no failures.

 

[The Cobbler]

anyone that believes LED will last basically for ever ,let me know, I have land for sale thats got minerals that no one has discovered yet

 

[sparky 1971]

Classic example of you get what you pay for. The three wing screw in lights were junk the day they were made and they're junk now, but at the price point, there is really nothing to take their place. They are probably under some type of warranty, but the manufacturer is counting on the consumer not being able to (no receipts or failure to register them online when new) or willing to (pay for return shipping and wait, and wait, and wait for a replacement to arrive off the slow boat from China) go through the warranty process. Even the good stuff will have a dud once in a while but the warranty process is probably easier. I wouldn't know for sure since I am the king of throwing things in the trash and getting new.

 

[reader2580]

anyone that believes LED will last basically for ever ,let me know, I have land for sale thats got minerals that no one has discovered yet

Good LED lights may not last forever, but my experience is they last far longer than the lighting they replaced. I have LED bulbs nearing ten years old and they last far longer than any other bulbs I have had in my lifetime.

 

[wyb2]

My experience with incandescent, CFL, and LED bulbs is some die annoyingly early, and some last seemingly forever. If you just change them when they die, natural selection will leave you with mostly the latter.

 

[reader2580]

Classic example of you get what you pay for. The three wing screw in lights were junk the day they were made and they're junk now, but at the price point, there is really nothing to take their place. They are probably under some type of warranty, but the manufacturer is counting on the

I just bought a bunch of $2 after rebate three wing lights from Menards last week. I don't have the funds to buy decent lighting right now. I bought 24 of the lights plus six spares. I expect them to fail. The boxes and lampholders cost more than the lights. I figure I have about $7 into each light not including wire. I could probably get by with 12 light fixtures if I got better fixtures. I expect it would cost far more than $14 per light fixture to buy and install good fixtures.

 

[RegeSullivan]

Might not be relevant but... I installed led under cabinet puck lights in our house and at my Mother-in-laws house. We live in the same plan, her street is adjacent to ours but when our power is out her might be fine. Same houses by same builder with nearly identical electrical system. Out of the 18 pucks all have been replaced at least once, some two or thee times over the last 10 years. At our house maybe three have needed replaced. No clue why such a discrepancy.

 

[Bert_]

Classic example of you get what you pay for. The three wing screw in lights were junk the day they were made and they're junk now.

Simple as that ^

 

[sparky 1971]

I just bought a bunch of $2 after rebate three wing lights from Menards last week. I don't have the funds to buy decent lighting right now. I bought 24 of the lights plus six spares. I expect them to fail. The boxes and lampholders cost more than the lights. I figure I have about $7 into each light not including wire. I could probably get by with 12 light fixtures if I got better fixtures. I expect it would cost far more than $14 per light fixture to buy and install good fixtures.

Like I said, at the price point it's going to be tough to find something better. And you have realistic expectations about the lifespan and probably won't make a rant when they die, just replace and move on.

 

[Bert_]

Good LED lights may not last forever, but my experience is they last far longer than the lighting they replaced. I have LED bulbs nearing ten years old and they last far longer than any other bulbs I have had in my lifetime.

You can make any lighting technology last a long time. Bottom of the barrel consumer **** usually doesn't last no matter what it is

 

[Wrench97]

anyone that believes LED will last basically for ever ,let me know, I have land for sale thats got minerals that no one has discovered yet

Does it have a bridge on it?

 

[CJM8515]

ive had the 3 wing type lights fail. funny thing is i bought the house and whatever cheapo ones the previous owner had-those are fine. but the ones i bought like a year ago with like mult wings and lights..failed. the cheapo bulbs the previous owner left in the outside lights, fine. the puck lights in the ceilings..fine. its just those stupid tri wing one that fail. i bought 2 more the other day to replace the ones in the garage that failed..10 bucks each lets see how long they last

 

[Omnirod]

Really, I moved into my house 10 years ago in July. The previous tenants took all the light bulbs(no idea why as they were renters)

I installed all Cree LED bulbs due the rebate at the time through my local Coop, I think there were roughly $2 each after rebate. I have had 2 fail in the last 10 years out of the 30 or so I installed. Cree warranted both of them(they were both early on).

Just not having to deal with them has been nice. I would say 10 year life is pretty close to what was predicted when I purchased them

I forgot about my outside light, they were all changed 8 years ago, they are Phillips bulbs, they run for about 3 hours on the longest daylight day of the year to about 10 hours a day on the shortest daylight day of the year as they are on a timer. Have 8 of these with no failures.

I have tried everything I can find here, and they don't last any longer than incandescent...but they sure do charge for them.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I needed 13 dual 4’ LED fixtures for the garage. So I purchased two 12 packs on sale and have 11 spare. So if one dies I can replace it with a new one with matching color temperature. I figure that by the time I used the 11 spares, it will be time to swap all of them to new more efficient lights.

 

[madhatter]

Abour four or five years ago I put two of those three winged LED lights in my attached garage. It is a three bay garage with very high (at least 12 foot) ceilings. Today I went out to the garage and one LED was completely dead and the other one had one wing dim. The third light, which is in the middle, is a CFL I put in maybe 15 years ago. While probably not putting out the light it originally did, the CFL is working fine. I thought LED lights were supposed to last a long time? What to you think happened and what do you suggest I replace these lights with? I do not recall, but I probably purchased them from the local Menards store. Thanks in advance.

A lot of led lights are overdriven to make them higher lumens than their rating, this will kill them. Buy a brand like Cree, basically a led company not a light company if you want them to last, you'll pay more, but they will actually last a while.

 

[Skellyii]

A buddy of mine, (RIP) gave me a case of those three winged lights a few years ago. He worked in the HQ of a home improvement supplier (not one of the national ones), and they typically were given stuff from the factory reps to try before they ordered large quantities.

Put several in the garage of the house I was living in back then, probably about five or so years ago. They were still going strong a few months ago when I sold the house. The few I had left I put in the garage and the storage room of the house I'm currently in, we'll see how long they last.

Of course, the factory reps might have been given "special" stuff to pass out.

 

[zendriver]

What to you think happened and what do you suggest I replace these lights with?

If they were in different fixtures, a utility power surge is what I might suspect, before blaming the LEDs.

LED is a semiconductor, having the piss driven out it, that it glows enough to put out a whole bunch of light.

Personally surprised they last like they do. I have cheap ones that have been lasting for years