Can you buy commercially made LED bulbs to replace incandesc

[wylbur37]

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would only
seem logical.

I presently have an "itty-bitty booklight" whose incandescent bulb is
rated "4.8V 0.5A" which burns out after only about 15 hours of use. At
$3.00 each, that's rather expensive, and I'd like very much to replace
that bulb with an LED bulb.

So rather than having to build one myself from parts, is there a place
that sells them ready-made (preferably a retail store in New York City
but mail-order is OK too)?

 

[exray]

wylbur37 wrote:

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would only
seem logical.

Yes they exist. I don't know if there are any specifically for
flashlights but there are for regular panel and indicator lights. They
tend to be rather pricey. Mouser carries them.

-BM

 

[Nigel Cook]

"wylbur37" <wylbur37nospam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8028c236.0404100253.22ec3415@posting.google.com...

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would only
seem logical.

I presently have an "itty-bitty booklight" whose incandescent bulb is
rated "4.8V 0.5A" which burns out after only about 15 hours of use. At
$3.00 each, that's rather expensive, and I'd like very much to replace
that bulb with an LED bulb.

So rather than having to build one myself from parts, is there a place
that sells them ready-made (preferably a retail store in New York City
but mail-order is OK too)?

I'm not familiar with the bulbs you speak of but
over the years I've adapted numerous halogen bulbs
to differnet sockets by crimping wires together of new bulb
( minus base ) and old bulb mount melded together with fire-cement

used for sealing flues to gas fires etc ) .

electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~diverse

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

[This followup was posted to sci.electronics.repair and a copy was sent to
the cited author.]

In article <8028c236.0404100253.22ec3415@posting.google.com>,
wylbur37nospam@yahoo.com says...

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would only
seem logical.

I presently have an "itty-bitty booklight" whose incandescent bulb is
rated "4.8V 0.5A" which burns out after only about 15 hours of use. At
$3.00 each, that's rather expensive, and I'd like very much to replace
that bulb with an LED bulb.

So rather than having to build one myself from parts, is there a place
that sells them ready-made (preferably a retail store in New York City
but mail-order is OK too)?

For anything LED related, check out the LED Museum. He has reviews of
just about anything involving LED's, including replacement bulbs:
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/

--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.att.net/~andyross

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"wylbur37" <wylbur37nospam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8028c236.0404100253.22ec3415@posting.google.com...

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would only
seem logical.

I presently have an "itty-bitty booklight" whose incandescent bulb is
rated "4.8V 0.5A" which burns out after only about 15 hours of use. At
$3.00 each, that's rather expensive, and I'd like very much to replace
that bulb with an LED bulb.

So rather than having to build one myself from parts, is there a place
that sells them ready-made (preferably a retail store in New York City
but mail-order is OK too)?

Here: knock yourself out
http://www.ledtronics.com/

 

[Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su]

"Bob Horvath" <bhorvath13@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:vteg70lvh8vsd65l3u6pgeamjhcp6apiat@4ax.com...

On 10 Apr 2004 03:53:21 -0700, Bob Horvath wrote:

This is interesting
http://flashlightreviews3.home.att.net/reviews/everled.htm

I'm not knocking the Everled, but at $40 and 1Watt, it's a bit of an
overkill for what he wants. About 3 regular 50 degree white LEDs and a
current limiting resistor for each, would cost under $5 with shipping.
See
http://www.whitelightled.com/ for 50 degree white LEDs for a dollar
each.

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would
only
seem logical.

I presently have an "itty-bitty booklight" whose incandescent bulb is
rated "4.8V 0.5A" which burns out after only about 15 hours of use.
At
$3.00 each, that's rather expensive, and I'd like very much to
replace
that bulb with an LED bulb.

So rather than having to build one myself from parts, is there a
place
that sells them ready-made (preferably a retail store in New York
City
but mail-order is OK too)?

 

[JeffM]

is there a place that sells them ready-made
wylbur37

Hell, you can buy a whole LED-lit house ready-made.
http://groups.google.com/groups?&threadm=K7nNb.16006%24QW4.174589969%40news-text.cableinet.net&rnum=15&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dthevospad%2BAglionby%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_en%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26safe%3Doff%26scoring%3Dd%26filter%3D0

 

[Don Klipstein]

In article <8028c236.0404100253.22ec3415@posting.google.com>, wylbur37 wrote:

Because LED flashlights have gotten so popular, (and there are even
several websites that show you how to convert existing flashlights to
use LEDs by installing an LED and a resistor into a old incandescent
bulb base), there must be commercially made LED bulbs that simply
screw into existing bulb sockets, aren't there? I mean, it would only
seem logical.

I presently have an "itty-bitty booklight" whose incandescent bulb is
rated "4.8V 0.5A" which burns out after only about 15 hours of use. At
$3.00 each, that's rather expensive, and I'd like very much to replace
that bulb with an LED bulb.

So rather than having to build one myself from parts, is there a place
that sells them ready-made (preferably a retail store in New York City
but mail-order is OK too)?

The best white LEDs are only a little more efficient than incandescents,
and the most efficient laboratory prototype white LEDs that I have heard
of so far have efficiency about that of better compact fluorescents.

Please note that incandescent lamps have significant economies of scale.
Lower wattage ones have thinner filaments that must be operated at a less
favorable lower temperature for the same life expectancy, or must have
life expectancy compromised to achieve the same efficiency as higher
wattage incandescent lamps. A 1-watt flashlight bulb rated to last 15
hours has efficiency similar to that of a 100 watt lightbulb rated to last
750 hours. 1-watt incandescents with life expectancy 750 hours or more
have efficiency much less than the 16.9-17.5 lumens/watt of 100 watt 120V
incandescents rated to last 100 hours.

Really good white LEDs in current production achieve 20-30 lumens per
watt, and even that can be a little optimistic. I have heard that a top
rank of an especially efficient model by the manufacturer best known for
making the most efficient ones in recent production over the past year or
two may achieve or slightly exceed 40 lumens/watt, but this is not their
usual current production of that model.

Screw-in "medium base" LED "bulbs" are available from:

LEDTronics (http://www.ledtronics.com)
ETG Technology (http://www.etgtech.com) - with possible minimum orders of
size suitable for direct order from a manufacturer's sales office
Bivar, http://www.bivar.com - theirs may be the ETG ones, and smaller
orders may have to go through their distributors of theirs such as Future
Electronics (http://www.futureelectronmics.com), and distributors may
impose minimum orders and may make you wait for them to order stock.

Please check pricing of small quantities through distributors before
pestering the manufacturers.

Expect prices to be high enough to make white LED "bulbs" uneconomical
for general lighting. The news is not as bad for colored ones, since
there are red, orange, yellow, green and bluish green LEDs with efficiency
like that or exceeding that of white LEDs. Although blue LEDs are less
efficient than white ones, it is easy to find ones with efficiency much
more than that of blue-filtered incandescent lamps.
For example, LEDs do achieve major energy savings over incandescents in
traffic lights. (Traffic light bulbs generally have to last 8,000 hours
or maybe sometimes more, and have efficiency around 11-13 lumens per watt
- and the red and green "lenses" only let through something like 30% of
the light, resulting in an overall efficiency of somewhere around 4 lumens
per watt, maybe only around 3 lumens per watt.)

I mention more in:

http://www.misty.com/~don/lede.html - where and why LEDs achieve
efficiency much more than that of incandescents, and why not for general
room lighting

http://www.misty.com/~don/led.html - some bright/efficient LED models

http://www.misty.com/~don/ledx.html - my LED "top page"

http://www.misty.com/~don/light.html - my "lighting technology top page"

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com, http://www.misty.com/~don/index.html)

 

[Don Klipstein]

In article <107gmeeihacdf17@corp.supernews.com>, Watson A.Name - \"Watt
Sun, the Dark Remover\" wrote:

"Bob Horvath" <bhorvath13@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:vteg70lvh8vsd65l3u6pgeamjhcp6apiat@4ax.com...
On 10 Apr 2004 03:53:21 -0700, Bob Horvath wrote:

This is interesting
http://flashlightreviews3.home.att.net/reviews/everled.htm

I'm not knocking the Everled, but at $40 and 1Watt, it's a bit of an
overkill for what he wants. About 3 regular 50 degree white LEDs and a
current limiting resistor for each, would cost under $5 with shipping.
See http://www.whitelightled.com/ for 50 degree white LEDs for a
dollar each.

For use with four 1.5 volt cells, use a 100 ohm resistor with one LED
(or one of these resistors for each of more than one LED) if you want to
be conservative (LED life expectancy around 10,000 or in the 10,000's of
hours assuming no heat buildup problems). You should be able to use a 47
ohm resistor without any immediate blowouts, although the life will
probably be compromised, easily seriously compromised.

Be aware that this one, at the maximum rated current of 30 mA, produces
only somewhere around 2-2.5 lumens of light. The PR13 "4-cell" flashlight
bulb at its rated 4.75 volts (while consuming .5 amp) produces about 25
lumens of light (and is rated to last 15 hours at 4.75 volts).
The directional LED may do as well with 1/10 as much light as the
flashlight bulb does if the flashlight bulb has no reflectors. Just
remember that with a 50 degree beam you may need the LED to be a foot away
from your book to illuminate it! You may want more than one LED - beware
of heat accumulation in LED cluster lamps!

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com, http://www.misty.com/~don/ledx.html)