Low volt LED bulbes.

[Jonzjob]

I have just bought some LED light bulbs on line with the Edison screw fitting, E27. I was just about to start to replace some of out tungston bulbs when I noticed a small sticker on the side of the fitting saying 9 to 36 volt ac/dc only!

These bulbs have the same fitting as mains 235v fittings. I have never seen low volt bulbs that could be fitted to mains voltage before and I didn't think it was allowed? Surely this is a very dangerous situation!!!

Has anyone else come across this before?

[Chancer]

When I was a teenager and worked as a roving car mechanic outside in all weathers without any power source other than my car battery I had a 12v lead light the bulb of which was a standard Edison screw fitting, I still have it in fact and also an even older worklamp over my lathe so the potential for using the wrong bulb has always been there.

With an incandescent bulb all it would do is blow the filament but with modern Chinese produced electronics there may well be a fire risk with your lights.

If its any consolation I have scores of cheap LED bulbs amassed over the years that are all as usefull as a chocolate teapot.

[Quillan]

Well I wouldn't take much notice of Chancers comment if I were you. We have had them installed in our kitchen for over 18 months now. We have 12 in total, all in the kitchen, and they are excellent. I paid something like £27 on Ebay for them (only to find I could have got the same cheaper but there you go) and am very happy. I worked out that their usage of electricity given that in equivalent terms I have around 720W of light in the kitchen that they were using less than 60W I don't have any problem recommending their use.

I would contact the seller on Ebay and hopefully you paid with PayPal so if they are not as described you will get your money back when you return them.

[Théière]

I don't doubt that Chancers old LEDs were not much use that was the case but not now.

John I caught cleaners changing mercury discharge lamps for standard tungsten lamps and the start voltage for the mercury lamps is nearly 1000 v

[Chancer]

Quillan.

I think you have missed something, the OP has bought LED bulbs to use in his house and luckily discovered in time that they are not mains voltage rated if he were to plug them in they would blow instantly, imagine if you connected a 12 volt car kettle to the mains, the result would be the same.

My comments regarding modern Chinese made Equipment especially such dense micro-circuits is there ability to cope with overvoltages like a lightning strike or putting a 12 volt LED circuit in a mains installation without catching fire, you only have to look at the testing of NF disjoncteurs and conterfeit ones where they subject them to 500V and the fake ones burst into flames to see how dangerous elecrical Equipment can be.

I wasnt saying that Chinese bought mains voltage LED bulbs are dangerous, I will indeed be buying them myself and will ask you where yours are from, I suspect that they may not pass CE surintensité requirements but thats probably true of many consumer items, however plugging a 12 or 26 volt item into a 240vac supply is asking for trouble.

My led bulbs all came from rédéries or places like NOZ, the latter I could have returned but kept for the recessed gold finished fittings.

 

[Jonzjob]

That should have been fun when they switched them on [:-))]  Gotya hard hat??

I have made a couple of LED lamps. The stands, not the electrifical gubbins, and they are working very well. This is one of them

[URL=http://s47.photobucket.com/user/Jonzjob/media/Anglepoise2_zpsb9e74ef5.jpg.html][IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/Anglepoise2_zpsb9e74ef5.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I was able to turn a wooden shade because of the lack of heat given off from them. The 'shelves' at the bottom are for a couple of 2 1/2" HDDs. The other is a floor standing jobbie. Just as well I did got a long lathe bed??

[URL=http://s47.photobucket.com/user/Jonzjob/media/Johns/Anglepoisestandard2_zpsd06cc801.jpg.html][IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/Johns/Anglepoisestandard2_zpsd06cc801.jpg[/IMG][/URL]