I had written before on those fluorescent curly Q bulbs that were the next end-all-be-all to saving the planet. We talked about the fact that they contain mercury and, if something goes wrong, there might be a fire.
LED bulbs seemed much more promising.
Well, not so fast. First off, there is the issue of different types of LED bulbs for circuits with dimmers vs. without. How many ‘users’ of these things truly understand the difference and, how many care?
To that end, all LED bulbs entering the US market should be designed to work in either situation.
I feel a little like Ralph Nader when I mention this fact, as it seems obvious but, they should at the very least be clearly labeled.
The last batch of ‘dimmable’ LED bulbs I purchased clearly was marked ‘dimmable’ on the box, but no place on the bulb itself did it distinguish itself as dimmable.
My next nit to pick is quality control.
Out of six regular LED non-dimmable bulbs, I had a 50% failure rate.
The bulbs would either flicker or just not work.
My curiosity got the best of me.
If you notice those two blobs of solder, they are situated by the plus and the minus terminals for the LEDs. That blob of solder in the middle does not belong. In my business, we call that a solder bridge. This is incredibly shoddy work, and while the bridge is not zero ohms, it is close enough to render the bulb useless.
I have not opened the other two failed bulbs but, I can guess what I might find.
Are these a fire hazard?
I would like to believe that because these circuits are housed in plastic-coated aluminized housing that a circuit breaker might blow before the thing catches on fire.
The companies that create and sell these things need to tighten up quality control and, all of them should be made to fit into either a dimmable socket or a regular socket.
Since Underwriters Laboratories turned into a for-profit company, one must wonder who is watching out for the American public. Someone should be testing this stuff independently of company sponsors. Currently, the FTC takes complaints and tips but, to my knowledge, does zero pro-active research on something as basic as substandard or hazardous products.
While I loath bloated government, there is a need for an Underwriters Laboratories to test, check the quality, and so forth of products imported into this country.
Are they safe?
Is there lead paint?
Are they going to catch on fire?
Are they labeled correctly?
If I take the time to open the other two failed products, what will I find?
I would think that the Chinese companies would be overly careful of this type of quality. Just possibly, they know they are the only game ‘in town’ and that people will just accept the lack of value for the dollar and lower their expectations.
Maybe the Chinese should offer repair kits for their poorly constructed bulbs so those of us with the skills and know-how can fix them.
Is it worth it? Knowing these bulbs should last years, would it be worth your time to ‘fix them?’
Stay safe until we meet again.
If there is nothing new, maybe I will tell you all how to make Banana Bread.
-Cheers
TheTimeDok 