Watch out for DANGEROUS LED bulbs.

[BillyGoat]

If you've got some cheap LED bulbs similar to this, hope it's of use - I'm a sucker for a bargain, but some of the recent lights I've seen have made me think twice about where and how much I pay for them!



Saw this and thought I'd share in case it helps anyone. I can honestly say I've NEVER turned a circuit off to change a bulb and perhaps I will in the future - stay safe!

BG

[wine~o]

[kellys_eye]

Should we be surprised? Given the price they sell them at there just HAS to be a compromise in there somewhere - even a lethal one so it seems!

I suspect the only difference between the cheap chinese knockoff and 'legit' LEDs would be some insulation between that PCB and the outside world. The voltage dropping circuit is pretty much de-rigur for the device.

[big-all]

as an aside

is there any difference in efficiency between a led bulb rated at say 85-240v over a 220-240v or does it depend

[kellys_eye]

If the LED is built using the capacitor-dropper method then the components should be calculated to run the LEDs at their rated current at the maximum operating voltage. At lower voltages the LEDs will be under-running thus 'saving power' but at the expense of light output - although you'd probably be hard pressed to notice the difference by eye alone.

[big-all]

ok cheers so at uk mains makes little difference consumption and output wise

[kellys_eye]

One would HOPE that they were designed such that max light output was for our local voltage - if they designed it for the LOWER voltages then running it at 240V would be OVER RUNNING them.

Like I said, designing them for the higher (i.e. our) voltage only means a very slight reduction in brilliance when running at say 110V.

There should be no difference in operation between the LEDs marked 85-240 and ones marked 240V only assuming they were both running at 240V