LED Bulbs in Candelabra Style Fitting Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[Grandad99]

Being a candelabra the bulbs sit on top of the arms

I tried to replace the 3 incandescent 75w candle bulbs with LEDs rated as equivalent to 100w. as my wife is developing a problem with her sight.

I started with corn bulbs as these were the nearest that were even vaguely candle shaped. However after only a few weeks one started smoking. This was replaced by the supplier but another one just failed not long afterwards.

I then tried the standard shaped ones but two of them failed within 2 months - so much for the claimed long life.

I'm wondering whether the cause of these failures is the bulbs being above the holder rather than hanging downwards.

I can't find any advice about this and wonder if anyone knows

[Mr White]

They probably fail because of poor quality / workmanship of lamp.
The orientation of the lamp should be of no consequence.

[ericmark]

Two houses both with 5 and 3 bulb fittings both base at bottom so 26 bulbs in all, not one failed, I have swapped for bigger but going back over three years so all have worked at least a year all E14 (SES) base.

I started with a 1.8 Watt candle fro Lidi, it replaced a 8W CFL was just temporary while I got some new CFL but so good I decided to go for all LED, the next Lidi had in were 3W so 8 x 3W and 2 x 1.8W for large living room, found a tad too dark to read with, so when Mothers house rewired used the bulbs from out house in her smaller room and 5W globe LED's in our house from Home Bargains, moved to mothers old house so swapped one set of bulbs across, but realised B&M bargains were doing 5W candle so bought 6 of them and fitted 5 in mothers house leaving 5 x 5W in our house.

So for a room around 12 x 8 foot I have 50W of LED lighting, which considering original was a single lamp at 100W yes quite bright. But every LED bulb bleeds some power to be able to work with dimming switches even if I don't use them so with 5W works out at around 75 lumen per watt, so around 3725 lumen.

Now kitchen had 2 fluorescent tubes, a 5 foot tube with magnetic ballast is around 4800 lumen, with electronic ballast around 5600 lumen so swapped one for a LED tube 24 watt instead of 68 watt and 2300 lumen this is my only 230 volt LED to fail to date, and cost the most, because I had rewired to use LED it was replaced with another LED tube, but at around £18 expensive only lasted 18 months and house empty most of that time so hardly used.

I had same with CFL the expensive Philips only lasted a year, the cheap home Bargains 8W lasted until replaced with LED around 3 years, they never did fail.

So experience is cheap is best.

[Mr White]

I would say it's your choice.
I have had cheap lamps fail more often than "branded / expensive" lamps fail.