GU10 to GU10 extender/converter

[Ditto]

Seeing a post by @3s-gtech reminded me of a challenge I have. I need some GU10 to GU10 converters. I know that sounds odd, but it's really to extend a GU10 LED bulb length.

 

I've seen packs of 10 or 20 for sale on amazon or ebay but not for months. I need a dozen. I have come across a build-your-own solution (needing 3D printer + parts), but the cost adds up. Aliexpress has them available, but it'll be a pack of 100 for about a pound each, which is slightly over the top. Anyone come across these from a more local source?

[Protec]

Maybe you just need to use the "long neck" variety of GU10 bulbs. Something like this maybe?

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sylvania-0026585-RefLED-ES50L-Light/dp/B079VJYBRZ/ref=pd_lpo_60_t_0/257-1619527-9493048

Edited October 22, 2020 by Protec

[Ditto]

It's a long story, but GU10s I need also have to have a 64mm diameter rather than the standard 50mm. I might end up using the ones you listed as I can get s 3D printed insert to plastic ring to pad the 50mm to 64mm. The reason I have not yet, is that I have some dimmable options which the adapter (and in fact the adapter + the plastic ring as another alternative) and the Sylvania ones are not dimmable.

[Protec]

What do the fittings look like? Are they recessed downlighters?

[Ditto]

Yes, effectively tin cans, mains voltage. They were originally SGU's with massively overpriced SGU10 MFLs that didn't last long. It's all Aurora stuff. I replaced with same cans because Aurora brought a LED GU10 version with a long necked 64mm diameter light - although if you deconstruct one, it's effectively a 50mm diameter bulb inside! I was hoping they'd last better. After two years, only 4 out of 12 work and they've given up with producing and offer absolutely no replacement. Being the bigger hole size of course limits options without re-plastering the ceiling, which I'm not doing!

[Protec]

It might be worth getting some new fittings though, I would get ones that have replaceable bulbs and not the new LED ones that have non-replaceable LEDs.

[Ditto]

I have looked in to that but there seems to be limited options. The fundamental issue is the current cut-out size, and I can't make it smaller and almost everything is the smaller size nowadays! Aurora do sell a bezzle but you end up with a massive plastic cover - and they are not getting any more of my money having marketed two sets of duds and then abandoning me as a customer. The GU10 extender + 3D printed part open up the standard GU10 led market, so I might have to by 100 extenders and sell the remainder I don't need. Certainly ebay/amazon sold all what they had on sale, so there is a small market at least.

[Ditto]

So this is effectively Aurora's solution https://www.rselectricalsupplies.co.uk/aurora-enlite-e8-satin-nickel-bezel-enbze8sn_9218

With 12 fittings, that's another £240! And besides, based on the previous 2 experiences with Aurora, I can expect 75% to have died by the warranty period! Not happening! The alternative solution is way cheaper, less work, and open up the main GU10 LED market.

[southhamster]

That's an appalling failure rate! Our 8 kitchen GU10s have lasted ?8 years with only 1 failure. Most of my LED bulbs will probably outlast me!

[Protec]

I have had quite a few LED lights fail around my house. A Philips one lasted around 1 year of nightly use and a Wilko one lasted 2 months of light use in the kitchen. I have seen horrendous failure rates in commercial environments too.

 

This picture is a bit blurry but I took the picture to show how the new LED lights have failed after around 12 months of use.

This shopping centre used to have lots of fluorescent lights and they worked perfectly and had done for at least 15 years. There was nothing wrong with them when they were removed. They installed these LED lights and they're already dying after around 12 months of use! 4 are broken out of this handful. The other emergency LED bulkheads on the stairs are failing too. The LED ones use less power yes, but any saving have gone out of the window since they will have to be replaced. The LED ones have non-replaceable LEDs.

 

I have fluorescent fittings from 1990 that ran 24/7 and still work...

Edited October 24, 2020 by Protec

[Ditto]

Too right! I also believe the LED part is fine, it's the cheap components (capacitors etc.) that are the problem. The MFLs before hand from Aurora were equally, if not more, dire, on top of which they were between £10 and £20 a bulb and took quite a while to warm up. Oh, and the MFLs were SGU (a disaster aimed at energy saving that in truth must have had the complete opposite effect), so when the long neck 84mm LEDs did come out, they wouldn't fit with some hacky adaption! You have probably picked up I'm not to keen on Aurora, although many think they are good quality. On this particular topic, they don't even reply to my queries. They seem to be focussing on smart lighting now - but won't having me as a customer!

[Ditto]

I have had quite a few LED lights fail around my house. A Philips one lasted around 1 year of nightly use and a Wilko one lasted 2 months of light use in the kitchen. I have seen horrendous failure rates in commercial environments too.

 

This picture is a bit blurry but I took the picture to show how the new LED lights have failed after around 12 months of use.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59548[/ATTACH]

This shopping centre used to have lots of fluorescent lights and they worked perfectly and had done for at least 15 years. There was nothing wrong with them when they were removed. They installed these LED lights and they're already dying after around 12 months of use! 4 are broken out of this handful. The other emergency LED bulkheads on the stairs are failing too. The LED ones use less power yes, but any saving have gone out of the window since they will have to be replaced. The LED ones have non-replaceable LEDs.

 

I have fluorescent fittings from 1990 that ran 24/7 and still work...

It's very hard to know which manufacturers provide truly long life bulbs. In fact, the always on lights often last better - it avoids the power surge of switch on. I installed Varilight V-Pro dimmers for the kids rooms a good few years back. The soft start made the old incandescent filament bulbs last way longer. A couple of years back I upgrade to the more up to date version of the Varialight so I could install dimmable LED. I found a UK company called Mark Lighting that did filament BC fittings. They've been faultless, have good colour and fast start. Combined with the Varialight dimmer, that's one lighting item fully dealt with.

[caffrey]

GU10 fly lead work ?

[Ditto]

To see the full story, there's a chap who has hit the exact same issue as me. He's gone down the 3D print and built his own solution. I love the ingenuity and am happy to get the plastic rings printed but would prefer to buy the GU10 adapter. In my case I don't have the SGU problem anymore. He even provides GitHub files for 3D printing.

 

One alternative I did wonder about, to avoid the adapter, is shortened springs? Not sure where I'd get those though.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Ditto

[Protec]

The surge of power is bad for filament based lights mainly. When the light is first turned on, the filament can take on a high amount of current as it's cold. When we switched to a dimmer switch, the bulbs lasted much longer due to the soft starting. It was also less likely to trip the breaker as the current was much lower on start-up. Fluorescent lights also greatly benefit in terms of lifetime when they are left on for long hours or even 24/7. In the old school, the fluorescent lights that were left on all day lasted much longer than the ones that were on a PIR motion sensor - turning on and off all time time.

 

The main killer for LEDs is heat and being overdriven. If manufactures use poor cooling, the LEDs will overheat meaning the lifetime will be reduced. It was can also cause colour shift since the phosphors degrade from the heat. LEDs being overdriven can also cause these issues. It's common for manufacturers to overdrive the LEDs to get more brightness out of them, so they don't have to install more LEDs. LEDs aren't effected by flashing, though if the driver that is powering them is poorly designed then a high amount of switching may cause the lifetime to be reduced. However, heat and being overdriven is a much more significant factor.

 

I still prefer to use fluorescent lights where I can due to their reliability. Although I'm interested in IT, I am also interested in electronics and lighting. I have a road sign light manufactured in 9/1976 and it ran more or less 24/7 all it's life and still works, just requiring new tubes every now and again. We have some LED lighting around the house such as downstairs in a ceiling lights with candle shaped bulbs. I have found the best brand for LED lights is Diall (from B&Q). Wilko ones can be a bit hit and miss though the worst are definitely the ones that have little LED "filaments" inside of them with mine lasting just 2 months.

 

So basically, I'd try and get LED lights made by Diall as they seem to be the best. If you have existing fluorescent lights that still work, I wouldn't rip them out any time soon!

 

I have had better lifetime from the old CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) Philips Genie lights than some of the new LED lights we have had. I have an ASDA CFL that gets use for a short time everyday that is from 14/4/2014 and it's still going strong. I also had a Philips Genie 8w last 10 years to the month. It was used in a table lamp.

 

Wilko: 28/9/19 - 24/11/19

 

This is the inside of a failed Philips LED light. This failed after around 1 year of nightly use. The burned LED can be seen. I measured the temperature of this lamp when it was working and it read over 80c which is way to hot.

 

Wilko's own display shows their LED lights dropping like flies!

 

Some poor quality LED lights are also used in emergency light such as exit signs rather worryingly. I have an LED one in the man cave and it's a descent make. It's been going since 23/3/2018 and it's on 24/7. This one runs at just 30c which is why it's lasting quite well so far. Though saying that, when the LEDs do burn out eventually, the entire fitting will have to be replaced. Unlike the old fluorescent ones which would just need a simple tube replacement.

[3s-gtech]

I fitted cheapy MiniSun GU10 LEDs when I did my house up in early 2017. They’ve been pretty reliable - had maybe one blow out of 40 so far. They don’t get a lot of use as they’re bright and I prefer lamp or wall lighting in the evening, but still worked out well.

[Ditto]

The surge of power is bad for filament based lights mainly. When the light is first turned on, the filament can take on a high amount of current as it's cold. When we switched to a dimmer switch, the bulbs lasted much longer due to the soft starting. It was also less likely to trip the breaker as the current was much lower on start-up. Fluorescent lights also greatly benefit in terms of lifetime when they are left on for long hours or even 24/7. In the old school, the fluorescent lights that were left on all day lasted much longer than the ones that were on a PIR motion sensor - turning on and off all time time.

 

The main killer for LEDs is heat and being overdriven. If manufactures use poor cooling, the LEDs will overheat meaning the lifetime will be reduced. It was can also cause colour shift since the phosphors degrade from the heat. LEDs being overdriven can also cause these issues. It's common for manufacturers to overdrive the LEDs to get more brightness out of them, so they don't have to install more LEDs. LEDs aren't effected by flashing, though if the driver that is powering them is poorly designed then a high amount of switching may cause the lifetime to be reduced. However, heat and being overdriven is a much more significant factor.

 

I still prefer to use fluorescent lights where I can due to their reliability. Although I'm interested in IT, I am also interested in electronics and lighting. I have a road sign light manufactured in 9/1976 and it ran more or less 24/7 all it's life and still works, just requiring new tubes every now and again. We have some LED lighting around the house such as downstairs in a ceiling lights with candle shaped bulbs. I have found the best brand for LED lights is Diall (from B&Q). Wilko ones can be a bit hit and miss though the worst are definitely the ones that have little LED "filaments" inside of them with mine lasting just 2 months.

 

So basically, I'd try and get LED lights made by Diall as they seem to be the best. If you have existing fluorescent lights that still work, I wouldn't rip them out any time soon!

 

I have had better lifetime from the old CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) Philips Genie lights than some of the new LED lights we have had. I have an ASDA CFL that gets use for a short time everyday that is from 14/4/2014 and it's still going strong. I also had a Philips Genie 8w last 10 years to the month. It was used in a table lamp.

 

Wilko: 28/9/19 - 24/11/19

 

This is the inside of a failed Philips LED light. This failed after around 1 year of nightly use. The burned LED can be seen. I measured the temperature of this lamp when it was working and it read over 80c which is way to hot.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59558[/ATTACH]

 

Wilko's own display shows their LED lights dropping like flies!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59559[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59560[/ATTACH]

 

Some poor quality LED lights are also used in emergency light such as exit signs rather worryingly. I have an LED one in the man cave and it's a descent make. It's been going since 23/3/2018 and it's on 24/7. This one runs at just 30c which is why it's lasting quite well so far. Though saying that, when the LEDs do burn out eventually, the entire fitting will have to be replaced. Unlike the old fluorescent ones which would just need a simple tube replacement.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59561[/ATTACH]

The Wilko display is quite amusing really. I do have some Diall lamps - I think LED SES ones. All still going. I take the point on the LED filament, the do look fragile, but the Mark lighting ones I have are at least a couple of years old and seem to be going strong. The fact they are a UK (including manufacturing according to them), well, I do hope they prove to be top quality. Sadly, the truth is the level of energy saving over the old bulbs has more than likely been much less than it could of been because of quality.