re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

gramps416

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re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I just bought 18 candelabra CFL bulbs from Lowes to replace the candelabra incandescants in my house. They are from a company called "Bright effects", and cost about $12 for a pack of 2. I don't have picture but it is as ugly as hell, and the colour is not impressive. I find the actual shape of the bulbs looking bulbus, and too fat. It makes the fixture look ugly.

I can't seem to find any candelabra CFL or LED that puts outs proper lumen equivalents to 25w to 40 w range. Most of the shapes of the CFL from other companies seem to be ugly (shape is too large, and not proportioned right or priced way too high. The LED's (only that i have seen) are overpriced, and most dont seem to put out proper lumens

I am very interested to here if there are some candelabra replacements examples that....
1. Look good (not ugly or too large).
2. proper lumen equivalent
3. not Bulbus
4. not way overpriced.

Do you think this will change some time in the future?

Please any of you out there who have examples that don't suck, let me know some good examples and where I could purchase some from a reputable dealer.
thanks
-g
 

superjoe83

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

as of right now i dont think the demand is there to make a good preforming/looking bulb in that size, its a pretty small bulb to make cfl or led without increasing its size, your best bet right now would be getting 25w halogens which have the same lumen output of the 40w incandescents
 

idleprocess

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I'm going to have to second the previous post. I don't think there's anything on the market in LED or CFL that fulfills most - nevermind all - of your requirements. Halogens will be a bit more efficient than incandescent and perhaps a bit more cost-effective.

My personal experience with candelabra CFL's has been similar - poor color rendition, startup time of close to a minute, unacceptably low initial output, disappointingly high initial cost, and questionable lifespan... and I don't care about the aesthetics of those fixtures since they'll likely be replaced with simple pendants once someone makes a decent LED bulb in the region of 4000K that can spit out enough lumens (Switch's 100W Equivalent offering looks good, but is still vaporware).

Given the typical occasional usage of a candelabra fixture, I'm not sure there's a lot of benefit to developing LED & CFL bulbs for the form-factor. LED - and to a lesser degree CFL - depend on regular use to make their TCO case, and fixtures operated irregularly for short durations will push out that payback considerably. While a chandelier may see more usage than a back closet, attic, or (unfinished) basement light fixture, it's probably not running the many hours per day that justifies the higher cost of acquisition for more durable alternatives.

LED could closely match the color and footprint of incandescent/halogen, but will never replicate the look and will struggle to match the light output / distribution. It will also run appreciably more per bulb than CFL and be highly dependent on making its advertised 25,000-hour lifespan to make its TCO case. In another few years, LED will likely solve the output shortcomings for your situation, but will likely satisfy no other cases.
 

DanManTX

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I know this breaks your rule #4, but the "best" candelabra LED bulb I've seen is from Tuwago ( http://www.tuwago.com/28-candle-led )
They're pricey at $24 per bulb; Amazon sells a 5 pack for $105.
3.8W; Fully dimmable; Bridgelux LED's; 2700K; 380 lumens.

Another forum member used Tuwago's 9.5W Globe Cree LED bulb and was impressed by it.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ng-for-vanity-makeup-mirrors&highlight=tuwago
 

mjramos

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I've got two chandeliers and use the X5-3's from rayleich. http://www.rayleich.com/goods.php?id=88
They have excellent color rendition and appear to do a great job dissipating the heat - the heat sinks definitely get hot. They look a heck of a lot better then the tuwago bulb which i was also considering at the time.
 

skyled

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I've got two chandeliers and use the X5-3's from rayleich. http://www.rayleich.com/goods.php?id=88
They have excellent color rendition and appear to do a great job dissipating the heat - the heat sinks definitely get hot. They look a heck of a lot better then the tuwago bulb which i was also considering at the time.

How many did you get? These look interesting but the cost of shipping came out to be $38 for 1 piece, more than twice the price of the bulb itself! I am a bit hesitant to buy more than one right now, especially since they don't seem to have customer support here. Also how long is the warranty on it?
 

mjramos

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

How many did you get? These look interesting but the cost of shipping came out to be $38 for 1 piece, more than twice the price of the bulb itself! I am a bit hesitant to buy more than one right now, especially since they don't seem to have customer support here. Also how long is the warranty on it?

Bought a total of 14 in two different shipments - e12 base, 2700k, 5w non-dimmable. For 7 bulbs it was $103 including shipping. They don't price shipping for low volume unfortunately but it is the closest I have found to looking like an incandescent. Wife wouldn't let me drop in space-age loooking ones in a formal dining room otherwise :)
 

mjramos

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

How many did you get? These look interesting but the cost of shipping came out to be $38 for 1 piece, more than twice the price of the bulb itself! I am a bit hesitant to buy more than one right now, especially since they don't seem to have customer support here. Also how long is the warranty on it?

forgot to mention, warranty is 3 years. support was entirely through email with one person who was very responsive, so not having it local turned out to be no big deal overall.
 

skyled

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

Bought a total of 14 in two different shipments - e12 base, 2700k, 5w non-dimmable. For 7 bulbs it was $103 including shipping. They don't price shipping for low volume unfortunately but it is the closest I have found to looking like an incandescent. Wife wouldn't let me drop in space-age loooking ones in a formal dining room otherwise :)

Looks like they increased prices then because I am getting 15.20 per dimmable piece and 13.00 for the non-dimmable. That is BEFORE the $38 shipping too.

Too bad...
 
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wws944

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

The local Costco stores have been stocking 3-packs of LED candelabra bulbs for about $20. Made by LoA, and rated at about 200 lumens. I have no idea how good they are, or if they are dimmable. Not shown on Costcos web site.
 

LEDAdd1ct

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

The local Costco stores have been stocking 3-packs of LED candelabra bulbs for about $20. Made by LoA, and rated at about 200 lumens. I have no idea how good they are, or if they are dimmable. Not shown on Costcos web site.

I would stay away from the LoA stuff. Most of the reviews have been uniformly negative.
 

billw

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I have some of the costco LoA LED candelabra bulbs, and I sorta like them. 18x SMD LEDs on a central post (4 sides plus two on top), rated 2.5W and (only) 135 lm. Substantial heatsink. They're not dimmable at all, though: substantial buzzing even at the full power setting...
 

SemiMan

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I have some of the costco LoA LED candelabra bulbs, and I sorta like them. 18x SMD LEDs on a central post (4 sides plus two on top), rated 2.5W and (only) 135 lm. Substantial heatsink. They're not dimmable at all, though: substantial buzzing even at the full power setting...



Wife bought some of those ... terrible light. There are much better options out there.
 
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slebans

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

Wife bought some of those ... terrible light. There are much better options out there.

I have had 18 of the 3 watt Philips Candelebra bulbs illuminating my hallway for almost 2 years now. They're not perfect by any means(low wattage, poor efficacy, dimer flickers at 50%) but they were the only product available at the time. The energy savings(3 watt vs 40 watt) is fantastic and I leave half of them on - dimmed to min - as nightlights.

Could you be more specific on the better options that are out there? I have been looking at purpose built LED fixtures but they are still way too expensive.
 

SemiMan

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I have had 18 of the 3 watt Philips Candelebra bulbs illuminating my hallway for almost 2 years now. They're not perfect by any means(low wattage, poor efficacy, dimer flickers at 50%) but they were the only product available at the time. The energy savings(3 watt vs 40 watt) is fantastic and I leave half of them on - dimmed to min - as nightlights.

Could you be more specific on the better options that are out there? I have been looking at purpose built LED fixtures but they are still way too expensive.


Slebans, I just realized it looked like my post was in response to the Philips, but I forgot to quote the original post I was replying to which was the CostCo LOA candelabra bulb which I found really bad.
 

copenhagen

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VidPro

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

I just bought 18 candelabra CFL bulbs from Lowes to replace the candelabra incandescants in my house.

We had the same problem here, got the 7&9W type CFL and not only were they poor output/look but they ALL died in a short time. Now I am looking towards LED, with the problem as mentioned that there is not a lot of room for proper cooling.
Today were still running halogen. The philips halogen candelabra have outlived the normal Incan by 5+ times or more, and they are a tiny bit brighter and a lot more expencive. The relative costs time/money the halogens all paid for themselves and then some. They just dont save any power, so they are all on dimmers to keep unnessiary consumption down.
 

TEEJ

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

Yeah, I use 60 W candelabras on a lot of the chandeliers in the house, and I can't find anything the wife would let stay that is bright enough to work and be dimmable.

Those ~ 180 Lumen Philips are too dim for me.

I'd really love to find a ~ 400+ L bulb.


Some of the bulbs are inside bowl-like dishes, etc...and I might be able to hide some fugly ones in there...but they don't fit if they are dimmable and bright enough.


Does anyone make an adapter that lets you screw a std base light into a candelabra base socket? (That isn't junk?)

:D
 
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slebans

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Re: 25w or 40w candleabra replacement (LED or CFL) that is not ugly or expensive

Yeah, I use 60 W candelabras on a lot of the chandeliers in the house, and I can't find anything the wife would let stay that is bright enough to work and be dimmable.

Those ~ 180 Lumen Philips are too dim for me.
I'd really love to find a ~ 400+ L bulb.
Does anyone make an adapter that lets you screw a std base light into a candelabra base socket? (That isn't junk?):D

Home Depot in Canada is now stocking this bulb(I could not find it on the US site):
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/4w-led-chandelier-frosted-medium-base/822306

320 lumens at 4 watts and it is dimmable. I was so excited as I have the original 3 watt Philips bulbs that are only 130 lumens -plus the dimming profile flickers at 25% and 50%. I hoped the newer bulbs dimmed better than the old tech.

Unfortunately these are medium base and I could not find any medium to B10(Candelebra) adapters in the store. Funny enough, two years ago I tossed out 18 of these adapters that came with the original Philips bulbs. Arrghh!

If you find any adapters please reply back in this thread.
 
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