Need help finding LED bulb for garage door opener

I have an old LiftMaster garage door opener, whose light bulb sockets are so deep that the LED bulbs I've tried don't reach down far enough to make contact. The problem is that the bulbs I've seen (both online and at Home Depot) all have a bulge in the neck of the bulb just above the metal base, which prevents the bulb from seating far enough. The bulge hits the edge of the socket opening. Does anyone know of a 75W-equivalent LED bulb with a neck more like a standard bulb? I also have heard that LEDs can in some cases cause interference with the remote, but I'm hoping that won't be an issue, assuming I can find a bulb that will fit. Thank you.

PS: I should have mentioned that I have already tried using a socket extender. It didn't work for two reasons: First, the extender didn't seat far enough to make contact in the socket (for a similar reason that the LEDs I've tried didn't). Second, it would have made the bulb stick out so far into the enclosure that it wouldn't fit, especially since the A21 LED I tried is longer than the original incandescent bulb.

It may not work for you depending on the clearances, but I have used a screw thread to screw thread extension (often found in old hardware stores) in those situations.
Or the combination of a screw to receptacle adapter and a plug-in socket.
Worst case, cut the reflector since the LED bulb will not be sending any light in that direction anyway.

As for RF interference, check reviews because it varies greatly from brand to brand.

Tapatalk...

How long do you run the light? If it is short duration like a few minutes while you get out of the car into the house you will not save enough money on electricity to justify an LED bulb. Also LED bulbs need lots of air circulation for cooling. From your description of the fixture you may have a much shortened LED bulb life especially for the brighter bulbs.
My suggestion is stock up on incandescent bulbs while you can still get them.

I use compact fluorescent bulbs for my garage door opener. Cheap and long lasting. Can't see why I'd want a LED there.

RTR882 said:

I use compact fluorescent bulbs for my garage door opener. Cheap and long lasting. Can't see why I'd want a LED there.

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Same here but I added a extension with a plug and added an led rope light

LEDninja said:

How long do you run the light? If it is short duration like a few minutes while you get out of the car into the house you will not save enough money on electricity to justify an LED bulb. Also LED bulbs need lots of air circulation for cooling. From your description of the fixture you may have a much shortened LED bulb life especially for the brighter bulbs.
My suggestion is stock up on incandescent bulbs while you can still get them.

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Thanks for your reply. I also use the light to light the garage when I'm working in there. The fixture has a wide opening both at the bottom and top, so there should be plenty of air circulation.

RTR882 said:

I use compact fluorescent bulbs for my garage door opener. Cheap and long lasting. Can't see why I'd want a LED there.

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Thanks for the reply. I had the same issue with CFLs, only worse. The bulge just above the base on CFLs is way too large for the bulb to seat all the way in the socket.

I've had truly miserable luck in my garage door opener with both incandescent and CFL bulbs, including the ruggedized incans. The CFL lasted less than a year. I've had one of the cheap 40W equivalent CREEs in there since they came out. It's still going strong. We'll see how long it lasts. No problem with the remote.

Gordon

Why not just go into the opener, tap the wires for the light, and install a fixture or two remotely that will allow you to install the bulbs that you want to use?

I put in a socket adapter to two-prong receptacle, then install an LED light wherever I want nearby. CFL's take too long to warm up, especially in the winter. I used to use incandescent, and the bulb would last much longer than when it was shaken by the opener.

RTR882 said:

I use compact fluorescent bulbs for my garage door opener. Cheap and long lasting. Can't see why I'd want a LED there.

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Nearly ten years ago, before the manufacturers cut so many corners in the name of cost reduction this wasn't such a bad plan since quick-start bulbs were not uncommon. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to find a bulb that hits 75% apparent brightness within 45 seconds.

EngrPaul said:

I put in a socket adapter to two-prong receptacle, then install an LED light wherever I want nearby. CFL's take too long to warm up, especially in the winter. I used to use incandescent, and the bulb would last much longer than when it was shaken by the opener.

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I initially used one of those with my garage-lighting project. Vibration was a problem with that opener. Bulbs would simply loosen over time, but the adaptor couldn't rotate freely with a right-angle cord connected, so the socket eventually failed due to arcing. I removed the socket altogether and wired in a duplex outlet instead.

idleprocess said:

Nowadays, you'll be lucky to find a bulb that hits 75% apparent brightness within 45 seconds.

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And when it gets below 0F in the garage, that problem gets much worse ...

Gordon

gajslk said:

And when it gets below 0F in the garage, that problem gets much worse ...

Gordon

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GE's Bright from the start can remedy that. The fully enclosed glass housing + the heat from the initial 75 seconds or so of halogen filament operation means the CFL will light off even if the garage is sub 0F.
The neck is nice and narrow, so it should fit.
Problems: only 2700K CCT, and the 100watt equivalent version claims to be A23 sized instead of A21 which the 75w equivalent is. 60w equivalent is A19-ish.

Alternatively, the damn 71w=150 watt '2x' bulb isn't out yet. 2600 lumens of fun!

MichaelW said:

GE's Bright from the start can remedy that. The fully enclosed glass housing + the heat from the initial 75 seconds or so of halogen filament operation means the CFL will light off even if the garage is sub 0F.
The neck is nice and narrow, so it should fit.
Problems: only 2700K CCT, and the 100watt equivalent version claims to be A23 sized instead of A21 which the 75w equivalent is. 60w equivalent is A19-ish.

Alternatively, the damn 71w=150 watt '2x' bulb isn't out yet. 2600 lumens of fun!

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Suspect that 2700K was chosen for that GE offering so the CFL output matched the initial filament output.

CFL quick-/cold-start was a common feature not too terribly long ago, but that was before the market settled on the sub-$2 price point.

Re: Need help finding LED bulb for garage door opener - SUCCESS

SUCCESS! I found a LED bulb that works in my garage door opener. It's a 60W equivalent (I had hoped for a 75W), but it's good enough for now. It's the SWITCH Infinia 60W. They're 800 lumens, and I got them for $13.97 each via Amazon (free shipping with Prime). These are not the same as the regular SWITCH bulbs that have the odd-shaped bulb and fins; these are newer. This bulb is in the EXACT shape of a traditional incandescent bulb, including having no bulge on the neck above the base, which was the problem I was having with other bulbs. I'm sure that eventually they'll have a 75W-equivalent version too.

Re: Need help finding LED bulb for garage door opener - SUCCESS

ItzRav said:

SUCCESS! I found a LED bulb that works in my garage door opener. It's a 60W equivalent (I had hoped for a 75W), but it's good enough for now. It's the SWITCH Infinia 60W. They're 800 lumens, and I got them for $13.97 each via Amazon (free shipping with Prime). These are not the same as the regular SWITCH bulbs that have the odd-shaped bulb and fins; these are newer. This bulb is in the EXACT shape of a traditional incandescent bulb, including having no bulge on the neck above the base, which was the problem I was having with other bulbs. I'm sure that eventually they'll have a 75W-equivalent version too.

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Hi!

I had a similar problem with remote controls interference after installing LED lights around the house. Fortunately, I found a solution that's working fine for me and its cheaper than replacing all remotes I have at home: http://www.gogogate.com/
I even can open and close the garage door from anywhere with my iPhone and receive alerts.

Re: Need help finding LED bulb for garage door opener - SUCCESS

shill........

Re: Need help finding LED bulb for garage door opener - SUCCESS

Utilitech LED bulbs, which have generally received good reviews here and which is what I have generally been buying, will interfere with remote garage door openers, as I found out with my garage door opener yesterday.

Re: Need help finding LED bulb for garage door opener - SUCCESS

BillSWPA said:

Utilitech LED bulbs, which have generally received good reviews here and which is what I have generally been buying, will interfere with remote garage door openers, as I found out with my garage door opener yesterday.

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Were those bulbs the dimmable kind?
I wonder if the non-dimmable would generate less interference?