Philips Master LED

[wreck-it-steve]

Hi,

I have two Philips Master 7w LED Lamps for my bathroom... They say they don't require an LED driver as they have one built in and they will work with normal transformers.

My problem is that even though they state this I cannot seem to get them to operate correctly with standard transformers (they either don't light up or flicker)

Would it be best to still buy LED drivers or does anyone know of a tried and tested standard transformer that will work?

Thanks

 

[viewer]

Does your transformer require a minimum load?

 

[Sherbertlion]

Which lamp is it, exactly?

 

[wreck-it-steve]

Does your transformer require a minimum load?

Thats the problem... they all seem to be 20-60w or more.

 

[wreck-it-steve]

Which lamp is it, exactly?

These:

http://www.thelightbulbshop.co.uk/S...532724/7WMASTERLEDspotLVMR16DimmableGU53.aspx

 

[riveralt]

Hi,

I have two Philips Master 7w LED Lamps for my bathroom... They say they don't require an LED driver as they have one built in and they will work with normal transformers.

That is correct - although they do say BROAD compatibility.

My problem is that even though they state this I cannot seem to get them to operate correctly with standard transformers (they either don't light up or flicker)

Assuming you have wired everything correctly (some leds require to be wired in series rather than parallel) then you should contact Philips because they do state what you say about standard transformers in their literature. In so much as the transformer (by electronic means) sees the led light as a standard halogen and should work accordingly.

Would it be best to still buy LED drivers or does anyone know of a tried and tested standard transformer that will work?

Seems little point in buying an additional driver when there is already one built in - speak to Philips, if the wiring is okay then you may have a dud batch.

One other thought, do you have one transformer between two or one transformer for each light. I raise this because assuming the 'electronics' in the led trick the transformer into believing it is a standard 50w halogen, putting two lights on one transformer may, perversely, trick the transformer into believing it is 100w for a transformer that is designed for 20/60w.

 

[wreck-it-steve]

Hi,

I have two Philips Master 7w LED Lamps for my bathroom... They say they don't require an LED driver as they have one built in and they will work with normal transformers.

That is correct - although they do say BROAD compatibility.

My problem is that even though they state this I cannot seem to get them to operate correctly with standard transformers (they either don't light up or flicker)

Assuming you have wired everything correctly (some leds require to be wired in series rather than parallel) then you should contact Philips because they do state what you say about standard transformers in their literature. In so much as the transformer (by electronic means) sees the led light as a standard halogen and should work accordingly.

Would it be best to still buy LED drivers or does anyone know of a tried and tested standard transformer that will work?

Seems little point in buying an additional driver when there is already one built in - speak to Philips, if the wiring is okay then you may have a dud batch.

One other thought, do you have one transformer between two or one transformer for each light. I raise this because assuming the 'electronics' in the led trick the transformer into believing it is a standard 50w halogen, putting two lights on one transformer may, perversely, trick the transformer into believing it is 100w for a transformer that is designed for 20/60w.

I have one transformer to one lamp. I think I will try another brand of transformer before I try going through the pain of contacting philips.

 

[Sherbertlion]

I have used these without issue (albeit the 10W version), and yes they should be fine on a standard transformer. I think it would be worth trying a different transformer.

Are you dimming them? Some dimmers work better than others with these lamps.

This works really well with these lamps:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/VLJQP401W.html

 

[Iggifer]

Philips After Sales Team
01273 309326

I would give them a call, they're pretty good. Or you can try putting both lamps on this transfomer

http://www.screwfix.com/p/halolite-1-16w-led-constant-voltage-driver/85503

or individually on

http://www.screwfix.com/p/halolite-1-9w-led-constant-current-driver/66599

 

[TicklyT]

Bear in mind that many (most?) 'transformers' supplied for ELV lighting are really Switch Mode Power Supplies. SMPSs have very different characteristics to a 'proper' transformer, so the blurb may indeed be correct, as long as the fittings are supplied by a transformer, and not an SMPS.

The internal LED driver may be built to withstand the voltage rise that may occur with an underloaded 'proper' transformer, but it is difficult to imagine how the internal lamp driver could replicate a dummy load to satisfy an SMPS without acually increasing it's power consumption to match the minimum output of the SMPS, thus making a nonsense of the power rating quoted for the LEDs.