Worrying blown bulb

[Actionmainly]

I've had a bulb blow on me today which isn't unusual. However, it is the manner in which it has happened that seems worrying. The fixture is a ceiling light that has five bulbs in it. They are all 6W LED bulbs. One of them today suddenly popped, tripped the fuse and a small cloud of smoke could be seen. The bulb had a burning smell and looks like the pictures below. Is this normal as over never experienced it before or is it a sign of something more concerning?

20190329_170614

• Actionmainly
• 29 Mar 2019

Bulb

15538794118273066539743239570303

• Actionmainly
• 29 Mar 2019

Bulb

 

[JohnW2]

... They are all 6W LED bulbs. One of them today suddenly popped, tripped the fuse and a small cloud of smoke could be seen. The bulb had a burning smell and looks like the pictures below. Is this normal as over never experienced it before or is it a sign of something more concerning?

I don't know about 'normal', but I've certainly experienced similar. They sometimes go 'bang' and the plastic envelope comes flying off (exposing live parts).

Kind Regards, john

 

[bernardgreen]

Not at all unusual. Inside the metal cap there is an LED driver. This is a printed circuit board with a few components fitted to it. When one of these fails the PCB can be scorched or ( as in your case ) burnt before the fuse blows.

 

[Gasguru]

Cheap non compliant Chinese electronics.

 

[JohnW2]

Not at all unusual. Inside the metal cap there is an LED driver. This is a printed circuit board with a few components fitted to it. When one of these fails the PCB can be scorched or ( as in your case ) burnt before the fuse blows.

In my experience, it is often the 'fuse' (commonly just a flimsy bit of exposed foil) 'blowing' which appears to have caused the bang, the blackening and the smoke.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Actionmainly]

Thanks for the info, very helpful. And not Chinese but thanks for your input.

 

[AndyPRK]

What brand are they?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Name, and shame.

 

[JohnW2]

Name, and shame.

For what it's worth, the first couple I had (admittedly way back) that did things like that were Philips. Since then, I have always bought 'cheap and nasty' (and undoubtedly Chinese)!

Kind Regards, John

 

[RF Lighting]

They are LAP branded lamps. They are cheap Chinese lamps with end retail price being more important than build quality for the well known seller of this brand.

 

[JohnW2]

They are LAP branded lamps.

It is.

They are cheap Chinese lamps with end retail price being more important than build quality for the well known seller of this brand.

Again, true. However, again for what it's worth, I have used a good few LAP LEDs from that well-known seller. Whilst two or three died within the first few hours of use (and were replaced by the seller), most of the remainder had been in service for years, with little/no problems - which (again, for what it's worth) is a much better experience that my earlier one with Philips LEDs.

I guess the moral of such anecdotes is that one cannot (should not) 'generalise'!

Kind Regards, John

 

[Laurence Harvey]

I have 13 x GU10 LAP Led’s from S/Fix,...they are all 5 years old,... used muchly and all still functioning perfectly,...no dimming on any of them. If I remember rightly one of them was DOA though.

Has the quality LAP’sed in recent times then?

 

[JohnW2]

I have 13 x GU10 LAP Led’s from S/Fix,...they are all 5 years old,... used muchly and all still functioning perfectly,...no dimming on any of them. If I remember rightly one of them was DOA though. Has the quality LAP’sed in recent times then?

Well, as I said, anecdotally (i.e. 'for what it's worth'), I've never personally had any significant problem with LAP LEDs (other than the couple of instances of 'neonatal mortality' I mentioned) - in fact, less trouble than with much more expensive ones from 'reputable' manufacturers.

Kind Regards, John