xmas tree lights spare bulbs

[mgdave]

Help ! does anyone know a source for obsolete bulbs for christmas tree lights ? I bought an expensive set of outdoor lights from B&Q last year and already they are obsolete . my complaints with them have got me nowhere and Chrismas is nearly here .buying another set is not an option.

 

[RigidRaider]

Unfortunately most people just go out and buy another set. This is probably cheaper than trogging around the shops trying to find one spare bulb.

 

[Adam_151]

I thought they had to supply them for about 5 years after discontinueing the lights?

Anyway, tip for you if you want to get into the christmas display lark... always buy one extra set of lights than you want to put out for spare bulbs for the rest, its the cheapest way of buying them.... even better if you get the extra set in the january sales!

 

[Steve]

many sets recently have permenant bulbs.

 

[ricicle]

bulbs.

Don't bulbs plant in the garden and come up in spring Crafty

 

[christramp]

I know its a pain in the a?@e but give it 5 years or so and LED lights will replace all xmas light sets. They are expensive for now but will come down in price - they will last for quite some time, emit a crisper brighter light and are permantly fixed, also if one blows it is only that one bulb that stays out
you need a new set
ps there is no legal obligation to keep hold of old style replacement bulbs

 

[plugwash]

a lot of shops claim they will supply spare bulbs for a certain number of years, i don't know if you can use such claims against them or not though (i'd guess you might be able to under something like the trade descriptions act but i'm no expert).

generally i find at least for basic sets though replacement bulbs are riddiculously overpriced anyway, my stratergy is to buy multiple identical sets then slowly sacrifice one to fix the others.

back to the original posters question though do you have any information on the set? photos of the bulbs? lamp codes? measurements (taken with a micrometer or a good verniar caliper) etc?

 

[Steve]

I know its a pain in the a?@e but give it 5 years or so and LED lights will replace all xmas light sets. They are expensive for now but will come down in price - they will last for quite some time, emit a crisper brighter light and are permantly fixed, also if one blows it is only that one bulb that stays out
you need a new set
ps there is no legal obligation to keep hold of old style replacement bulbs

Some LED sets flicker at 50Hz, its a visible flicker. They have "curtain" style hanging sets in the Frenchgate centre in doncaster. If you look at them in the corner of your eye, you can see the flickering. Its quite distracting.

Most LED sets have a rectifier to convert to DC though.

 

[2scoops0406]

I know its a pain in the a?@e but give it 5 years or so and LED lights will replace all xmas light sets. They are expensive for now but will come down in price - they will last for quite some time, emit a crisper brighter light and are permantly fixed, also if one blows it is only that one bulb that stays out
you need a new set
ps there is no legal obligation to keep hold of old style replacement bulbs

Yeah, that would explain our crisp bright white LED's giving up after 5 days then ?

 

[securespark]

Some LED sets flicker at 50Hz,

Yeah, Mrs Secure Mk I was epiliptic, and would suffer seizures from stuff like that.

 

[russell58]

Before this year I bought LED icicle lights from B&Q for two years running. But in both years after only 3 weeks use they had loads of bulbs out and B&Q wouldn't even reply. If you buy LED then assume you have a set for one christams only based on my experience. Others had the same problem? I've gone back to traditional lights and buy Noma because they have spares.

 

[Steve]

Before this year I bought LED icicle lights from B&Q for two years running. But in both years after only 3 weeks use they had loads of bulbs out and B&Q wouldn't even reply. If you buy LED then assume you have a set for one christams only based on my experience. Others had the same problem? I've gone back to traditional lights and buy Noma because they have spares.

Are you sure they were LEDs? LEDs dont normally have a high failure rate.

We bought a pre-decorated tree from B&Q a few years back. Came with a set of 50 ordinary series lights. Within a week half of them had blown. The fuse bulb is meant to blow when the voltage gets too high (not enough bulbs to absorb the voltage, getting too hot). It didn't blow. Quite disturbing really, if i hadn't noticed it could have caught fire etc.

Took the set back and got a set of 100 in exchange

 

[breezer]

in theory led's should last "forever" but i have seen quite a few fittings with led "lamps" where some of the leds are not working, and being as they are leds you cant change them

 

[plugwash]

LEDs used in indicator applications do indeed last virtually forever due to low current drive.

the impression i get though is that LEDs used for lighting and/or the drive cuircuits that are combined with those LEDs are not always that reliable, also some cheap products put multiple LEDs in paralell without seperate current limiting (which is a very bad thing to do with LEDs).