Posted on 01/06/2019 4:01:30 PM PST by Jamestown1630
Forgive me if this is a very ignorant question, but I don’t know very much about lamp wiring, LED bulbs, etc., and am hoping someone can give me advice.
I recently purchased some of these lamps from IKEA:
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00323887/
They're very nice for my purpose, but I can’t stand the unshaded LED bulb. Ikea’s lamps seem to be all LED, and they sell the bulbs for them. The bulb we bought is an E12, 200 Lumen, because that’s what the display lamp had. But they have lots of different bulbs with those same specifics, just with different names.
The lamp says that it can only be used with ‘dimmable’ bulbs; and I’m wondering if there’s a dimmable incandescent bulb I can buy that will work in this lamp.
I don’t know anything about LEDs – we stock-piled incandescents when the govt. made the nutty decision to ‘outlaw’ them; but I know that decorative ones are still available. I just don’t know if lamps like this are only wired to work with LEDs, or not (yes, I’m that ignorant.)
I’d actually like something sort of amber colored – I have an old lamp that uses amber chandelier lights, even some that flicker. (One of the reviews of this lamp suggested that it was possible to achieve a flickering aspect that really simulated a kerosene lamp, but we haven’t seen any ability for this lamp to do anything but be headache-bright, or slightly less bright - if you dim it as low as possible, after awhile it just goes out - and we may have been directed to purchase the wrong bulb. But I'd really like to get away from the LED, if I can.)
Thanks to anyone who might be able to help. Any thoughts would be helpful, as I have another, different kind of lamp from Ikea that I’d like to change-out as well.
-JT
Thank you - again, exactly the kind of info I was hoping for.
Me too. lol Believe it or not they are still being used in some applications like Guitar Amps because a certain sound just cannot be reproduced by newer technology.
That looks exactly like the flicker bulb in my faux ‘Early American’ candlestick lamp; except that mine is amber.
Husband also remembers ‘tubes’, and he knows what you’re talking about.
I didn’t even know you could still buy them...
If I wasn’t a musician I would not have figured there was still a need for them either. :)
There are still a lot more Jimmy Hendrex “want to be’s” out there than you might think. And the Jimmy sound was all tubes, can’t get it any other way. :)
Those things don’t work very well. But you remind me: have they improved upon the battery-operated votives and candlesticks?
It seems that I’ve recently seen much more light coming from some versions of these, on YouTube. I’d like to have some for my Hallowe’en pumpkins, Xmas lanterns, &c.
Thanks. The lamp came with no instructions as to alternatives for bulbs, except ‘only dimmable bulbs.”
I will look and see if indications are on the lamp itself.
The newer LED bulbs are a lot better. Look for a cree type bulb. Some even have rechargeable batteries and a remote control to change the color and brightness. Good to have a few around in the event of a power failure.
> I was having troubles keeping the regular fluorescent bulbs lit because the humid air would corrode the 2-prong ends.
A little silicone grease on the pins does wonders.
Just look for “Synthetic” Grease. Make sure the label says Dielectric or non-conductive. A 3 oz. tube is about $5 and will last forever.
Super Lube #21030
Thanks.
You be callin’ de amber lamps?
“The electricity feeding the lamp socket doesn’t know what kind of bulb is in the socket.”
Correct. And that may lead to a fire risk.
I loved their 'What Do You Want From Life'...
There are also still some very good (and mostly pricey!) tube type hi-fi amplifiers around. A lot of tubes for audio amplifiers come from Russia.
But, to your own question, assuming the color of the LED light is ok*, it sounds to me like 200 lumens is just too bright for your application, and the dimmer in the lamp is not very good. I would pick a considerably lower lumen output bulb.
Also, “clear” bulbs of any type will tend to give off a harsher light than do frosted bulbs, which are more diffuse. When the light is coming from a small intense area or areas / sections, it is of course more uncomfortable if your gaze strays toward the lamp. Shadows are also “sharper”, and in the case of multiple small segments giving off light, you can have multi-edge shadows, which may subconsciously bother some people. “Frosting” of the glass or plastic exterior of a bulb diffuses these effects and “softens” the light. The bigger the exterior / cover / diffuser / globe, for the same internal output, the less of a point source you will have. So, if it will fit, you may want to try a soft / frosted globe with low lumen output and the correct base.
*Maybe there is a color output characteristic of the LED bulbs’ light that you do not like. This seems unlikely, as unlike CFL’s (the little spiral fluorescent bulbs), a decent quality warm white LED bulb will have very little output in the upper part of the blue range and on into UV (ultraviolet) light. CFL’s usually have a narrow blue spike and some UV: That’s not “eye friendly” and the blue spike makes the light seem unnatural to many people. Warm white CFL’s just don’t approximate a flame quite correctly. The same is true of warm while LED’s with poor phosphors. I find most LED bulbs are free from such problems, though some cheapo’s from China have an odd, almost greenish tint to them. You should not run into that with most any good brand name: Even “Great Value” (Wal-Mart) LED bulbs seem fine. I have more problems with abrupt failures in lesser brands, than color spectrum dislikes.
I see there are already several warnings above about heat from an incandescent bulb placed in a socket rated only for LED bulbs, but, really, you should be able to find a low output, “soft”, warm white LED bulb to do the trick for you.
Please let us know how it goes!
Yes, but there must be a few LED Zeppelins.
Did you see what I did there?
I bought some Wal-Mart LED chandelier base with the orangish bars in them. The color tone was really warm and I liked them, but one failed very quickly and another just lasted about as long as an incandescent. So I'm replacing them with Phillips bulbs from HD or Lowes, they seem to last better although the light is whiter and I don't like that as much in that usage.
The Phillips were 4 watt 300 lumen but fully dimable.
I have a much nicer one than that ugly, modern thing.
But I happened to hit on a YouTube channel the other day - ThriftDiving - produced by a lady who buys stuff at thrift stores and refurbishes them.
She gives a lot of good ideas for using various chemicals/products for changing things into what you want them to be. Lots of good ideas; and even if the products of her efforts are not to your taste, you may find the techniques useful for all sorts of DIY projects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1f18JWnEY
I especially liked this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfhNHfcmlRw
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