Electrek Poundland LED Light Bulbs - Are they Safe?

[Max Rasa]

Hi all

I wondered what people's opinions are on the Electrek LED light bulbs available from Poundland for the bargain price of... you guessed it... £1!!! (On closer inspection it would look like they are actually made by/for Poundland too.)

I have had a couple of them for probably the best part of a year. One died after a few months. The other is still going, but it does see less use. I'm happy to accept that longevity might be questionable. But what I've really come to ask is how safe are they? I had a cheap bulb blow on me before (can't remember what type, but not LED) and there is still the burn mark to remind me on the carpet. I'm just glad I was here when it happened. So what about these cheapo LED bulbs, are they safe? Or a potential fire risk? Or any other types of risk that I should be concerned about before I start using more of them?

Many thanks

Max

 

[Octopus]

I would suggest you spend more on a "badged" product

 

[Des 56]

I think its more a matter of quality and cost rather than fire risk

Given that Leds produce much less heat than other lamps,as long as the heat sink keeps the electronics happy not much else matters other than build quality

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Its not as simple as saying they are cheap so must be poor quality. Quite often a lot of these name brands are just that... the company have them made by the boat load and have the logo printed on them and the box. I recall a video on youtube where somebody stripped a series of led lamps down and the inner workings of the lamps were the same in several of them with a huge price range. which proved the point. the insides are bought off the shelf and then put in custom bodies. much like power tool batteries.

 

[RWJ]

Most of the poundland stuff is well made... Well according to Big Clive
bigclivedotcom - https://www.youtube.com/user/bigclivedotcom/search?query=pound

Not sure if he's done a tear down on these actual lamps.

 

[LeeH]

I was going to post exactly that. Big Clive seems to rate the Poundland gear quite well.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Have to remember poundland buy stuff by the million, there buying power is on par if not more than the diy sheds like b and q , screwfix etc... so wouldnt be surprised if the quality was very good as big clive suggests

 

[Rpa07]

Thing is using for yourself is fine and I’ve done that with Aldi lamps made by Muller lite (yoghurt style). I have 2 in my lounge that dim on there own then go bright - I’ve got used to it now!
I would not, though, ever fit these for customers main reason being that I don’t want to ever go back for the same job.

 

[Octopus]

To the OP:

You need to compare the wattage, the output lumens value and the output colour....

 

[Marvo]

Usually the difference between a quality LED lamp and a cheap one can't be determined without destructive testing although due dilligance such as an internet search for customer complaints or any product recalls that have been issued might yield some info. Certain things can be compared easily such as power factor, colour rendering index, efficiency, lumens per watt output etc.

 

[Max Rasa]

Hi all

Many thanks for the helpful replies. I'll check out bigclive as soon as I've sorted out a problem I'm having with my PC (no sound). It will be interesting to see what he has to say. Seems there are quite a few of his vids that will be helpful...

At the end of the day, I like the Electrek/Poundland bulbs in terms of the amount of light they give off, the "colour", etc. etc. I really like them. I just want them to be safe. And if they can last for more than just a few months that would be great too. But safety is what I'm most interested in.

I had a quick look at reviews earlier and there were a few that weren't great. But, as Gavin John Hyde points out, these must sell in HUGE quantities, and - like with so many of these things - you only tend to hear about the ones that go wrong on the internet. So you'd expect to hear the odd dodgy tale I guess. And I'm not sure how many people would report back to the net to say they were pleased with their £1 light bulb!

Cheers

 

[geoffgs]

I has one that started to flicker, the went crack with a puff of smoke and carried on working normally.
I replaced it just in case.

 

[brianmoooore]

I has one that started to flicker, the went crack with a puff of smoke and carried on working normally.
I replaced it just in case.

That will probably be a filter capacitor, (fitted to prevent interference feeing back into the mains wiring) going short circuit and blowing itself into oblivion.