enodreven Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Hi, If I go down the LED route should the bulbs conform to the CE, RoHS Compliance regulations, only there are some very good deals from quiet a number of sources on ebay etc but I can't seem to find if the are compliant. Your thoughts would be appreciated Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Those on RS Components website have a RoHS Compliance certificate. uk.rs-online.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 ROHS compliance does not mean they are better quality only that they have removed lead and other hazardous substances from the manufacturing process. Having purchased all my led bulbs from Hong Kong via EBay i can confirm they are probably not compliment and certainly not marked as such, however they work fine all the Leds are of matching colour temperature, however some do not have bridge rectifiers fitted so you may have to swap the polarity of some sockets. Built in voltage regulators are a good thing to have as the terminal voltage rises when your batteries are at full charge, But i have done some tests running the cheap led bulbs at 15 volts for several hours and none have failed. This is one area when you pays your money and takes a chance. We are now all led in our van. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 It is important to make sure your led lamps are fuse protected internally. They are made of a set of led's in series and if one should go short circuit then it puts additional current through the others, they can fail and then a high current can pass or put additional loading on the regulator as it cirrent limits. Also should the regulator part fail or any other component then the fuse should reduce any fire risk. I would not go buying cheap parts which have not been tested and approved by at least some standards authority. The latest approvals also require they do not emit or generate above a certain level of Electromagnetic interference and would be wise to buy led lamps meeting these standards as well. These lamps can and do burn out and can be quite dramatic but fortuately is usually inside the light fitting enclosure so does not present a problem, but imagine the fumes and what happens if a flame was produced which exited the fitting. Not worth the risk however small to use unprotected bulbs and not have them enclosed in a fitting. Most halogen bulb fittings they are used in offer safety anyway for using halogen lamps, but best to make sure. I have seen some people modify the reflector so leds lamps fit in and expose a gap through to the wood it is mounted on. Not a good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 "The latest approvals also require they do not emit or generate above a certain level of Electromagnetic interference and would be wise to buy led lamps meeting these standards as well. " Definitely worth checking for as one of our customers has a problem with her TV when she switches on some LED lights, the TV will change source on switching on the lights and then not respond to the IR remote control as long as the lights are on. A RF detector showed interference coming from the LED lights. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I've got about 12 of these LED strips from Hong Kong which I have had for about 2 years, Only one strip has failed so far, a couple of lights went out, but I just cut the strip with a stanley knife and continued using the shorter piece. They use about 3 watts and give about as much light as a 30 watt bulb. But the light from the LED strip is better because its more spread out (less shadows) http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-48-LED-Linear-Flexible-Strip-Car-Light-12V-White-N-/150581265940?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230f57c614 You need a sepatate switch and low amperage fuse to wire them up. Couple of points; Don't order a large quantity at once as over about £15 value you could get stung for import duty. If you want to use them with an LED dimmer switch, you need to run both wires from the light to the dimmer switch. The dimmer switch will not work if you are using the vehicle body as one of the wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Yes i agree however ROHS and CE marking really does not ensure compatibility with other electronic products. We have just had to replaced some Phillips CFL compact energy saving lights in our house because the wavelength of light emitted prevented the Hitachi television infra red remote controller from operating the TV. Lifes funny like that. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Peter James - 2011-12-14 8:03 AM Don't order a large quantity at once as over about £15 value you could get stung for import duty. Yep been caught on that one (actual value is £18) had to pay import duty, VAT + plus a customs agent fee of £25 only redeeming factor was they had put a $ sign instead of £ sign in front of the amount on the invoice so it made it not quite so painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I've been both routes as detailed in other threads, all seemed fine initially. But then the Hong Kong ( ebay ) ones started twinkling on individual smd's after a few weeks, which is like trying to read under a flashing sign, then bought some so called voltage safe from a UK online retailer, they also began to fail after a similar amount of use, then went to http://www.bedazzled.uk.com/ and they have been excellent with built in fuses ( the explanation of that is worth a read ), not Hong Kong prices for sure, but like most things in life...blah blah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 lennyhb - 2011-12-14 5:12 PM Peter James - 2011-12-14 8:03 AM Don't order a large quantity at once as over about £15 value you could get stung for import duty. Yep been caught on that one (actual value is £18) had to pay import duty, VAT + plus a customs agent fee of £25 only redeeming factor was they had put a $ sign instead of £ sign in front of the amount on the invoice so it made it not quite so painful. Tax free allowance used to be £18 but its been reduced to £15 ( http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_FAQs&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_PROD1_031239 ) To get around this some sellers price things low and make up for it with the postage and packing charges. Which is why they won't give you a discount on postage and packing if you order more than one at once. I understand there are proposals to reduce the tax free allowance further, because large businesses have been set up for the sole purpose of posting things like CDs and ink cartridges from Jersey etc, avoiding import duty, and retailers on the mainland are protesting about unfair competition. If you can get away with declaring it as an 'object of worship' its tax free like everything else to do with the Church. In fact I am thinking of setting up a religion ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-12-14 5:20 PM I've been both routes as detailed in other threads, all seemed fine initially. But then the Hong Kong ( ebay ) ones started twinkling on individual smd's after a few weeks, which is like trying to read under a flashing sign, then bought some so called voltage safe from a UK online retailer, they also began to fail after a similar amount of use, then went to http://www.bedazzled.uk.com/ and they have been excellent with built in fuses ( the explanation of that is worth a read ), not Hong Kong prices for sure, but like most things in life...blah blah I have of both in the van all still working fine after 2 years, the Hong Kong ones only being £1.89 including postage I think it's worth taking a chance after all it's not much more than ½ pint of bitter. Also have some G10 230v ones from Hong Kong in the shower room at home brought to replace the UK sourced ones that kept dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 If anyone needs G10 240v Led bulbs B&Q have a three pack at £10 I have fitted them in the bathroom only 1.2 Watt each as bright as the G10 CFL 11w they replaced and good quality too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 It was B&Q ones that kept failing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 At least if the B&Q ones fail we can take them back. ' but as always only time will tell' if they do fail i will post an update.Sods law that if they do fail i will be in the shower though. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T8LEY Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Have a look here: http://www.ledlightingexplained.com/led-lighting-suppliers/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielo Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 You might find something to your liking from here: http://www.ecoledlight.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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