Candelabra LEDs

[trclac]

We have been waiting on LED candelabras with a lumens rating of around 800 for quite some time, as have been several people we know. I do know that certain companies that are not well known have offered this sort of product (see, for example, infinitebright.com/10we12candlelabrastyleledbulb.aspx). However, we are not comfortable buying a number of expensive lamps from an otherwise unknown brand to everyone I've asked. And I've heard nothing that Philips, Cree, GE or the other major players are producing this type of bulb.

It seems this is the remaining bulb missing from a reputable brand that the market is looking for (at least based on my experience).

Does anyone happen to know if any of the major brands are working on an 800 lumens or above E12 (Candelabra) base bulb? My wife will not replace any candelabras we have with an LED until a reputable manufacturer achieves at least 800 lumens, at least as long as she can buy halogens or incandescents or whatever it is she buys.

Thanks in advance.

 

[edro]

800lm is high for candelabra.
60W incandescent candelabras are only around 600lm.
Philips has a 60W equivalent LED candelabra.

 

[richardycc]

I have been looking for a 60w equivalent candelabra base LED bulbs too, I don't think Philips has one yet, at least not in candelabra base. the only one I've seen is from TCP at Home Depot for around $13, still too expensive for me.

I got some Philips 40w equivalent ones, just wish they were brighter.

 

[AlFrugal]

An alternative to consider is to use a E12-to-E26 socket adapter. This will allow you to use a conventional bulb in a candelabra socket. However, the adapters I've found via web search have a significant proportion of unsatisfactory customer reviews.

 

[trclac]

The ones that claim to be 60W equivalent are considerably dimmer than their incadescent counterparts, as we observed when testing the claimed 60W equivalent LEDs from Philips, I believe, to 60W incadescent bulbs (we compared two LEDs to two "regular" bulbs at the same time). The Philips 60W LED is 500 lumens. I am not sure what the actual lumens of the incadescent bulbs were, but they were noticeably brighter than 500 lumens. Needless to say, my wife returned the Philips "60W equivalent" LEDs until the LED candelabras "brighten up" (her words).
We have considered the alternative of the socket adapter, and it worked in one 4-bulb lamp where it won't be "noticed". But for the other lamps requiring candelabra bulbs, the adapter alternative is not an option, as this is not an "attractive option" to her.
Perhaps even a candelabra at 650-700 lumens would work. I just know that 500 lumens, which is being passed off as "60w equivalents", do not provide enough light, at least in my wife's opinion.
Thanks.

 

[razel]

800 lumens is very high for a candelabra. For such a small area, you'll get too much glare and heat. I use 800 lumens for 6" LED downlights and I think 800 lm is perfect for 6". It's just before you just start to output glare. If you are interested in getting more light in a room you need to spread the light, not have 1600lm of glare from one point. That's why lower lumen 4 foot florescent bulbs truly light up a room.

Luckily candle-a-bras are usually grouped. So you may not need 800lm. I jog around my neightborhood at night and see ridiculously bright outdoor entryway lights. Instead of averting thieves, I think you just end up inviting them. It sure does invite me to jog closer since there's just more light.

 

[trclac]

800 lumens is very high for a candelabra. For such a small area, you'll get too much glare and heat. I use 800 lumens for 6" LED downlights and I think 800 lm is perfect for 6". It's just before you just start to output glare. If you are interested in getting more light in a room you need to spread the light, not have 1600lm of glare from one point. That's why lower lumen 4 foot florescent bulbs truly light up a room.

Luckily candle-a-bras are usually grouped. So you may not need 800lm. I jog around my neightborhood at night and see ridiculously bright outdoor entryway lights. Instead of averting thieves, I think you just end up inviting them. It sure does invite me to jog closer since there's just more light.

Understood. I would, however, like to match whatever lumens were produced by the 60w incandescent candelabras that we compared the 60w "equivalent" LEDs to, side-by-side, because I can tell you that the 500 lumen, 60w "equivalent" LED candelabra bulbs are much dimmer -- and they made the round trip to the store pretty quickly (as in, wife not happy, no one's happy). If a truly equivalent bulb exists, I would just like to know what it is.

Thanks.

 

[stormkroe]

Understood. I would, however, like to match whatever lumens were produced by the 60w incandescent candelabras that we compared the 60w "equivalent" LEDs to, side-by-side, because I can tell you that the 500 lumen, 60w "equivalent" LED candelabra bulbs are much dimmer -- and they made the round trip to the store pretty quickly (as in, wife not happy, no one's happy). If a truly equivalent bulb exists, I would just like to know what it is.

Thanks.

The philips 330 lumen led candelabra is every bit as 'bright' as a 60 watt, 580 lumen incandescent. The difference is in directed lumens. The base of a candelabra nullifies lots of light (unless a really bright socket is useful to you). Opinions, opinions, right? Well, this is a small part of what I do, so I present to you, from my own dining room, a side by side:

I apologize for the washed-out-ness, it's really hard to capture this on my phone. All the lights are LED except the front-right that I changed out just for you. Note how the light band is wider. It's a bit more omnidirectional, but not brighter at all.
Hope this helps.

 

[trclac]

Interesting. Thank you for doing this for us. Perhaps I should do a comparison now with a newer LED bulb, as, admittedly, the comparison we did was some time ago.


Thanks again.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Your wife seems oddly particular about her bulbs. You'll get used to the brightness of whatever LED you end up with.

 

[trclac]

Your wife seems oddly particular about her bulbs.

Ha! You should try furniture shopping with her ... just to name one "experience". :biggrin:

 

[Scarpozzi]

I started with ebay and Amazon looking for my G25 LEDs (the only LEDs I run at this time). I needed 8 of them for 2 bathroom fixtures and waited until almost all of my incandecents burned out before placing my order... Amazon gave me good reviews and I found them for $4-5 per bulb on ebay. The manufacturer of those bulbs are FEIT....

They make these too, but I don't know how good they are. There may be other places to get them that aren't $18 a light. Some of the reviews say they're 500 lumens and not 800....so they may not be the best, but I've been pleased with the G25s I bought. I think the limiting factor here is the reduced size of the bulb.
http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Accent-500-Lumens-Candelabra/dp/B00F1BMPNI

 

[lupi]

I was looking at some LED ones but just got a couplke packs of incandescent. Bulbs didn't have a wattage on them so picked the ones in the middle that the store had (25w) and they are way brighter than what was there. I think even the 15w would have been very bright compared to before. 60w would be like sun surface.