A very pleasant evening spent crushing and hacking some very similar looking LED lamps from different brands.
If you have a go at crushing the plastic, then make extra sure it's not glass, plastic coated glass or hard brittle plastic, to avoid getting cut. Gloves might be a good idea.
The live stream channel I mentioned can be found here:-
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClIzWmVzGPm2zhNT2XZ-Rkw
It's best thought of as a weekly pub meeting for technical people.
The hack involves the current sensing resistors. As the LED current flows through them the voltage across them rises up until it reaches a threshold where the circuitry effectively increases its resistance until a current balance is reached. Sometimes there's one resistor, but often there are two in parallel to allow fine tuning of the current. By dismembering one you can make the lamp run at much lower current and temperature. This makes the lamp run more efficiently and it will also last much longer than in its original form.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
If you have a go at crushing the plastic, then make extra sure it's not glass, plastic coated glass or hard brittle plastic, to avoid getting cut. Gloves might be a good idea.
The live stream channel I mentioned can be found here:-
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClIzWmVzGPm2zhNT2XZ-Rkw
It's best thought of as a weekly pub meeting for technical people.
The hack involves the current sensing resistors. As the LED current flows through them the voltage across them rises up until it reaches a threshold where the circuitry effectively increases its resistance until a current balance is reached. Sometimes there's one resistor, but often there are two in parallel to allow fine tuning of the current. By dismembering one you can make the lamp run at much lower current and temperature. This makes the lamp run more efficiently and it will also last much longer than in its original form.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
Pinkulator
So how much power is wasted in those power supplies with linear regulators compared to actual led power consumption?
I just put a flat head screwdriver in the joint and give it a gentle tap with a hammer – pops right off.
would it be possable to take these and chain them togather to make long light shop bar … like {ooooooooo} how would someone go about that
Great video, Thanks Clive.
Not to spoil the fun but why not buy higher output bulbs and use a dimmer?
Hey bigclive, how much mA would the leds run at with a 16 ohm resistor with a RM9003B TO-252 ic chip? I want to run the leds close to 90mA
This is brilliant. Thank You!
And I thought I was a light bulb hoarder… LOL
Could you modify an amazon basics light? I took one apart, and the circuit board is removable from the power supply bit without soldering. It uses pins that the led circuit board slides down onto. The power supply is in the usual spot, but I'm not sure how I would modify this. The bit I'm having trouble with is how would do I get the connections back onto the light? Should I just use new longer wire(so that it's easier to do (for me))? I have it apart, and the board looks nice… For being so cheap. There are a part of 15 ohm resistors one on each rail. Also, the bottom of the board is very shiny, like they sprayed the whole thing with flux. I'd like to share a picture, or a short video of it, if you'd like to see it.
A 40W bulb with 6 cob(i'm guessing) LEDs.
Thank you, I just hacked a Philips lamp from 11 to 5,5 W. The base remains hot though.
try using isopropyl alcohol (in a spray bottle) to get the cover off un damaged
i had one with some kind off hot glue
Neat. Was having a chat with a classmate earlier about this very topic, and now I have a 4.1 watt lightbulb instead of an 8.2 watt one. Not many times in my life has the first attempt ended in anything but disaster.
Kind of annoying that this was a reasonably nice and not cheap lightbulb from a reputable manufacturer yet they were driving 16 (presumably 0.5 watt) led chips right at their max rating. I guess at least they weren’t overdriving them like they do in some of the really cheap ones.
Edit: The very next day, tried to do it to another bulb and instead did some unintentional bloodletting.
Hey Clive! Here's a conundrum for you! We have three phase supply here in Portugal. When we have a thunderstorm, twice now, the same 6 LED wall light has blown DESPITE being switched OFF! WTF???
If one of the LEDs burn out, can you just short out that LED and keep using the light bulb or will it be a hazard?