GU10 light bulbs

RoseFairy · 24 September 2008 at 1:41PM

not sure if this is right thread
but can anyone suggest where i can buy ones that last....!

i bought the light set from argos which came with the bulbs and they all lasted about a year and since then i bought them from Homebase - which lasted about 6months - so i thought i'd now get them from Sainsburys, then got them from Tescos, then even Poundland - and on average (regard less of prices !) they have lasted only about 6-7months (which is why i didn't want to pay as much as at Homebase if they all lasted that long):mad:

I know it says on the packet say 2000hrs or 3000hrs - based on this and how much average lighting we have on - they shoudl last us a year.
Are they made to last only that long - i think the bayonet ones lasted over a year
I;m regretting getting these now....!

Has anyone experienced this and is it possible to find ones that last and a reasonable price ?

thanks

Premier_2 · 24 September 2008 at 2:20PM

I think traditional incandescent light bulbs are generally rated at only about 1000 - 2000 hrs

You are correct that GU10 halogen ones are rated about 2000 - 3000 hrs - even 'long life' ones are only rated at 4000 hrs
e.g. screwfix 64984-89 (35W) or 81816-89 (50W)

Have you considered using low energy LED replacements?
e.g These are only 1 W each and claim to last 30,000 - 50,000hrs
More expensive at about £5 each though, and like most energy saving lightbulbs, are not suitable for use with dimmer switches
http://www.reuk.co.uk/buy-240V-LED-SPOTLIGHT-BULB.htm

If you are interested, perhaps they are available elsewhere cheaper.

jd87 · 24 September 2008 at 2:37PM

These bulbs are a pain, not only do they go really quickly as you have said, but they are also very inefficient. As premier has suggested, you could replace them with LED bulbs. The problem with LED ones is that they aren't very bright. If you are looking to replace a 50W halogen bulb you will need to buy an LED bulb with about 60 individual LEDs in (the ones in the link above only have 20). These cost much more than £5 each and they are hard to find.

However the option I have gone for is GU10 CFL replacement bulbs. A normal 50W halogen GU10 can be replaced by an 11W CFL one and if you get the right ones they give off the same warm light (look at the colour "temperature", lower number = warmer, warm white = 2700K). These ones do cost about £5-6 and they last longer than the halogen ones. The only downside is that the bulb is longer in size than a normal GU10, but depending on where you want to put them it might not matter. I bought a few recently from ebay seller "strictlylamps", £5.49 each for an 11W one. Link to the ebay shop http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Strictly-Lamps-Shop

You might think £5 for a bulb is ridiculous, but they will easily pay for themselves over their lifetime in terms of electricity saved and not having to replace them so much.

1carminestocky · 24 September 2008 at 2:54PM

jd87 wrote: »

These bulbs are a pain, not only do they go really quickly as you have said, but they are also very inefficient. As premier has suggested, you could replace them with LED bulbs. The problem with LED ones is that they aren't very bright. If you are looking to replace a 50W halogen bulb you will need to buy an LED bulb with about 60 individual LEDs in (the ones in the link above only have 20). These cost much more than £5 each and they are hard to find.

However the option I have gone for is GU10 CFL replacement bulbs. A normal 50W halogen GU10 can be replaced by an 11W CFL one and if you get the right ones they give off the same warm light (look at the colour "temperature", lower number = warmer, warm white = 2700K). These ones do cost about £5-6 and they last longer than the halogen ones. The only downside is that the bulb is longer in size than a normal GU10, but depending on where you want to put them it might not matter. I bought a few recently from ebay seller "strictlylamps", £5.49 each for an 11W one. Link to the ebay shop http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Strictly-Lamps-Shop

You might think £5 for a bulb is ridiculous, but they will easily pay for themselves over their lifetime in terms of electricity saved and not having to replace them so much.

Aurora make low energy GU10 bulbs that are identical in length to the 'ordinary' ones they will be replacing. These can be picked up off ebay for about £7 each if you buy in bulk. HTH.

jd87 · 24 September 2008 at 3:05PM

1carminestocky wrote: »

Aurora make low energy GU10 bulbs that are identical in length to the 'ordinary' ones they will be replacing. These can be picked up off ebay for about £7 each if you buy in bulk. HTH.

Those do look good, but only the 7W ones seem to be of a comparable size, and 7W replaces 35W. In my experience most people need 50W. The aurora replacements for 50W are still quite big.

bristolleedsfan · 24 September 2008 at 8:11PM

powerRIP wrote: »

I bought a cheap bulk box of 10 spare bulbs and haven't needed to use any of them yet. .

Snap.

Whilst ive had 2 out of 4 go in a kitchen light, i havent got round to replacing them.

matty2767 · 24 September 2008 at 8:36PM

i had a strip light in the kitchen with 5x50w normal bulbs and replaced them with megaman bulbs. decided to go for the 5w version as it keeps the same profile as a 50w bulb. they do 7w and 9w i think but these are slightly longer. depends if you mind, you dont tend to look up at the ceiling anyway. they were quite expensive last september but should have come down by now. overall we have gone from 250w to 35w. they arent as bright but in our situation and having 5 in a relatively small areas they do the job. they take about 1 min to warm up fully and give the same/similar colour light to a normal bulb. infact i know you can select the k value depending on your colour preference

wildmandy · 25 September 2008 at 9:49AM

RoseFairy wrote: »

not sure if this is right thread
but can anyone suggest where i can buy ones that last....!

i bought the light set from argos which came with the bulbs and they all lasted about a year and since then i bought them from Homebase - which lasted about 6months - so i thought i'd now get them from Sainsburys, then got them from Tescos, then even Poundland - and on average (regard less of prices !) they have lasted only about 6-7months (which is why i didn't want to pay as much as at Homebase if they all lasted that long):mad:

I know it says on the packet say 2000hrs or 3000hrs - based on this and how much average lighting we have on - they shoudl last us a year.
Are they made to last only that long - i think the bayonet ones lasted over a year
I;m regretting getting these now....!

Has anyone experienced this and is it possible to find ones that last and a reasonable price ?
thanks

Your probablem might be when you insert them - DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH YOUR FINGERS! If you get finger marks/grease on them they will blow.
Mandy

RoseFairy · 25 September 2008 at 10:07AM

thanks for the suggestions.
i will research all the above links in time (hopefully b4 another bulb decides to go!).
firstly will try to keep kitchen cool and not get finger marks/grease on them - and will consider the bulb alternatives suggested - thanks!

JohalaReewi · 29 September 2008 at 12:42PM

jd87 wrote: »

....you could replace them with LED bulbs. The problem with LED ones is that they aren't very bright. If you are looking to replace a 50W halogen bulb you will need to buy an LED bulb with about 60 individual LEDs in...

LED bulbs with surface mounted diodes (SMD) are beginning to appear on the market. These have more LEDs and so are available in brighter versions but still keeping the same bulb size. Google enviro gu10 for suppliers. They also do MR16 versions. Website at
http://www.globalgreen.co.uk/index.php

Kaz2904 · 29 September 2008 at 12:56PM

I managed to pick up some for 50p each as my B&Q are having a big closing down sale. They only have around 20 LED's but they are guaranteed for 30000 hours. They do let off less light but as has been pointed out, many of the GU10 fittings have more than 1 bulb. I'm perfectly happy (so far shh!) with mine.

GU10 light bulbs

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