LED Oven bulb - available?

WIAWSNB

I see they 'exist', but do they function ok? Ie, a pygmy ses 25W-equivalent bulb for use in ovens, so 250oC plus.

Ta.

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656487/led-oven-bulb-available

There is a reason no manufacturer has switched to LED as standard fitment for oven lighting, third part sellers do supply them, I would not fit them.

WIAWSNB

Thanks. It did strike me as being unlikely, but they are being sold, and with a 1-year warranty. Mind you, a filament bulb lasts longer...

On-the-coast

I wouldn’t retrofit a led into an oven designed for incandescent.

If I recall correctly silicon diodes (the heart of leds) stop working in the region of 130c so the led would need to be better insulated from oven heat than a standard bulb.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895629#Comment_81895629

This surprised me - the bulb is shielded by a mica layer, and sits close to the MW top - which becomes warm in use, but never 'hot' (it's at the front, and where we often place a plate to get warmed up :-) )

So, I think I can safely say that the lamp does not get hot from the oven, and will be comfortably at below 100oC, so I'm going to chance an LED if I can get one bright enough. It should provide a better light than the pale orange glimmer of the filament…

WIAWSNB

Simples?

Of course not. The original bulb was not screwed in to a 'holder', but was a moulded part of it. Of course it was…

Had to break the old bulb out, remove the two spade connectors welded to it, bend and resolder these to the new LED, and drill out the holder to take it all.

A darned sight brighter than the original.

Worth doing? Only if (a) the bulbs are fitted into actual holders, so can be swapped in 5 seconds, and (b) the holder and bulb are fully outside the oven cavity and shielded like mine, so won't (shouldn't) get too hot.

chrisw

Is it just a microwave/grill type oven or a 'roasting' type? It should be fine in the first type but I can't see an led bulb surviving being roasted.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898508#Comment_81898508

It's a full roastin' type :-)

But, the space between the oven chamber and the outer case is fan-ventilated, and the bulb is not in any sense inside the oven chamber.

Even with the old filament bulb, albeit only 25W, the casing immediately above the lamp didn't get any more than 'quite warm', I guess 50oC-ish.

I really don't expect the new bulb to get anywhere near even 100oC.

But I'll monitor it...

TheElectricCow

Thanks for sharing, love the R959, it's a truly excellent appliance in my opinion. Have occasionally wondered how replaceable that bulb would be if it ever went in mine.

Probably wouldn't go down the LED route myself but it's certainly interesting to see how it's worked out in your case - I suspect you're be correct that it'll be okay, I think due to the design of this MW the filament bulb itself seems to produce more heat build up on the top than the MW/oven cooking functions do. Might be slightly more wary of any extended grilling sessions just due to the proximity of the grill to the bulb, but agree that area still isn't likely to reach 100c through normal use.

Might be interesting to take a peak through the thermal camera next time I dig it out, although with the external case fitted any distinct hot spots may not show so well.

molerat

Have occasionally wondered how replaceable that bulb would be if it ever went in mine.

The bulbs are fairly easily replaceable ……. but ……… with a special bulb which incorporates the bulb holder. Nothing difficult, just clicks out and pull the connectors off, but a lot more expensive than a standard oven bulb.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898604#Comment_81898604

Yes, it's as molerat says - dead easy, unplug, let it discharge tobesurtobesure, around 8 screws secure the casing (ask before doing this), and the bulb is integral to its holder, but dead easy to replace - you push a wee plastic tab, and rotate it out.

I forget how old my MW is, but that bulb failed simply due to age. The filament wires are soldered to the spade terminals with normal solder - ie my wee iron melted it nae bother. So that alone tells me the bulb doesn't get remotely close to 180oC when solder would begin to soften, even with the fan oven running at its max 250oC.

And, it's completely outwith the oven chamber, separated by a mica shield. And the cavity is fan-cooled - the casing never gets anywhere close to 'ouch' hot.

Yes, it's a beaut - we are on our third… It does most of our cooking due to its size.

(I've kept previous ones going by replacing the tt motor (a modified alternative as the Sharp one was silly money), replaced the door microswitches - these will fail at some point - and even one Magnetron. I don't think I've ever had to replace an oven or grill element.)