Replacing Lumiline light bulbs with LEDs

Other Types of Lights LED Light Bulbs
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Besides the Kitchen of the Gods (Hera halogen counter light Nichia 219 retrofit) the TechnoShack has the Hoity-Toity Dining Room Table of the Gods. It was designed and built in the 1950’s by noted designer and architect Leonard Haber (who was married to Jane Murchison, ex-wife of Clint Murchison of Dallas Cowboys fame). The table was built for their friend and family doctor.

So what’s a dining room table have to do with lights? Well, the table is built with three wells in the top. Each well contains two 60 watt lumiline lightbulbs. Well, what’s a Lumiline lightbulb you say? Well, they are long incandescent light bulbs that most people mistake for fluorescent bulbs. They were popular around the mid century and used in things like display cabinets, bathrooms, cove lighting, plaetariums, and the Hoity-Toity Dining Room Table of the Gods.

They are known for their warm, hypnotic glow, fragility, and short lifetime. They have a cult like following then and now. The bulbs have removable end caps on the ends and snap into sockets (hint, many people don’t realize the end caps are removable and throw them away with the bulbs).

Now, the thing about all good things is that they come to an end. Lumiline bulbs stopped being made around 10 years ago. If you can find one today, they sell for $100-$250 EACH! And due to the way that they are built, they don’t last long. A few hundred hours is doing good. The Hoity-Toity Dining Room Table of the Gods uses 6 of them. When I bought the Hoity-Toity Dining Room Table of the Gods I saw the writing on the wall and managed to score a couple of cases of them for cheap. But hey, why burn up 10+ grand of unobtainium bulbs (that will only go up in price)? Time to do an LED retrofit… if you do this mod right, the changes will be easily reversible in the unlikely even that Lumiline bulbs become available again or you win the lotto and go LumiCrazy.

To do this one needs some Lumiline endcaps (long since discontinued until somebody tooled up and started making them again a few years ago. You can use the clips on your current bulbs), some 7/8” diameter wooden dowel rods, some small wood screws and washers, and some warm white LED light strips (the ones with 120 leds per meter). The warmer the better. 2700K maximum, 2400L-2500K would be better, but you aren’t going to find them. . Beware that unscrupulous sellers will ship you whatever they have… I got 3000K and 5000K strips when I ordered 2700K. Also a 12V power supply capable of providing enough current to drive the LEDs. A 5 meter reel of LED light strip is enough to make three replacement bulbs. See my post The Tao of Chinese LED Strip Lights for some hints about buying and using LED light strips.

First figure out how long you need to cut the dowel rods to match your bulbs. The exact length will depend upon your end caps. Mine were 17.5 inches long. Drill a small hold in the center of each end cap. It needs to be big enough to pass the wood screw shaft. Hold the endcap onto the end of the dowel, and drill a smaller pilot hole for the wood screw into the dowel rod. Attach the end caps to the dowel rods with the wood screws and washer. Don’t overtighten… the end caps are brittle and will crack.

Next cut the LED light strips to length. I used 4 pieces 15 and 11/16” long. The strips must be cut on three LED increments. They are marked where it is safe to cut. Do your math and measuring carefully… a 5 meter reel only has a few inches to spare. Figure out where you want the LEDs to shine. You can position them on the dowels to optimize the light coverage in relation to the reflector /mounting/whatever. It doesn’t make much sense to waste LED light shining into reflectors or corners. LEDs are directional… let them shine where the light can get out. For omnidirectional coverage, you could use a single strip and spiral it around the dowels, but I used four pieces that were optimized for my table wells. Attach the self-stick light strips to the dowels:

Now carefully solder some copper wires to the inside of each lumiline light clip mounting tab (where it plugs into the socket, not where it clips to the bulb). You will need one wire for each strip on the dowel. I used some 2 inch long pieces of solid copper wire scavenged from some telephone wiring. Solder the other end of the wires to the contact spots on the LED strips. One end of the dowels will use the “+” spots, the other will use the ‘-’ spots. You are almost there…

The LED light strips run off of 12 volts, not 120 volts. You will need a 12 volt DC power supply. Each LED “bulb” that I made draws a little under 1 amp. If you are driving several bulbs and/or have thin wiring you may need some more voltage. I actually used a 15 volt/75 watt supply that was adjustable. I needed 14 volts at the supply to get 12 volts at the bulbs.

Wire the output of the 12V power supply to where the old 120V AC power came into the fixture (make damn sure you turned off the power first and totally disconnected the 120V power from the fixtures. If you don’t KNOW what you are doing, call an electrician. Even if you do know, it’s probably a good idea to consult an electrician). Wire the input of your power supply to the 120 volt AC line. Now install your new LED bulbs in the fixture and you should be good to go… If the bulbs don’t light, reverse them in the sockets. LEDs will only light up if the polarity is right:

Hoity-Toity Dining Room Table of the Gods with LED Lumiline bulbs:

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In the fifth picture above is the power supply that I used to drive the table. It is a 15V/75 watt supply made by Cosel. It is a really nice switching power supply. 0.98 power factor, <2 watt phantom power when idle. Very compact and efficient. It contains NO integrated circuits and only one resistor (to drive a power-on LED). All the magic is done with magnetics (inductors and transformers).

There is also a small LED dimmer board: http://www.dalewheat.com/news/12v-dimmer-kit-v2-now-available/ It can dim with either a pot or a push button. Here is the completed driver and power supply:

I use these dimmer boards for a lot of different stuff and have moded the heck out of them. This one is no different. I changed the firmware to add a timer feature.

The knob sets how bright you want the LEDs when the table is on. The push button controls the timer. For each short press of the button you get one hour of light. Hold it down and the light dims to a preset level. When the timer expires, the light also dims to that preset level. If the light is dimmed and you hold the button down, it comes on with the timer set to a programmed “long time”(I use three hours). If you turn the knob to adjust the light level, the timer is cancelled and the light stays on.

You can program the timer dim-down level and the “long button press” time into EEPROM. Turn the power off (the knob has a power switch on it), hold down the button, and apply power. This puts the dimmer into program mode. Set the desired dim-down level with the knob, tap the button once for each hour of light that you want, then hold the button down for over a second. This writes the values into EEPROM.

The table is near my back door. I have it programmed to dim down to 2% so that it acts like an entry light. The dimmer box sits on the floor. You can easily work the button with your foot.

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That’s a pretty fancy lookin’ table you got there! I want one!

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Nice work.
Maybe you could use an alloy foil between strip & wood, rather than placing them directly on wood.?

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Oh so many people do… anybody that sees it says that. Pictures do not do it justice. It is a one-of-kind hand crafted jewel made at a time when such things were possible. It came with a matching buffet (alas, no lights on it). I had to have the chairs reupholstered. The old coverings were falling apart.

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That is a possibilty. With my tests on some other lights, it might increase the light output by a few percent. Not really worth the trouble in this application. Also, the foil would not be nearly as adhesive as the 3M stickum used on the light strips.

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Nice replacement and that “Hoity-Toity” lighted table make a great display for sure has some nice glass.

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Yep, the hoity-toity glass is mostly Dale Chihuly stuff. Several are one-off’s and a couple are Portland Studios production stuff. One is a collaboration that he did with Lino Tagliopietra at a master class demonstration at Pilchuck Glass School that a friend of mine attended.

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Wow, you have some great motivation for great lighting.

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If you happen to be in Dallas before the end of the year, stop by the Dallas Arboretum. They have a great outdoor Chihuly exhibit. I need to stop by there with a large gunny sack one dark night… J)

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I must say, you are definitely a can-do kind of guy.

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Wow, very nice creation. The prices on those leds keep coming down. Making creating something like this more a matter of skill, knowledge, time, and bravery. Thank you for sharing this.

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Wow!!! What a decoration. I wish if I could make it. Really it is lovely.

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Great creativity, LED lighting for homes is the best method for interior home lighting today. LED lighting can be best option for interior lighting.

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Lumiline lamp or bulbs can easily be directly replaced;
We’ve developed LED direct replacement Lumiline bulbs in both sizes- 11.75” and 17.75”, in White, Frosted, Clear and Color Changing with remote control.

The color glow is similar to original glow, the bulbs last 30,000 to 50,000 hours as versus only hundreds of hours of the original from GE, Philips, Sylvania and Sato.

The prices are less than the prices of Old Stock that is available.

Info at … LumilineLives@yahoo.com

These are the facts:

> The Lumiline Bulb is a classic. Users are enthusiastic, almost cult-like…

> They have not been produced in decades.

> The inventory of used and new (NewOldStock) is drying up, hard to get
and unreliable.

> LumilineLives is a directly replaceable LED Lumiline that will outlast and
outperform the original.

> It looks as good or better and uses 10% - 20% of the energy;

> Similar Light warmth; creating a soft glow;

> Lower Wattage with same Lighting Intensity, about 4 watts per (60 watt equivalent) bulb;

> Indefinite lifetime as versus only hundreds of hours limited lifetime of
old bulbs;> each watt of these very highly efficient LED’s gets about 87.5 Lumens;

> because these bulbs are linear, the lighting is considerably more efficient than even a round LED bulb…all of the LED’s surfaces emit to target, not to each other.

> 40watt or 60watt or 100+watt equivalent, 10% - 20% of the energy, 120 volt AC
(other worldwide voltages available) Lumiline - Replacement lamp

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Good replacement :slight_smile:

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I just want to know that With my tests on some other lights, it might increase the light output by a few percent. Not really worth the trouble in this application. Also, the foil would not be nearly as adhesive as the . Led Strip Lights used on the light strips.