The online prices for the 3-way bulbs have dropped to half what you paid but they are still going to be way more expensive since it is 3 bulbs in one. A single bulb just requires a driver and the LEDs so is cheap to make but a 3 way bulb has 3 separate sets of LEDs and the wiring to go with it.
I’m surprised a California dweller hasn’t discovered that the 99-cent-only store (a large southwestern chain of “dollar” stores) is now stocking LED bulbs. I’m not a fan of the A19 bulb with the E27 base because almost all of them are designed with a circular plate with the LEDs mounted on the plate. This one looks like it uses an IC driver in the center of the plate.
Space limits the number of LEDs so most of these bulbs were rated 3W or 5W which didn’t give off enough light for my uses. I bought a couple of them several years ago for $2 each but finally gave them away and replaced them with “corn bulbs” bought online from China. There is also a great difference in the type of LED. They go from SMD 2835, 5050, 5630, and 5730 which refer to the dimensions of the chip. It also goes from dimmest to brightest and least efficient to most efficient in the same order. A corn bulb is shaped like an ear of corn with the LEDs around a cylinder and at the top so you get about 270 degree coverage and can use a clear envelope for the bulb for maximum useful light. This 10W bulb is $2.25 with free shipping. Zero failures for these lights in 3 years.
Newbie here,
Thanks for all the info on Dollar Tree. I went to 6 stores in my area and found the Globe 2 pack of 800 Lum. 9.5w at 4 of them, the Sunbeam 800Lum. 9W at all 6 and a 800Lum. 8W that has not been mentioned her yet at 4 of them. It is distributed by Greenbrier International . All 3 are rated at 3000K. So far I only have the Phillips “lollipop” type bulbs to compare as I found them on sale at HD for under 2 bucks each a year ago.
Quick stats are
Phillips 800Lum 10.5W 2700K. 984g. dimmable not for enclosed fixtures no direct exposure to water/ damp locations ok. Got them for my ceiling fan as it has a built in dimmer and these were the cheapest dimmable I could find.
Globe LED for life 800Lum 9.5W 3000K 746g. non dim. ok for enclosed fixtures ans damp locations. ( this bulb has a much taller profile than a standard A19 and could be a problem in tight fixtures )
Sunbeam 800Lum 9W 3000K. 506g. non dim, ok for enclosed fixtures and damp locations. ( lightest bulb by far. not likely to have much heat sink)
Greenbrier Int. 800Lum 8W 3000K 658g. non dim. ok for enclosed fixtures and damp locations ( lowest power use. The bulb itself is marked with a fs inside a G logo and the word BRICHIPS next to it, JX-QP08-30)
All carry the UL mark. The Globe is the whitest by far and is at least 3000K, IMO. The other 3 are more yellow and closer to the 2700K of the Phillips, IMO. They all seem to put out equal light.
Cost wise the Greenbrier at 1.00 will still come in cheaper than the Globe at 50 cents if both last at least 3 years of average use due to lower power usage of the Greenbrier.( .96 per year vs 1.14 per year)
The Greenbrier is packaged almost identical to the Sunbeam in a pasteboard box with a pasteboard socket holder in the bottom. I will try to upload a photo once I figure out what way is required on this site.
I still have over 10 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores in my area to try ( both are now owned by same company and are stocked the same) and am hoping to find the FEIT 800LUM. 3 packs and the Sunbeam 1600LUM. bulbs in my area.
Anyone know of a good source for 60W and 100W equivalent dimmable bulbs? I have one ceiling fan that uses one large bulb instead of several smaller wattage ones and a couple with exposed bulbs where the “lollipop” type look odd.
Now on to my search for 4 foot fluorescent tube replacements. I need to swap out several fixtures and the lowest price for a complete LED fixture is 28.00 at SAMS CLUB. (4500 LUM) so far I have found a couple od tube replacements in the 2500 to 2700 LUM. range that will run about 20 bucks per fixture but the fixture needs to be modified. 4500LUM quick and easy or 5400Lum with some rewiring. Any thoughts? (maybe I should start a new thread for this.)
I would swap out the 3 way socket for a 1 way standard type and put a dimmer instead of the wall switch. A wall dimmer is about the same cost as a new 3 way LED and then all you need is a 100W equiv. dimmable bulb for the lamp. For a few dollars more, they have remote control dimmer switches so you could change brightness from the lamp location.
VWPIECES, here is a replacement lamp socket that has a built in LED compatible dimmer. It replaces the 3 way socket of your lamp and is about the same size. reported to work with most dimmable LEDs that work with electronic dimmers. It is not a simple rheostat type that only works with incandescent bulbs. It is a name brand Leviton product and rated at 150Watts max so you could even put a 150 watt equivalent bulb in it since that would only draw about 20 watts. Its 17.00 on Amazon but likely can be found for less at other sites.
I should pay better attention when I am weighing something. My digital scale was set for grains, not grams when I did my bulb weigh in. ( gn should have been my 1st clue…)
the correct weights in grams is as follows:
Sunbeam 800 is 32.8g
Greenbriar 800 is 42.5g
Globe 800 is 48.4g
Phillips 800 is 63.7g
I have all 4 types now in high use locations to evaluate them and will post any failures or other info.
My local “99cent only store” had 800 lumen and 1000 lumen flood lights today. The package said CR>90. Price was $.9999 (so they always get the extra penny) per bulb. Of course the package also said “Not for sale outside of California. Subsidized by California utilities.” It’s not the first time I saw this. Another dollar store in town had humongous CFLs on sale for a dollar and with the same type of notice that they were subsidized by a CA utility. The guy behind me had 6 of them in his cart. He said the 1000 lumen floods would not fit in a regular size outdoor flood holder. They also have a lot of the regular LED bulbs for a dollar each.
If you really like LED bulbs, give a try to the corn bulbs or better yet, the chip-on-board bulbs fashioned like CFLs. I think they did the COBs shaped like CFLs because US consumers get freaked out by anything radically different from the familiar round bulb or the CFL shape.
Here are a couple of images of the 800 Lumen 8 watt bulb we have at most of our Dollar Trees. I listed its specs above: ( I can’t get the photos to link for some reason so I just put the url )
Question about how to insert an image. on my post above, I loaded the image up to imgur.com and then tried to insert the url as a image but it did not display as a photo. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?
Also an update on the 800 lumen bulbs I bought at Dollar Tree. one of the Globe LED for life bulbs has started flickering randomly a couple of minutes after its turned on. The other 2 brands seem to be holding up ok so far.
Still searching for the 1600 lumen ones that a couple of you have found. For now I think I will get a few more of the 8 watt Greenbrier bulb as its the lowest power one I have found and gives of just as much light as the 9 or 9.5 watt ones.
I have been to 12 Dollar Tree stores so far and will be hitting another 6 to 8 this weekend on a trip down south. I hope to find the Sunbeam 100 or 75 watt equivalent ones or something like those, Also hoping to find some dimmable ones but not holding my breath. I was told by an employee that they just started getting the 800 lumen Sunbeam bulbs a couple weeks ago. Has anyone else seen bulbs larger than 800 lumens lately at Dollar Tree?
that’s what I did and the images still didn’t show up. maybe they are to large or something. I will try a few things later to see if changing the size or other changes might fix the issue. Thanks
ahh, the trick is adding .jpg, thanks so much. I was just using the link that imgru was showing next to the photo that doesn’t include .jpg.
I have now gone to 19 dollar tree locations and have only found the 3 bulbs noted in my 1st post above. Still hoping for some of the 100 watt
or 75 watt replacement type found by some. I will go by the stores once or twice a week for a while and see if they start stocking them as well.
You can order them if you dollar tree does not have them, Free shipping if you pick them up at the store.You have to order several, maye a dozen at a time. But I love these so much more than what I had before from Sam’s club that were about $6 each. These are a more realist light and some on instantly.
@ WSM990, Dollar Tree online does not list the 100w version. I have looked several times. Not wanting to spend the $5-6 per bulb that the 100w equivalent bulbs cost around me. I asked one of our fine members here (perhaps the OP of this thread?) to sell me a dozen. He was kind enough to help me out. Meanwhile, I’m still looking for a local source for these.
I am sorry if I mislead you but am glad you got them. I had asked at my local Dollar Tree if I could order things not in their online book and was told if had them in the store or could get them, I could get them to order for me at the store. That may not be the case, since it was a clerk and not a manager that told me that. But I really like the bulbs and have had them about 7 or 8 months and they are still going strong. I shop at the Dollar Tree for a lit of things and have been satisfied with everything I have gotten there so far.
I know that this thread was necrobumped by a spammer, but I just want to say that I really like the $1 LED light bulbs at Dollar Tree, and I should buy some more the next time I'm out there.
Hey Raccoon, FWIW I also took the OP’s advice and bought a bunch of these, with great results! dchomac also sold me a bunch of high CRI bulbs he acquired from another east coast overstock store. I now light my whole home with them. Very kind of him to help me out, too bad we haven’t heard from him in almost 3 years. He added good value to BLF…
if these are the sunbeams, yes they do have a nice tint, slightly warm daylight
i got a bunch about 3 years ago when my dollar store had them at 2/1$ (possibly subsidized by Georgia Power or the state)
they worked fine til they didn;t
now 3 years later about 30% of them have passed away
they got flickering fever and died
This one looks like it uses an IC driver in the center of the plate.
This 10W bulb is $2.25 with free shipping. Zero failures for these lights in 3 years.
