LED Bulb Failure and Cree Customer Service

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This thread was started a year ago. 450 and 800 lumen LED bulbs now cost about $2 at Walmart. Those are outputs to approximate 40 and 60 Watt bulbs. they also state that they can be used in enclosed fixtures. I picked a couple up for spares so can't comment on lifespan yet. The only LED bulbs I've paid $20 for are PAR38 size indoor floodlights and that was 2-3 years ago.
 
I have yet to find a 100W equivalent LED bulb at *reasonable* price. The 40W and 60W good quality bulbs are now dirt cheap when subsidized by the local utility company.

Heck, our local grocery store is selling the candelabra decorative bulbs for $2 which are well-made by Sylvania and are highly efficient 25W light at 4W draw! I have stocked them up. I have got three chandeliers which needs dozens of them.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
This thread was started a year ago. 450 and 800 lumen LED bulbs now cost about $2 at Walmart. Those are outputs to approximate 40 and 60 Watt bulbs. they also state that they can be used in enclosed fixtures. I picked a couple up for spares so can't comment on lifespan yet. The only LED bulbs I've paid $20 for are PAR38 size indoor floodlights and that was 2-3 years ago.


Same bulb I bought in 2014 is still $20 at Home Depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-100W-Equ...1U100/205054835


They quit making incandescent 100 watt bulbs. I'm sure there are some other brands out there.... and probably cheaper.
 
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Pop_Rivet, out of curiosity, how have you made out in terms of reliability with your fleet of household LEDs. Looks like it's been close to 2.5yrs.
 
I've had maybe 3 or 4 more cree bulbs fail since I commented a year ago. Cree has stood behind their product and replaced all but the most recent failed bulb that I haven't reported yet.
I'm Starting to feel bad about all the bulbs they've sent, but at $6-$9 a bulb one should expect the full rated life.
All the "4 flow" replacements they've sent seem fine. I was a little unimpressed by them at first with the all the plastic when the failed bulbs had coated glass globes with aluminum/ pot metal heat sinks. Hopefully they'll last more than 18-24 months.
 
I wonder if local weather plays a factor.


I actually consider the Cree and Feit, up here, as somewhere middle of the pack. They are extremely well priced with the local government incentives, however.
 
I am resurrecting this thread to pass on my experience with Cree customer service.

I purchased 45 of the Cree 60W equivalent LED bulbs from Home Depot pretty close to when they first were introduced, maybe 3 or 4 years ago. Until a couple of weeks ago, they had all performed flawlessly. Then I noticed one had failed in a bedroom ceiling fixture. When I removed the cover, I saw that all 3 bulbs had loose glass globes. The lights still worked, but the glass covering globes literally fell off.

I checked all the rest of the bulbs and found 34 bulbs had loose globes. That's a 75% failure rate! I called Home Depot and guess what? They declined to replace the bulbs because 1.) I didn't have a receipt, and 2.) "Cree's don't fail like that".

Fair enough. I emailed Cree half expecting a similar response, but they actually stood by their warranty. They sent me 34 replacements and also paid for Fedex Ground shipping for the defective bulbs. I had already purchased Philips bulbs to replace the Cree's ($7/4-pack!) but I will use the new Cree bulbs at the family lake house and my in-laws house.

I'm a little disappointed in the Cree bulb itself, but have to commend their customer service.
 
I too had a Cree fail and one shattered when I was unscrewing the bad one. To Cree's credit, they sent me two new bulbs. The new ones are made in China but looks like a newer generation bulb. The early Crees were Mexican-made and used a silicone-coated glass globe. The LED array, power supply and heatsink were bonded to it. I can take a pic and upload it.
 
I saw it was a Pop_Rivit post and about had a heart attack thinking he was back
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Originally Posted By: lyle
... That's a 75% failure rate! I called Home Depot and guess what? They declined to replace the bulbs because 1.) I didn't have a receipt, and 2.) "Cree's don't fail like that"..


Like you found out, you usually have to go through the manufacturer and not where you bought the lamps. I do recall years ago having a CFL indoor floodlamp that was quite expensive stop working within weeks. HD swapped it out for me no problem, but it was one bulb and in a short period of time.

OTOH, I've had whole lighting fixtures (fluorescent, metal hallide, etc), electric space heaters, etc fail after a year or more and after contacting the manufacturers online, they mailed me new stuff no further questions asked and I didn't have to mail them the defective items back.
 
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