LED high bay retrofit lamps

[JFletcher]

Hal, you mentioned Decora switches... Worst switch ever. I'd be willing to bet that if you rock the switch from side to side or from corner to corner, you would see the lights flicker.

One of the craziest switch troubleshoots I was on was a few years ago, with two 3-way switches controlling a hallway light. switches work fine for about 8 Cycles, then the hallway light stayed on regardless of either switch's position.

Long story short, both three ways were bad and it was only found by accident when I pressed on one at the corner of the switch, rather than the center, and broke the contacts inside the switch causing the hallway light to go off. Also have replaced Decora switches on higher amperage loads like garbage disposals.

I have noticed a tendency with homeowners to smack a Decora switch with the palm of their hand, rather than operate them with their fingers. not saying that is your exact problem, however I have definitely included it as part of my troubleshooting protocols.

 

[WarrMann]

I stand corrected, you bought generic garbage from a wholesale distributor.

A little bit of decorum, Pete. We're all here to help each other.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[peter d]

A little bit of decorum, Pete. We're all here to help each

Thanks millennial forum mom. :happyno:

 

[WarrMann]

Thanks millennial forum mom. :happyno:

Now we're throwing insults, classy guy. I get the feeling pete works alone cause pete can't work with others. Im no forum mom, just a guy on here who has respect for his fellow posters. Something i think my mom would be proud of.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[kwired]

Hal, you mentioned Decora switches... Worst switch ever. I'd be willing to bet that if you rock the switch from side to side or from corner to corner, you would see the lights flicker.

One of the craziest switch troubleshoots I was on was a few years ago, with two 3-way switches controlling a hallway light. switches work fine for about 8 Cycles, then the hallway light stayed on regardless of either switch's position.

Long story short, both three ways were bad and it was only found by accident when I pressed on one at the corner of the switch, rather than the center, and broke the contacts inside the switch causing the hallway light to go off. Also have replaced Decora switches on higher amperage loads like garbage disposals.

I have noticed a tendency with homeowners to smack a Decora switch with the palm of their hand, rather than operate them with their fingers. not saying that is your exact problem, however I have definitely included it as part of my troubleshooting protocols.

I believe "Decora" is Leviton's trademarked name for said line of devices. You find this applies to Leviton specifically or to other "Decorator" style devices from other companies as well? I mostly use P&S switches and have not had the problems you mentioned. Back in 1990's I got turned off by Levition particularly on their residential grade single pole toggle switches. would get a box of 10 and have maybe 5-7 of them have a crack in the back housing. IDK, some quality control issues suddenly came up? If you installed them and they worked initially, you could bet you would be later getting a service call when they failed - usually within weeks of installation. Went to P & S and have had very few failures, especially in first 5 years of use anyway.

 

[peter d]

Now we're throwing insults, classy guy. I get the feeling pete works alone cause pete can't work with others. Im no forum mom, just a guy on here who has respect for his fellow posters. Something i think my mom would be proud of.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

story.

 

[JFletcher]

I believe "Decora" is Leviton's trademarked name for said line of devices. You find this applies to Leviton specifically or to other "Decorator" style devices from other companies as well? I mostly use P&S switches and have not had the problems you mentioned. Back in 1990's I got turned off by Levition particularly on their residential grade single pole toggle switches. would get a box of 10 and have maybe 5-7 of them have a crack in the back housing. IDK, some quality control issues suddenly came up? If you installed them and they worked initially, you could bet you would be later getting a service call when they failed - usually within weeks of installation. Went to P & S and have had very few failures, especially in first 5 years of use anyway.

They were Leviton. I have noticed that their older standard grade snap switches will audibly arc and pop when the switch handle is cocked sideways in the least, especially when the switch is slowly moved from the off to on position.

I would presume that the problems I've noted with Decora switches are due to the much greater surface area and thus sideways torque that can be applied. I have not noted the problems with other brands, however my troubleshooting now includes the above-mentioned wiggles and cycling, especially when three ways are involved, or the switch has to turn on something like a motor load for a garbage disposal.

 

[hbiss]

P&S is kind of hard to come by here so I'm stuck with Leviton, though I use spec grade whenever I can. One thing I notice is that they never turn off "cleanly" meaning that the contacts will bounce off then back on for a split second then finally off. 3-ways especially.

-Hal

 

[chris1971]

View attachment 21557 We "upgraded" a dozen of our 400 watt metal halide high bay lights in our shop with LED retrofit lamps where you remove the ballast and extend the line voltage to the mogul base lamp socket. After about a year, they are failing, some flicker, all are becoming dim and changing to a yellowish color. I was surprised at this happening, and wondered if others had similar experiences. The lights are fed with 208 volts, and the lamps are rated 120 - 277 volts. I had inquired if the 208 volt supply was appropriate, and my supplier stated that they should operate normally. Any thoughts or experiences to share?

Are they covered by a warranty? If so, see if you can get them replaced. If something fails in less than a year, I don’t hesitate to return it and get another one.

 

[zog]

I just had 20 new LED high bays installed this morning in my shop, new fixtures were the same price as a retrofit and according to my guy come with less issues. They look great.

 

[Madmat276]

The picture

The picture

Judging By the picture you posted they are over heating. Look at the fins at the back of the light. This will kill any LED light that needs to vent heat in the long run.