The shocking truth about cheap LED 'corn cob' lamps

Comments mentioning China Export will be marked as spam automatically, because it's horseshit. Commenters trying to use alternative characters to bypass the spam filter get muted from the entire channel.

If you're thinking of buying cheap LED lamps, whether it be online or from the local market, this video is for you! Of the six "corn cob" style LED lamps tested here, only ONE could be considered safe to use. Watch the video, know what to look for in a safe bulb and know the risks associated with the dangerous ones!

Some details left out of the video:
At 50mA-100mA, ventricular fibrillation (very rapid uncoordinated contraction of the ventricles of the heart) is possible.
Hand-to-hand body resistance of an adult lies between 1,000 and 4,000 ohms, depending on moisture, muscular structure and voltage. The average value is 2,100 ohms at 240V AC.
(source: Basic Industrial Electricity: A Training and Maintenance Manual, Kenneth G. Oliver, p156)
If your resistance at the lower end of the scale the current will be higher and the 100-200mA range is where you're at highest risk of fibrillation (and CPR won't fix fibrillation, you need a defibrillator for that).

Apologies if some of it sounds a bit scripted, that's because it IS scripted to stop me rambling quite as much as usual, I'm trying to strike a balance between brevity and detail here, and it's tricky!

If you want more information about what's inside the lamps, please take a look at my earlier video:-

Not interested in corn cob lamps? Mains LED spotlamps are just as bad! Check out Julian Ilett's video:-

[JulianIlett]

Very well presented expose of dangerous LED lights, and your willingness to name and shame is admirable

[quantumleap]

All this testing proves once again that the "CE" mark means "can electrocute".LOL

[jonathandoetry]

This doesn't even cover how the driver circuits are intentionally designed poorly. This leads to bulbs with perfectly good diodes that last you even less time than your standard incandescent.

[monstercolorfunco]

I wonder if they are pulse driven fast enough that it doesnt make eye movement inaccurate for reading.

[scivids]

Very, very good video! You and Julian Ilett are doing the world a great service

[hsbs]

Thanks for the heads up. I always turn power off to the light socket when changing bulbs just for this reason. I was not aware of the real danger that these present. It also explains why I haven't seen any UL stickers on these.

[flyrobin]

This is news worthy ...thank you for your demo . You may have saved my life.I buy lots of leds for different projects, I will be testing any high voltage led I buy and send it back or put guards on them (depends on the heat generated). Again thank you.

[trailkeeper]

In the US here, they are mainly pushing the CFL bulbs still, I havent seen much LED available, not even at the economy "Dollar Stores". When things switched over to CFL and the new low power TV's, the electric bills went up because there was such a decrease in the amount of power being used and the electric company had employees and stocks to pay, so they had to increase the rates. Didn't actually save any money in the long run, only those that were quick enough to use them first.

[TheArmchairgm]

Your point is valid, however, I'll raise this point-if I make a purchase of a cob off, say Amazon and not Ebay, I make the purchase confident that Amazon is not going to put their name on a deathbulb- why would they risk their good name and reputation doing that? So your point is good, only the "electrically inclined" should be trying to diy it.

[coreyperez]

Awesome, I appreciate the information.  I've just started switching over to these bulbs.  I'm glad I've been buying the protected versions.

Corey

[KielanGaming]

I'm paranoid (because of shocks received tinkering with electronics in my teens) and always wear insulating gloves when handling any electronics and make sure the light switch is off before installing, I also make sure my light fixture is metal so even if there is a failure fire cannot occur, so far touch wood never had problems with Chinese LED bulbs. Definately not a good idea to use them on anything but ceiling lights where no one but adults can touch them.

[brentbrown]

Frankly, I've had incandescent light bulbs break when inserting and removing them, which also exposes you to possible contact with mains voltage.
So I always turn off the light switch before changing bulbs.
Cheap LED, incandescent, or CFL, problem solved.

[random-zrjx]

Thanks i was going to buy one but have soon changed my mind. Have you done a vid on the high power cfl bulbs 125w, 250w . They have a tendency to set fire

[BoomBoxDeluxe]

Aaaah, even more pants. :-( These shouldn't be allowed on sale. Like you say, if you had an earthed fitting in one hand with that corn-cob lamp in the other and it was plugged into a live socket, it wouldn't just be that lamp which lights up! :-O

We've all done You change the lamp, thinking the fitting is off, and hey presto, as if by magic, the bulb lights up in your hand as it's pressed into the lampholder.

_"That's bizarre, I thought I turned that off!"_

It happens most with pull-cord operated lights, like the one in the bathroom, as there's no visual status of the switch, followed by the two-way-switched light upstairs.

With lights that are operated by one switch (like in a bedroom) at least there's some way of determining the position of the switch, but even can fail!

Nah, I AIN'T HAVIN' IT!!! I can feel some poppage coming WANT FLAAAAMES! :D

If you're not going to send these to Trading Standards (or Mr. photon :D) then please do something flammable with them, just for the LOLz and the sssatisfaction of seeing and hearing them pop.

Why have a _"flame effect"_ lamp when you can have a lamp with REAL FLAAAAMES?! :D

Yes, it is a shocker that these are being sold. Those who designed these and then made them obviously have no ideas on the basic principles of electricity and electrical safety.

Thanxx for showing. I am sure it took a long time to set up all that equipment and to do all the video editing! :-)

-BoomBoxDeluxe.

_17th March 2014, 12.55_

[Catswhiskerdetector]

Could you test the radio interference that these things put out on for example A philips led bulb i bought a while back is completely quiet when the radio is 1 meter away.

[moeshickenyay]

Wow thanks for the demonstration, just got one of these corn cob led lights, and now know how potentially dangerous they are thanks to your video. Probably saving some lives, not sure how they can sell these things if there so dangerous.

[MrSenorhappy]

Great video exposing the dangers of cheap led lights, not worth the risk if you have kids or if they arent in a enclosed fixture.

[TheFlyingJanner]

The legal position:
If you are a manufacturer it is your responsibility to:

carry out the conformity assessment
set up the technical file
issue the EC Declaration of Conformity (DoC)
place CE marking on a product
If you are a distributor you must check the presence of both the CE marking and the necessary supporting documentation.

If you are importing a product that is from a third country you have to check that the manufacturer outside the EU has undertaken the necessary steps. You must check that the documentation is available.

So the distributor of these is liable...

[bobhatcher]

Excellent review, a real eye opener, thanks.

[afc]

Unfortunately a lot of these sellers are simply buying oem chinese products to resell, so it really doesn't matter if the sellers are based in places like the uk. And of course they'll print the CE marks without actual certification.