LED Bulbs for Older Strip Lights?

stagebuilder

stagebuilder

Member
Hello, I've been asked to help with a grade school's lighting in their small but functional theatre. There are two huge strip lights (I use that term loosely because these cannot be taken down easily and they are huge, 24' long, all one piece.) hung downstage and mid stage. These strips are 3 channel each with 8 bulbs per channel, 24 bulbs total. I'd like to use the strips since they cover a lot of area but I'm wondering if anyone has found a good LED bulb that hopefully would dim smoothly with Lepercon ULD-360 tree dimmers. Currently there are three tree dimmers total and not a lot of other instruments, I think there are 9 500 6" fresenls and some smaller DJ lighting.
Any recommendations for LED bulbs?
 
Unfortunately not a chance if dim smoothly really means that. Mains dimming retro fit LED lamps just can't dim smoothly to and from full out with really good dimmers.

A good idea, but as many have discovered, not yet.
 
First on the strip lights is safety and wiring details on use of them.

Leaving that aside, there is a difference between A-19 and A-21/A-23 lamps that might be designed for the light verses what you might be intending to install in them. You might need to buy a snot load of lamp socket extenders for the strip lights so as to convert. Done this in the past - the older the fixture, the more likely you will have to do that.

I was a huge fan of the Osram #18970 100A/HAL/F halogen A-19 lamp for strips. Too bad they are discontinued. Were I doing this today, I would certainly go LED A-19 to A-21 LED lamps with a 100w equiovent output/dimmable. Any number of lamp manufacturers maker a dimmable LED lamp at this point and I cannot recommend a best.

Standard stage lighting dimmer doing the dimming... how well will it dim them without a dummy load? You probably in lamps/circuit don't have at least 75w for normal concerdation. There is commercial dummy load gear you can buy and install as if a wall dimmer in loading the dimmer, or resistors you can install wIhich will do the same thing. That and just putting say a Inkie in a closet will add resistance to load.

How well each brand of lamp reacts to a normal stage dimmer (not LED dimmer) will very with the lamp, but the goal is still going to be a start in testing with a resistance loading on it.

No general rule of what is going to work best, and what might even in best conditions be choppy, flicker some or not dim right or start up at low dimmer level. It probably can be done and work decentlyi. Wait perhaps until 4th generation in LED technology to work really well? LED's improve every year.
 
I was considering the same thing, and got good advice under the thread “Another BR40 LED retrofit question”. I never followed through and am still interested in the subject.

Ship, for the dummy load, would one incandescent at the end of the strip help?
 
Then someone replaces one lamp with some other brand/model/batch and they all start flickering and bouncing wildly.

I've had major brand, tested, recommend lamps on top quality dimmers tested and recommended by the dimmer maker, go nuts when a light elsewhere in the building was dimmed. Nothing worked but changing the dimmer type. Still doesn't dim really well, no light show.

I'm 200% with @BillConnerFASTC it's just not worth the trouble.
 
A change of batch causing problems is very interesting given non series wired. Very interesting a different batch or even different generation of lamp can cause a problem assuming parallel wiring. But yes possible something put into the system will completely throw it off. Great point!
 
Now that we have LED "illuminating devices" all over the place, shall we call them "LAMPS"? After all, they're not the good ol' bulb-base-filament LAMPS. I don't think "bulbs" is proper--there's a lot more to them than the bulb.
 
Some LED lamps have bulbs around them. Illuminaries one might consinder them as per machine but perhaps not defied as a classic lamp. "LAMPS" a good definition but not persay term that defines it normally. Not aware of a better term though for led than LAMP. Very good work above in defining a standard.
 
This belongs in its own thread. It certainly does beg the question of what terms apply to solid state and in particular LED luminaires.

I would consider the retrofit piece that goes into a socket an LED bulb, regardless of shape. Lamp has generally by definition been the whole device - bulb (or wick or mantle) with socket and globe. So to call a Chauvet Ovation a lamp seems correct. Its also a luminaire. I always liked Tom Skelton's term - "focusing unit" - for theatre and light plots.

I just hope terms don't morph inn a way that makes liars out of those who preceded us or even those of us still around who started long ago, perhaps before LEDs were even invented. (No. I've never worked gas or oil lights save once, but plenty of pre-tungsten halogen cycle lighting. My gas light experience was one venue where I designed, built, and installed propane foot lights for a scout camp, partially in rebellion to the unnatural look of ellipsoidals in trees, at a Scout camp.)
 
BillConnerFASTC said:
This belongs in its own thread. It certainly does beg the question of what terms apply to solid state and in particular LED luminaires.

I would consider the retrofit piece that goes into a socket an LED bulb, regardless of shape. Lamp has generally by definition been the whole device - bulb (or wick or mantle) with socket and globe. So to call a Chauvet Ovation a lamp seems correct. Its also a luminaire. I always liked Tom Skelton's term - "focusing unit" - for theatre and light plots.

I just hope terms don't morph inn a way that makes liars out of those who preceded us or even those of us still around who started long ago, perhaps before LEDs were even invented. (No. I've never worked gas or oil lights save once, but plenty of pre-tungsten halogen cycle lighting. My gas light experience was one venue where I designed, built, and installed propane foot lights for a scout camp, partially in rebellion to the unnatural look of ellipsoidals in trees, at a Scout camp.)
Click to expand...

And anytime you can add more fire to a Scout camp is a win.
 
I am excited to report that I recently re-lamped my auditorium with TCP 17W dimmable LED PAR 38s - which would fit in many strip light fixtures. There's a tiny amount of flicker, but quite acceptable to me and my boss when you consider that we went from 12,000ish total watts down to 1,500ish. Originally I was using 8 dimmers but had my Classic Sensor rack rewired so the house lights are on 2 dimmers (can control the wall wash lights separately from the down lights or would have gone to 1 - walls were too bright!!!) and gave myself 6 new dimmer circuits on a mult coming out of the rack. 2700 degree K and I went with 25 degree for the downlights and 40 degree for the walls. A very exciting project for sure! Have been looking for years!!!! Not perfect, but quite acceptable compared to Phillips and Sylvania's dimmable LEDs, which are horrible.
 
lorilights said:
I am excited to report that I recently re-lamped my auditorium with TCP 17W dimmable LED PAR 38s - which would fit in many strip light fixtures. There's a tiny amount of flicker, but quite acceptable to me and my boss when you consider that we went from 12,000ish total watts down to 1,500ish. Originally I was using 8 dimmers but had my Classic Sensor rack rewired so the house lights are on 2 dimmers (can control the wall wash lights separately from the down lights or would have gone to 1 - walls were too bright!!!) and gave myself 6 new dimmer circuits on a mult coming out of the rack. 2700 degree K and I went with 25 degree for the downlights and 40 degree for the walls. A very exciting project for sure! Have been looking for years!!!! Not perfect, but quite acceptable compared to Phillips and Sylvania's dimmable LEDs, which are horrible.
Click to expand...

I can understand finding these acceptable for a house light but still wonder if over stage for production lighting they be acceptable. TCP is one of teh best I found - but I used it for one facility and it was great; specified same lamp 6 months later and nit was not at all good. They had changed the design and it no longer dimmed well at all. So be careful with what you find later and buy a few for attic stock with the original purchase.
 
Ibid on the above possible and adding a dummy load if it happens is a good technique. Going to LED dimmers and experts to design the proper solution in seeing the details often free in at least getting a quote. Every year LED options and control of them changes. Glad you are and found a working solution to older strips though. Still a caution on using older strip lights.
 
So I went to Costco and purchased 48 BR30 dimmable LED floods. Total cost was about $170. The bulbs fit into the sockets and since they were only 10 watts each, I was able to gang each circuit onto one dimmer of the Leprecon packs without any load issue. Since there was very little heat, if any, I was able to tape primary color gels on the corresponding circuit frames. The bulbs are sold in a 4-pack, and they do pop a little when first brought on but dimming down is pretty smooth, smoother than other LEDs I've seen.
 
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