Determine the box Said They will last for years or even decades, but anyone who has bought cheap LED bulbs knows that the actual situation is more complicated. Sometimes several LEDs in the array will burst, reducing the overall light output. More commonly, the power supply starts to malfunction and the light bulb starts to flicker or buzzes. In either case, you will eventually pull the bulb and replace it.
but [Bifferos] Think we can do better.Instead of blaming it on bad QA and tossing light bulbs, it’s better to do some exploratory surgery. Identify salvable LEDs in “dead” bulbsAfter disassembling a few burned out bulbs (brand names and others), he was able to pull out an astonishing number of convenient LED panels, which can be easily reused. Naturally, with more coaxing, a single SMD LED can also be liberated and put into use.
As you might expect, there are too many different LED bulbs on the market to create a comprehensive disassembly guide, but [Bifferos] It does provide some tips to help turn on the bulb without hurting yourself or destroying objects in the process. Once in, the design of the bulb will determine what happens next. Bulbs with multiple LED arrays on their own PCB are easily damaged, but if you only have a single board, you may need to pull down the LEDs individually. For this reason, this article shows an effective method of peeling off the LED using hot air or a pair of soldering irons.
Compared to the noble claims of the manufacturer, we have previously discussed that the performance of modern LED bulbs is rather mediocre. We would rather see that these bulbs are designed well enough that they actually reach their full potential, but the salvage potential at least mitigates the blow of having to throw them away early. Although this is not the only reason you should disassemble the LED bulb before putting it in the trash can.