Make LED Lightbulbs Last Forever and Prevent Overheating! Longer Lamp Life.

[@1CrankyOldGuy]

Aside from the cost savings there is the considerable benefit of keeping all the plastic, circuit boards and chemicals out of the landfill. Imagine that over 10 years. The leachate draining from landfill sites contains some pretty nasty toxic stuff which ends up in streams, rivers, fish, birds and us.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Absolutely a great point. Just the general mentality of being such a throw-away society is financially irresponsible, environmentally harmful and a waste of natural resources and production.

[@mahathevkrishna7839]

Probably, LED light makers do it with purpose so that their products get sold fast!! I agree with you that heat build-up within the LED enclosure has a bad impact of burning up the diodes prematurely! The other one is frequent on and off of the light switch. With the holes made, the bulbs get well-ventilated and last longer. Thank you for the tip, Brother! Much appreciated! Brother Maha from Malaysia.

[@thejoyoffixing]

So glad it helps! Be well, my friend.

[@davidasholesjr181]

Keep up the good work. I watched about 11 minutes .Maybe on your next video you could just cut a bulb open instead of doing guess work on Where to drill

[@thejoyoffixing]

Great idea

[@sdlindow]

22:50 Sometimes you just need positive information like this to make you realize there’s a better way. Thanks! Please do more!

[@thejoyoffixing]

Thanks for watching!

[@elizabethyvanovich3592]

Wow excellent ❤

[@thejoyoffixing]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@1CrankyOldGuy]

Titanium coated step drills work well in soft materials like aluminum and plastic. They are widely available and would make it a 1 step process and no need for tape.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Agreed. I had a very nice set of step drills that my children must have borrowed thinking they were toy Christmas trees or something. Could not find them. Still can’t. Plus, most average homeowners don’t own them. But… it’s obviously a great way to go. Thanks for the comments! Glad to have you here as part of the conversation!

[@josephgreer3399]

Curious if your bulbs have burned out yet. Any updates?

[@thejoyoffixing]

Still not one single burnout or flicker!

[@shepatown]

I had trouble with flashlight led's overheating and switches on them going bad also. I like this tip because I have a box of leftover led bulbs I can tinker with. The most I've done is just remove the lens cover.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Removing the cover is a big answer. You just have certain results you might not wast because of it. This was a nice compromise. Thanks for your comment.

[@kyriakos098]

Planned obsolescence is so annoying... A teen can make an LED bulb last for 100 years these days simply by undervolting the diodes to keep them cool but this damn bulb cartel won't let em...

[@thejoyoffixing]

Bulb cartel. lol. Perfect.

[@kyriakos098]

@@thejoyoffixing yeah it's actually crazy... if you look up "Phoebus cartel" you'll see Philips, osram and general electric controlled the lightbulb market since forever. They allegedly stopped them but still every brand of lightbulb you find on the market is a sub-brand of these 3 giving the illusion of choice.

[@thejoyoffixing]

The illusion of choice….. isn’t it an election year, by the way? lol. Speaking my language, buddy.

[@merc2dogs]

Nice info on bulbs. A quick and accurate depth stop if you use it a lot, can be made from copper tube,brake line. or hard plastic air lines. Use a compression fitting up at the chuck end and you can make micro adjustments when needed. I tend to use copper, or brake line because I can put a flange on the stop end, so it can't get pulled through.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Very nice

[@foreigncontaminant2015]

I can confirm it works well. I have removed the plastic lids of some of my LED bulbs about 8 years ago, to allow cooling. All of them work perfectly to this day, except one that was the cheapest no-name money could buy back then.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Absolutely! Removing the cover all together would be awesome. In certain fixtures it’s a really great idea. Good comment!

[@mahathevkrishna7839]

Well! The opaque nature of the cover is to prevent glare. I feel, it would be better to create holes for ventilation than to leave the circuitry bare.

[@foreigncontaminant2015]

@@mahathevkrishna7839 it's not like it rains on it or anybody touches it. Holes should work well, but take more time to make and may leave plastic residue inside if you use a drill bit.

[@EchoMeToo]

Genius idea!!! Thank you for sharing!!! Subscribed!!!

[@thejoyoffixing]

Thanks! I’m so glad you found it helpful! I haven’t replaced a single interior or exterior bulb since making this video.

[@LRK-GT]

What about using aluminum foil tape to add heat sinking to the casing? (Plastic is a terrible thermal conductor, yes.) Would it enhance the existing (terrible) heat sinking, without having to poke holes in the bulb?

[@thejoyoffixing]

I don’t think it would work, but I see what you’re saying. I just don’t think there will be room in the fixture and visually it’ll be pretty bad

[@LRK-GT]

@@thejoyoffixing Visually unappealing, yes. I have a couple bulbs out of my latest purchase 'foiled' to see if they die earlier or later than the rest. Not a thick or 'finny' layer, but it's there and spreading heat. Hardly scientific, but giving it a go. Only thing I'm concerned about is the tape concentrating the heat. They're outdoor floods; so, at least if they do fail catastrophically, it won't be indoors.

[@thejoyoffixing]

I don’t think that’ll be a problem but I also technically have no idea. Haha

[@abcd1239me]

I am going to have to do this to my bulbs. I have been replacing my light fixtures cause all the led bulbs keeps going out. I will try this in my ceiling fan in the basement

[@thejoyoffixing]

I’m still running every bulb I’ve done this to over the years. Not a single burnout.

[@elizabethyvanovich3592]

What a nice guy god bless u ❤

[@thejoyoffixing]

What a nice comment! It offsets all of the negative ones. Thanks so much.

[@STYX-a-Lot]

I use a Dremel a lot on plastics, and I think that would be a good idea here. Those drillbits, are like you say, are aggressive. A Dremel however, you can make a very large hole very quick just by kind of grind melting. Just a small 1/8 inch drill bit and a Dremel spinning 35,000 RPMs you can make a pretty good size hole if you want. Anyway, just a suggestion. I thought it might help that’s all.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Great point! I just got a nice new dremel!

[@j7ndominica051]

Looks like they don't even have an aluminum heatsink that typical bulbs have on the inside behind the plastic. If you drill that, you'd create conductive shavings. I am skeptical of this hack: the air doesn't have a path to flow through. The circuit board is a barrier between the bottom and top sets of holes. It would work better if the bulb burned horizontally.

[@thejoyoffixing]

The objective is not airflow through the bulb from head to stem. The objective is the very mild opportunity for heat to seep out of the holes, thus also allowing the mild seepage if cooler external air through those very same holes. Although turbulent, and almost a “burping” type exchange, it does work. I’ve completely eliminated bulb death with this method. I’ve not replaced a single bulb in my home that this method has been used on. Prior, in certain fixtures, I would replace identical bulbs up to 4 times a year (specifically in domed glass lamps or these old style sealed ceiling cans). You can theorize it all you want, but real data comes from actually trying things and observing the results.

[@Ponkotsu67]

I wrote the exact date we bought our LED bulbs and they now begun failing one by one in less than a year. I had this exact thought of drilling ventilation holes to let the circuitry breathe but wanted a 'sanity check' before I started drilling into a brand new bulb, which is how I stumbled across this video of yours. Also, luckily I kept my burned out bulb of the same model so I could just open that one up to see how the PCB and wires were positioned.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Heck yeah!

[@chrissanders2562]

Just did this to one. We will see.

[@thejoyoffixing]

It’s gonna work

[@chrissanders2562]

@@thejoyoffixing so far it hasn't started flickering anymore but man that thing still gets real real hot.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Yeah some of them really do

[@sulski55]

What is that bit with the stop on it called?

[@thejoyoffixing]

It’s a “counter sink” that I got on a set of tapered drill bits fir cabinetry face frames. Look for countersinks that attach to the actual drill bit. Have had these for 15 years and still use them all the time as counter sinks or stops.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Hey I found it! Came off this set! amzn.to/3YHRybh

[@basshead12.]

I did the same because if they can stay cool they will last

[@thejoyoffixing]

It’s true. I haven’t had a single bulb due since starting to do this.

[@RandomizedKill]

Still working?

[@thejoyoffixing]

Absolutely! Haven't had any problems. I do this to all of my bulbs now and it's been a very long time since I had a LED bulb fail. It truly is worth the time to do it. I wish this vide had taken off more because it's not just some stupid worthless life hack video. It's legitimately a magical solution to a very logical problem.

[@punchsideiron8502]

Seriously, you did a perfect DIY project video. Well laid-out, very clear, video sections labeled, and the end result is a fix for a problem almost everyone (aside from the residents of Dubai, apparently) has to face these days.