[kwlug-disc] (off topic) Burnt plastic smell from LED bulbs?

[William Park]

Yeah, all the old Canadian Tire bulbs are not rated for "enclosed 
luminaires", whereas the new Home Depot and Rona bulbs are.  But, my 
fixtures (those I suspect) are "open".  It just could be the cheap 
plastics and volatile chemicals.

Thanks.  I now know what to look for.

On 2025-07-14 09:26, Jason wrote:
> One other things I don't think a lot of people consider when buying LED 
> bulbs:  Make sure for indoor use within enclosures, you buy "Enclosure 
> Fixture Rated" bulbs.  Many of the cheap bulbs that have the 5 year 
> warranty are NOT rated for enclosures, and the heat will damage and 
> prematurely kill them.  I've had many old LED bulbs not last a year when 
> they were warrantied for 5-10 years, but on closer inspection, they were 
> not enclosure rated. In my kitchen, when the bulbs die, the plastic base 
> usually cracks due to the heat.
> 
> Possible that the bulbs you have are not rated to be inside enclosures, 
> and the heat is killing them, hence the burning plastic smell. Could 
> also be the cheaper bulbs are using cheaper plastic, which has a lower 
> heat tolerance, and causes the burning smell.
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 
> On Sun, Jul 13, 2025 at 9:23 PM CrankyOldBugger 
> <crankyoldbugger at gmail.com <mailto:crankyoldbugger at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
>     I've seen LED bulbs get hot.  And it's not that they're not supposed
>     to; but they can get a little hot (although not as bad as incandescent).
> 
>     But if your CTC bulbs are getting really hot, then either it's the
>     bulb, or the socket.  Possibly even the wiring between the breaker
>     or switch and the socket.  As you mentioned, try swapping out the
>     hot bulbs with a different brand.  See if the other brands get hot. 
>     At the same time, stick the CTC bulbs in another socket and see what
>     happens.
> 
>     Also, check if the socket is on a dimmable switch, and if the bulbs
>     are rated as dimmable.  That can cause issues.  This might become
>     evident if the CTC bulbs work in a completely different socket with
>     no issues.
> 
>     Above all, don't leave the bulbs unattended in case "hot" becomes
>     "fire".  Keep an extinguisher handy!
> 
> 
> 
> 
>     On Mon, 14 Jul 2025 at 00:18, William Park via kwlug-disc <kwlug-
>     disc at kwlug.org <mailto:kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>> wrote:
> 
>         Hi all,
> 
>         Do you smell "burnt plastic" from your LED light bulb?
>         If not, then what brand/store are you using?
> 
>         Background:
>         -----------
>         For longest time, I've been smelling "burnt plastics" in the
>         house.  At
>         first, I thought some neighbour's wood stove... exhaust goes up,
>         drifts
>         over to my house, cools, and comes down.  But, it's more "plastic"
>         burning, not "wood" burning.  It's bad enough to irritate my
>         throat and
>         interfere with my sleep.  I've been opening all my windows at
>         night, daily.
> 
>         I checked everything... water heater, furnace fan, refrigerator, my
>         computer.  I finally found the culprit.  LED bulbs.  The plastic
>         base
>         gets hot and emits that smell.  Over time, it accumulates inside
>         the house.
> 
>         All my LED bulbs were bought from Canadian Tire.  So, I bought 2
>         bulbs
>         from Home Depot (Ecosmart) and Rona (Valu+).  And, they don't
>         smell, at
>         least after 1 day of use.  Maybe it's too early to tell.
> 
>         I'm on the verge of going back to incandescent bulbs.  Help!
> 
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