Damn straight! I figured it out, I may replace my .50 bulb every year, so it would take 16 years to
recoupe the price of that 1 LED light bulb. And only IF you wouldn't have to replace the LED
bulb for those 16 years.

No to go too far off topic here, but that's a bit of an oversimplification. The Cree bulbs are only $5-$8 (and continue to go down in price as time goes on) and use only a sixth the amount of power as a tungsten bulb with similar light output. I did the math a few months ago and based on my average electric rate (around $0.11/kWH, IIRC), I'd recoup the cost of the bulb within 5-6 years in heavy use locations. Also, since the LED bulbs are rated to last 20-30 years they're great to use in fixtures that are a pain in the butt to get to.

For me, it's all about the quality and color temperature of the light (which is why I continue to use incandescents in my pins and why I never touched CFs), and if I can get this, reduce my energy consumption, and save money in the long run, I'm all in.

Your ROI will be quicker than that.... When is the last time you got a bill from your energy company saying- "Hey, our profits are at an all time high, we are reducing your rates as a thank you!".....the one I seem to get every six months is "Hey, we thought you were going to use more energy than we estimated, we are raising our rates 25%"

They will pay for themselves in a couple of years, as they only use a fraction of the electricity. For example, I replaced all the 65 watt incandescent flood lights in my basement with LED bulbs that only use 10.5 watts. The new bulbs are not only slightly brighter, but they are rated to last more than 20 years.

I'd like to think so, but to think that my electric bill could be much lower than $20 month by buying expensive light bulbs just doesn't pan out for me. Plus I use the heater less because of the warmth incandescents provide.

I'm in on incandescent bulbs, especially in the games they were originally designed for. However, in areas that are real dark and difficult to light, an occasional LED works for me.

I recently purchased a BK2K & HSII, both had every bulb LED'd. It looked awful... I couldn't get them out fast enough.

I also played a Whirlwind & Earthshaker from the same owner, completely LED'd. The games were so bright, they were painful to play.

Yeah I don't wanna get into the whole light bulb debate again. I'm sticking to what I like.

Yeah, I hear ya. Where I live the LED bulbs worth installing are from about 12 dollars to 25 dollars (just checked - wow that gets pricey!). I'm waiting until they become more practically affordable. Like any technology, wait it out, reap benefits.

I have a stack of incandescents that's about 2 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet to tide me over

i believe LEDs have a higher ceiling than incandescents in terms of how good they can potentially look, but it definitely takes more time and money and is also dependent on the game.

just throwing a bunch of LEDs into a game will likely make it look worse. but if you take the time to really think about your choices (assuming you have good aesthetic instincts), and you invest in things like LEDOCD when appropriate, then you can end up with absolutely stunning results compared to the stock incandescent look. at that point, though, the argument for LEDs is an aesthetic one and not an economic or time-saving one.

When I rent a DVD i never rewind it. It's the next guys problem.

Yeah but then they add 2 plus meters of strip lighting under cabinet and add another 2 + amps of current draw. I don't buy that excuse, not at all.

Whoa lol I never said that, you quoted the wrong fella

(gweempoose said what you quoted)

LED's are great on dark games. Data east white playfields look fine with standard bulbs.

Erichill you're paying $5-$8 for Cree A19 bulbs? Where?? The cheapest we have here is $10 for a 40 watt equivalent and $13 for a 60, which is understood to be the national pricing standard for these. And the "bulk discounts" may save $5 or less total overall.

I think you are in the wrong place to be asking where to by LED.

Hehehe

Now I'm just goofing around.

My local Home Depot. They've been this price for the past few months. Maybe the pricing is different in the NW than elsewhere?

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Sorry, my fault. Let's get back on topic.

Here's a photo of the carnage left by my Black Hole incandescent conversion.

image-298.jpg

That's alotta bulbs. Musta looked like your GI was out.

Steve

Let there be light!

Dang that must have cost ya a whole 5 bucks!

Depends on the game. My LOTR will always stay incandescent. My WH2O is incandescent and looks great that way. The rest of my games are LED. TOTAN inserts look great with LEDs. STTNG looks good with LEDs, except for the flicker.

Exactly!

Lucky! You're either being subsidized or there is a price drop that has not trickled down to the east coast yet.

the others likely flicker as well but at a speed you can not see, but still cause head trauma.

How are the Eiko green lamps? And flashers?

yeah, at one point i looked into the G30. Globe style for the bathroom. I would need 8 of them it would have been like $300. Good to see they are getting to a more realistic price point, still way high.

I don't think there's any difference between the certified "green" lamps and the old ones. When you order a box of 44s or 47s from Steve Young this is what you get now. Pretty sure Eiko just changed their packaging.

I'm not too far away from you and that 60W bulb is $5 more here in Crazyfornia. At $8, I'd try one out. At $13, I can wait.

I can't see any flicker on my TOTAN at all. Of course, STLE and WOZ come stock with LEDs. No flicker, but sometimes I feel tike they could cause a seizure when they start flashing like crazy….

Thats how Stern keeps you coming back to buy more machines. Hypnotize with flashing lights!

I suppose Most of you like Warped and Burn't p/f plastics too..

I Wasn't even gonna open up this Topic , but i did ........ Blahhhhhhhh .. Leds Rock !!!!!!

105b7590.jpg

I really think that this looks so wrong. It's your game and you can do what you want to it, but I've seen the same game with aqua colored bulb covers that make it bright and give it color. The center of your playfield isn't even lit. This is the perfect example of why incandescents rule! Thanks for sharing!

Since I don't leave my games on 24/7 I will never have to worry about burnt and warped plastics in my games. The plastics on there will be the same as they are now for as long as I'm on this planet.

I thought it'd be cool to do yellow/orange/red LEDs in the 200k/300k/400k lights on Iron Man's ramps, so I slapped some in. As I was admiring how nice the colors looked, the slow fade attract mode light show started and the joy was crushed. Back in went the filaments. Maybe I'll get some colored incandescents and try again. Not worth an LEDOCD cost just to put a few color highlights.

/generally like how LEDs look, absolutely hate strobing

Sure! I leave the games in my basement on 24-7.

You guys are in a World of Yr Own .. These R my Last words in the Thread . I suggest ya'll Not go to any Pin Show's

90% of the Pins will B Pimped out ... Better wear yr Sunglasses ..

I always seem to hear the argument from incandescent lovers that a designer wasn't intending for leds so the machines don't look right with them. I think that argument is kind of silly b/c they werent available in the 90s like they are now and all modern games are designed with them. Any cool color on a PF looks weird with a yellow-tinted bulb shined on it imo. Leds took my T2 from antiquated, dingy yellow lighting to something that actually looks contemporary. The game is easily 5x more exciting visually now b/c of the way the blue leds react with the flourescent orange paint and make it really glow. I'm curious if its a sense of nostalgia that is really at play here. That seems to be a really large part of the collectors market and the idea of keeping things stock.

Well said Smurrill1 ,, All the 90's pin's w/ the Red , Blue , Orange . Purple etc ( Inserts ) Leds are able 2 release the True color that they R .. Take NGG 4 example .. Awesome w/ Leds

Oh Hell , I wasn't gonna comment Here again ,, My Bad ,,

To avoid hijacking this thread, I'm going to create a separate post to list out all the Pros and Cons of incandescents vs. LEDs. (for those that want to go to battle) -- perhaps we can keep this thread clean for fans...
-mof

Here's 1 for you mof ,,,, my WH20 w/ Not even 1 Led installed .. But this Saturday Me & Shanetastic are plan-n on starting the Full Shop @ 10:30 am .. By the end of the day it Won't lOOk like this anymore .. It Will lOOk gOOd !!

My issue with LED's isn't that the games weren't designed with them. My issue lies with all the damn flickering and that they are blinding and fatiguing on my eyes. In most cases it is physically taxing to play the older games with them in it. I played a Laser Cue at Expo last year that was ruined by them. I couldn't follow the ball because of the flickering and blinding light from the LEDs. It was a beautiful game too but ruined by those things.

Now as much as i dislike them in the older games, I think they look fantastic in the new Stern Star Trek game. My Tron Pro had them installed in the feature lamps by the previous owner and again it works in that game and looks very good which is why I didn't remove them. However in my experience, way more often than not the older games look and play terrible with them. When I see them at the pinball shows I can't play most of them because of the blinding and flickering lights.

people who say this are rarely correct.

I'm all EM, 100% incandescents. We have two functioning rotary phones in our house. When I listen to music I have to wait a minute first for the tubes to warm up. I'm pretty sure I was born in the wrong time.

I feel like LEDs have their place but don't care for them in older games or like that crazy color wash in modern machines.

game looks great!
-mof

To avoid a holy war in this peaceful thread, please put your best argument for or against LED/Incandescents here:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/incandescent-vs-led-bulbs-pros-and-cons
-mof

Must be a bitch to text on.

If Ninety percent,, of Pinball Player's.. jumped ... off A Cliff

Ever since I got my ACDC Premium, I can't stand a clear or white insert with an incandescent bulb under it. Damn you, Stern. I keep my older games original, but newer Sterns get the LEDs. I did think that WCS at the Louisville show looked super nice with the cool white LEDs. The colors on that particular PF go good with cool whites.