A better E5 base LED bulb

[phils2um]

A couple of years ago I bought some E5 base led bulbs off Ebay looking to use them as replacements for 18V LGB incandescent bulbs. Unfortunately, they did not work well in the typical LGB sockets . It was very difficult to screw them in tight enough. The bulbs bottomed out in the socket before the center electrode made a good contact. Earlier this month after searching bulb suppliers on the internet I found and bought some from www.ledlight.com that work much better. The bulb style number is 24577. They're available rated for 6, 12, and 24 Volts DC and 3000ºK (warm white) or 6000ºK (daylight) color temperature. I ordered the 24V warm white variety. Price is about $1.50 each. The photo shows the old LED bulb on the left and the "better" LED bulb on the right. The difference in the center electrode is clearly seen.



Edit added 1/5/21: See post #10 below for an even better alternative!

 

[idlemarvel]

Nice find thanks for the info.

 

[PhilP]

Much better with the 'standard' base..
Are they polarity sensitive, or do they contain a bridge rectifier?

 

[phils2um]

They are polarity sensitive - no built-in rectifier. The center electrode is positive.

 

[PhilP]

They are polarity sensitive - no built-in rectifier. The center electrode is positive.

Thank you for the additional information..

PhilP.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I bought some from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXZ0YXZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And I got the 24v ones, since I have 24v DCC on the rails.

Really convenient, no additional dropping resistors needed on the decoder, and can also connect them across the rails if always on (adding full wave diode bridge)

Note: DC only as they stand, I posted to show there are options out there. They do NOT replace bulbs that need to accept AC.

Greg

 

[Derailed]

Thank you very much for this link. I have to replace my signal bulbs now that I am running DCC and was wondering how best to do this. EDIT. These bulbs were the wrong size, at least for LGB semaphores. I guess I should have noticed the base number was wrong.

 

[Software Tools]

This is a direct link to the E5 bulb on the ledlight web site....,

E5 Bulb

 

[Derailed]

Thank you. I have ordered a set of these.
Update: They went in fine and so far are working fine. The bulb is taller so it fills the aperture better. Though this might make it more difficult to remove later. But it is an led and hopefully will last. Next time I think I won’t shove it in all the way.

 

[phils2um]

An important update! Pictured below is probably the ultimate E5.5 warm white LED replacement for the old LGB incandescent bulbs. I was running out of the LED bulbs I originally mentioned in the first post to this thread so decided to try out a few of these in a recent order from Modellbahnshop-Lippe. They have both a built-in rectifier and current limiting resistor so are a true "direct replacement". The LEDs can be powered by ac or dc and, because of the rectifier, are not polarity sensitive and don't flicker when powered by ac (or DCC) power. The center electrode protrudes just enough to make good contact in LGB sockets. The overall size is very close to that of the LGB incandescent bulbs they replace and they can be used in all applications. (The bulbs mentioned on the original post are a bit taller and don't work well in some situations.) The cost is 1.42€.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I have found (and purchased) 24v ones with a diffuse globe, but these are a different base (e10) and they are DC only, just happen to fit the Aristo car

 

[phils2um]

I bought some from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXZ0YXZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And I got the 24v ones, since I have 24v DCC on the rails.

These are not the same size as LGB screw base bulbs! The screw base is twice the diameter - E10 (10mm) vs. E5 (5mm).

 

[Greg Elmassian]

You took a year to tell me that?

 

[PhilP]

You took a year to tell me that?

Surely by now they are there on Amazon:

Amazon.com

Surprise!

Currently unavailable
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

corrected post... original deleted

 

[PhilP]

I just followed the link, and scrolled down..

 

[Greg Elmassian]

unhelpful post for LGB people deleted

 

[PhilP]

I am viewing on the Smartie-Phone..

The link in post #13 takes me to a page with an image of four bulbs, but when you scroll down, it says no stock.

Either they don't supply to the UK, or the site is serving incorrect data, when massaged for a phone browser.

 

[phils2um]

You took a year to tell me that?

HI Greg - I was going through some old stuff and just wanted to make sure others who might stumble on this thread didn't make the same mistake the Derailed did by following your earlier Amazon link. (see Post #7)

Amazon.com

Also this new link is for the correct base diameter E5/E5.5, but if you check the details these bulbs do NOT have a built in bridge rectifier which, as you know, makes a huge difference in their usefulness. Another potential issue is the center electrode, in fact, these bulbs look very similar to the original led bulbs I got off Amazon years ago and was bemoaning because they could not be screwed in tight enough for the center electrode to make good contact with LGB light sockets.

There may be other LGB E5.5 screw base LED replacements available, however, I stand by my recommendation of the modellbau-schoenwitz bulbs in Post 10.
They are neither ac, dc, nor polarity sensitive. I know they work as a DIRECT replacement for the LGB bulbs with no issues.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I get it Phil, I edited my non-LGB-compatible links!