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mtrot

Freaking bright BR 40 bulbs! Where?

mtrot
12 years ago

Hi all, I'm trying to replace my GE Miser 120 watt recessed light bulbs in my kitchen and my GE Miser 65 watt ones in the fur downs above my bathroom vanities. The great thing about the 120 Miser bulbs is that they put out about 1700 lumens, and every thing was bright and clear. Now, as I've had to replace them, it seems like my kitchen is being turned into a dungeon, due to lack of light. The problem is that, thanks to the boys in DC, I can't find any incandescent bulbs over 65 watts at Lowes and Home Depot.

Now, I have tried both GE and Philips CFL BR 40 bulbs, and the darn things take several minutes to finally get bright, by which time I am usually done with what I needed the light for. Also, even the higher wattage ones that are supposed to equal a 120 watt incandescent are not nearly as bright as the Miser 120s.

I also have recently tried some Halogen bulbs, and although they are instant on, they are still not as bright as they are labeled to be.

As my wife and I are getting older, we need more light, not less! So, I would very much appreciate any suggestions on any instant-on bulbs to put out more light.

Comments (11)

  • David
    12 years ago

    Have you tried the Cree CR6 LED recessed lamps? Also available under the Ecosmart brand as ECO-575L.

    They work better than the traditional bulb in a recessed can solution. The traditional solution has quite a bit of light trapped within the can, unlike the Cree CR6 type solution which actually gives off more usable light.

    The light is instant on and dimmable.

  • mtrot
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    $50 per bulb? My house has 24 recessed lights, so that would be $1200? I don't think so.

    Does anybody have any info on the best halogen or incandescent bulbs currently available?

  • David
    12 years ago

    You might want to check the availability of rebates in your area. Some folks have reported getting the ECO-575L for

  • Granite_Man
    12 years ago

    I understand the dilemma.

    You can still purchase a 100W or 120W R40 halogen Typically, the lumens on the 120W version are around 1800.

    Litetronics still makes their incandescent 150W R40 which emits 1500 lumens and has an average rated life of 20K hours. I just bought a case for my inlaws as they would never be satisfied witht the output of the LED.

  • mtrot
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    "You can still purchase a 100W or 120W R40 halogen Typically, the lumens on the 120W version are around 1800"

    That's great to hear! Do you mind hooking me up with where I can purchase those? I searched quite a bit today, found a lot of web sites, but I didn't see any 100W or 120W halogens.

  • Granite_Man
    12 years ago

    Here you go.

    Here is a link that might be useful: 120W R40 Halogen

  • mtrot
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hey, thanks a lot! That is a good site.

  • lee676
    12 years ago

    For the kitchen, Home Despot sells these Philips 70 watt BR40 halogens for $9.99 that are almost as bright as your old 120w bulbs:


    For really bright light from a floodlamp this size, use GE's 90606 halogen bulbs - a whopping 2030 lumens from only 83 watts, which should open some eyes amongst those who think only CFL or LED bulbs can be energy-efficient. They last a reasonably long 4200 hours too. Not as wide a beam spread as a BR40 or wide-flood PAR38 though.

  • mtrot
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the links! I think I've had one of those Philips over my sink for about a year, and it's not bad. However, it is nowhere near as bright as the GE Miser 120 watt. The GE Miser 120 watt bulbs put out the lumens of a 150 watt bulb. That was the great thing about them.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    "The problem is that, thanks to the boys in DC, I can't find any incandescent bulbs over 65 watts at Lowes and Home Depot. "

    It is for the children.

  • mtrot
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    OK, well, as an update, the problem has now gotten even worse. For a few years after 2012, I have been able to get around the DC boys' ban on bright BR40 incandescent bulbs by choosing high wattage and bright halogen bulbs, which have worked well.

    Fast forward to last week, and, upon trying to order some more of them, I am told that now even the higher wattage halogen BR40s have been discontinued. So, it now appears that the only way to get decent lumens out of my recessed lights, which I have a lot of, is to fork over the big money for LED bulbs, some of which do not even dim properly. My 85 year old mom, who has enough trouble seeing already, is also having the same problem. Thanks a lot, DC.