Water Inside GE Link Bulb

my bulb is not on constantly though. maybe most 1-2 hours in cold weather… I only use it when grilling on the deck or for a little color when I am in the hot tub!!!

This version of the GE Link is rated for outdoor use. I have four of them in my backyard. I have had one die and need to be replaced. It simply stopped turning on at all.

Thanks for this! I was looking at the Aeon because its RGB, so I wanted to change the light color on my porch. (Ex. Red and green for Christmas). But thanks anyway!! :smiley:

How high is all your humidity if your getting moisture in your bulbs INDOORS! :smile:

I have 18 GE Link’s indoors (hanging down) and have no such issue at all, the Nest (which is upstairs and open to where the bulbs are down below) reports keeps a humidity between 48% which is the lowest I ever saw and around 56%…

I do, I got them for about $40 a piece. I have mixed feelings about them but I wanted to ditch as much ZigBee as possible. Head on over here for the ‘issues’ I had:

A bulb seal doesn’t have to be permanent. It just has to fit tightly while in use.

edited to note the correction that the GE links are plastic.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! I was sure they were plastic… I shall be checking this out when I get home… another reason to hate them if that’s the case.

My humidity is only 31%, so its pretty dry (probably too dry :laughing:). And thanks for the info on the Aeon bulbs. Maybe I will buy a couple hue bulbs instead for outside.

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Here’s a picture of the bulb. Sorry it isn’t the greatest quality, the app that I used made it blurry. You should still be able to see the moisture in the bulb though. And I believe that the bulb is indeed plastic.

I had one of my new PAR38s get alot (way more than condensation) of water in it. It still turns on, but the moisture appears to have to have broken Zigbee functionality. I’ve been trying to reach GE to put in a warranty claim - anyone happen to have a contact?

Try this page: http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/consumer/contact-us/index.jsp. I know, its hard to find contact info because a lot of GE’s website is for commercial solutions.

I opened a bulb cap with a knife (the transparent cover on it) as a few of my bulbs presented this liquid droplets, after cleaning it with a paper towel, it seems that it is some sort of oily liquid from the bulb itself with a “short circuit” smell. I have had for a year or so 15 of these bulbs and three of them present this issue, they do turn on and off, but the ones that present the issue seem to act more erratically than the rest (when I send off or on commands, these three tend to be the ones that some times don’t execute the action). I’m still happy with buying these bulbs as they are much cheaper than any alternative I’ve seen so far, but I couldn’t find any information about what that oily liquid could be.

I haven’t taken a look at the electronics in these, but I’m assuming that it is 99% surface mount technology.

In my years of experience as an electronics technician, an oily liquid around circuitry means that there used to be either a liquid filled capacitor that is no longer liquid filled… Or… There’s a transformer (or inductor) that had liquid draining off of the coils…

Or… It’s just lubricant from the manufacturing process…

Or… It’s something else entirely! It’s electronics! It’s all a theory anyway!

But, I would exchange them …

If you’ve had them a long time, go buy three news ones, put these in the box, and return them… Just tell them that they don’t work so that they don’t get put back on the shelf for the next guy.

“should” is arbitrary.

Cree 11W LED with 4Flow Filament design

is ventilated by design. Probably keeps it cooler and extends the life.

Agreed, of course: if a bulb is designed with ventilation, that’s an entirely separate issue. :sunglasses:

Thank you, will probably do so.

the liquid in your bulb may actually be water, but mine acts like oil.

I just replaced Ge Link A19 by a Zwave wall dimmer for a ceiling glass fixture. The liquid in the bulb is too slow to be water, more like clear mineral oil, and there is some caramel-cooked-color on the outside base and inside base. So the heat probably wore it out a bit.

good thing it’s cheap. It still works too - maybe it flickers more than new.

Hmmm, I wonder, if the bulb is getting too hot or something and the white stuff they use to protect the electronics is what the oily stuff is coming from and seeping through, see at the 14 minute mark:

I am planning to get GE wave switches too. It would end up being cheaper and I do not want the ability to control every bulb. It would be annoying to have that many bulbs. Especially when the power goes out and they all turn on when the power comes back on (And you are sleeping :joy:).

That white stuff looks just like a 2 part compound I used tip use in the Navy. We called it “white potting compound”. Usually it was just like rubber and would seal up the electronics great.

But if it wasn’t mixed right it would crumble just like this one… And I will confirm… That stuff did seep a clear oily liquid. It usually came from the curing process.

So, it’s quite possible they are using a low grade potting compound and it’s just seeping out oil as it heats up.

From the video it does look like a rubbery substance and that’s exactly that about the oil seeping from them when they get hot.

I personally haven’t noticed on any of mine yet but haven’t inspected them too carefully to be honest.