C. Crane BNB Bright Night LED Nightlight Bulb
by C. Crane
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Our Price: $4.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $4.85 (click here) Category: Lighting See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of C. Crane BNB Bright Night LED Nightlight Bulb
Customer Review: Very Interesting
Summary: 4 Stars
This is sort of a unique design for a LED light, especially a night-light bulb. It is just the same size as a typical incandescent bulb. Does not get hot, but does generate a little bit of heat, maybe 15% of a regular incandescent bulb. Produces an aqua/white colored light - not the regular blueish white light that you normally see in a LED - this is more, well, aqua than blue and is dimmer than a regular 7 watt incandescent night-light bulb.
Now, the Warranty is something to consider. The buyer is responsible in sending a non-functioning bulb back to Crane on their own dime, and properly packaged, to boot. And Crane has a whole list of ways they can wiggle out of the warranty. Use it outdoors? No warranty. Using it an enclosed fixture? No warranty. Drop it? No warranty. So I really wouldn't buy it based on the strength of the warranty.
Now, IME, LED has been a good idea, but their implementation has left a bit to be desired. I've purchased several LED items over the last few years, only to have the majority of them disappoint me over the long run. Basically, they work great for a short while and then one of two things happen. Either the light output starts to quickly diminish, leaving me with a less than useful light, OR the bulbs start to die off, one by one until only a few work, if I'm lucky. Mostly I've purchased items from China, and I think that is the problem - cheap foreign electronics. That's why I chose C. Crane - because once upon a time, they made their products on US soil. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore - these bulbs have "Made in China" printed on the bulb itself. I guess time will tell to see if this is a quality product.
Customer Review: Works as advertised
Summary: 4 Stars
This night-light bulb works as advertised.
The light is bluish and not particularly bright. The LEDs are located on the side, so the light is projected outward. I initially purchased it to shine down on the table of my drill-press, but it wasn't a good fit for that application -- I would have needed the LEDs to shine away from the screw-base for that to work. So, we used it to replace an incandescent night-light bulb in a ceiling light-fixture of our master bathroom, and it works *wonderfully* in that application. The blueish color shining down from the ceiling looks a little like moonlight. The light-level is low enough that a sleepy person isn't blinded by the light -- but it's bright enough that a person can use the room. This light is brighter than the incandescent light that it replaced. In fact, I can read by the light that it produces -- I can read both labels, and the print in a magazine. However, it feels dim. My guess is that this is because it's not a full-spectrum light.
So, in summary -- if the bluish color works for you, and if you need a night-light class bulb that throws the light outward (but not upward), then this would be a good fit. This bulb really is a night-light bulb, and not a drill-press spotlight. :-)
P.S. We've only had the bulb a couple of days, so I can't comment on long-term reliability just yet.
Customer Review: Decent light, about 70% as bright as a normal bulb
Summary: 4 Stars
I took a chance on buying just one bulb to see how it actually performed, and I'm pleasantly surprised. I installed it in the cutout of my freezer door where the ice and water comes out. I'll address my primary concerns of size, color, and perceived light output.
Space: The space in the door is tight, and this bulb fit with room to spare. No issues.
Color: Bluish, but not bad. Call me old fashioned, but I like the 3000K glow of a burning tungsten filament. This is closer to white, kind of like the color of HID headlights. So given the cost, the color is OK for my application.
Perceived output: to me, it's about 60%-70% the output of the 7 watt bulb it replaced. Some of that is due to the fact that half of the bulbs are shooting straight back into a black door in my setup, I'm sure. So in another application the light might be closer to a standard bulb. Another buyer commented that the LEDs are fairly directional, and they were right about that. The frosted top glows, which helps some though.
I wouldn't use this bulb in something without a shade/filter or in a direct lighting situation. Otherwise it's great for the price.
Customer Review: Weird look, but works great!
Summary: 5 Stars
This strange, weird looking night light lamp replacement is almost as brights as the filament type. My wife bought 4 night lights and in about a matter of weeks all the bulbs have given up the ghost, so, I ended up looking for a replacement. I am a sucker for anythings LEDs. I have flashlights, lanterns, toys, booklights, puck lights and even a plastic glass that looks like a milk of glass. The best part of LEDs is that it gives off almost no heat. The incandescent lamps, not only is dangerous for the little kids, but it is also a fire hazard.
The lamp has 5 LEDs all in all. 1 inside covered by an opaque lens, and 4 around the circumference of the lamp. The color is not the ghoulish blue that is typical of the old cheap LEDs. At least they are honest to say that their LEDs will last only 20,000 hours, most will claim 100,000 hours. I only have this for a few days; so, let's see how would it perform in the long run. As of now, I don't see anything wrong with it.
Update (2-25-2010): I really like it that we ordered another one.
Customer Review: Works Great! Brghtest LED Nightlight ever !
Summary: 5 Stars
10/4/2010 UPDATE:
I called the warranty from C.Crane Company and their service is excellent! They recorded my information and has agreed to send a replacement for me. I am not going to provide all the details but the entire process took about 3 minutes. I spoke with a tech and the issue most likely is a bad apple in the batch. Now i am a happy camper, will definitely buy more of these nightlight bulb from Amazon and C.Crane again !
10/3/2010 I purchase one of these in January 2010, it stopped giving lights in October , after about 9 months of service. I checked with the manufacturer's website and they have a one year warranty so i will give everyone an update as to the warranty process. I gave the 2 star only because of the short life. As a LED lightbulb it is the brightest that I've ever seen. I have two other brand but this one made by C.Crane is the best by far. If I cannot get any replacement then the money i spent on this unit is probably the same as if i use a regular nightlight bulb for a year, more like a wash.