So, that lasted about 7 years. You hear about LED lights lasting 50 years and you buy into it. Well, it’s still circuitry and it’s still in a damp space, so I guess maybe it’s not a surprise to have LED lights fail in a bathroom.
The light I had bought back in 2017 had 4 LED elements and 3 of them had dimmed to the point of unusability, not that having any of them dim is aesthetically pleasing. I called the manufacturer and they wouldn’t really help me unless I gave them the model. I wasn’t looking to replace the whole light, just the LED panels in the lights. Still, no go. So I pulled down the light and got the model.
And then I called them back just to hear the model was discontinued. Well, duh. I don’t care about the light, I want the components. They humored me and did a search and said they had no match for the parts. So I was off to find a suitable replacement.
When I was last looking for 48″ LED lights 7 years ago, shit was expensive. Like $700 for a light that I liked. LED progress has been made since then and I could find plenty of lights in the $300 range now, where it was like finding gold for a $300 light back then. I chose one and had to compromise my standards about having the highest quality and only getting glass diffusers and settled with acrylic.
I took down the old fixture and had the inclination to hoard all the stainless steel screws in it just in case. Who knows when they may come in handy in the future. Putting up the new light, I ran into the typical problem of not having enough hands. How could I hold the light up and also fasten the wire nuts? Inspiration struck, but I’ll bet it’s a pretty well known trick.
And that easily held the light in place while I did my connections and as a safety net while I attached the light to the base and leveled it. The end result isn’t too bad.
