LED Filaments

[Art Todesco]

I'm trying to put together a project for my screened in porch. I would like to hang some fancy wine bottles from the ceiling at various heights. I would like them lit, so using the LED filament strips would be nice touch. The LED filament strip could be inserted from the top open end of the bottle. I've found them in 2 places, ALI Express and Amazon. ALI was cheapest at .91 each strip. I've done a lot of Googling and that's all I've come up with, except for lots of link to LED filament bulbs, which I really don't want. I've always hesitated from ordering direct from Europe or Asia. Anyone have any experiences with ALI? I know they were just in the news, I think something about going public or some other financial thing (I'm an engineering nerd, so excuse my lack of financial knowledge). Also, anyone here play with these LED filament strips? Any 1st hand info would be great.

[philo]

I don't know about the quality, but at 91 cents it's not much of a gamble.

As to ordering from overseas, the first time I did it, was inadvertently and the stuff I ordered shipped from China. To those who say we should not deal with China, I say "BS" because what I got was exactly the same Chinese stuff that I could get here...only at

1/10th the price.

No problem at all with the product...but it did of course take longer to get here. Usually 10 days.

OTOH: You may not need LEDS at all, you may find that you and your friends "get lit" in the very process of producing the /empty/ wine bottles.

[Ralph Mowery]

Can't say about ALI, but I have ordered maybe 20 or 30 things from China off Ebay. They usually take 2 to 3 weeks to get here just like the ebay page says. Somehow China helps their companies with the postage so I have been told. That way they can ship out things that cost just a couple of dollars and the price is still very low. I just ordered two LED bulbs for a flashlight and it took two weeks. The total price was only around $ 11 including the shipping. I bought a cable a while back and the total cost on it was less than $ 2.

[Tony Hwang]

Filament or rope? Most of them are made in China anyway. I ordered few things from China on eBay some times free shipping. They never failed to deliver so far. Ones from Hong Kong or Taiwan arrives faster than ones from Beijing. You can get many types like programmable ones. Blinking, racing, changing color, etc. Ours are all solar and used in outside patio.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've ordered from both Europe and China with good results. The stuff from Europe came a bit faster though.

I bought some small Cree AA sized LED flashlights for $3.25 including shipping. Great little lights for a really good price. I was given a USPS tracking number a day after placing the order. It took a good two weeks before it was trackable and then it was in Secaucus, NJ and in my hands a day or two later. My guess is they consolidate shipments and move a full container to the US for final distribution.

[rbowman]

Would EL wire work for the effect you want?

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[Art Todesco]

That looks like it might work. Some of the sites say that you can cut it. If you cut it in 1 foot lengths, can power be connected to each?

[rbowman]

Yes. It's a little finicky but you can also solder it together if you wanted to change colors

That's a splitter so you don't have to screw around making your own.

[Paul Franklin]

Are you talking about the LED strip lights? The flat tape with LED's spaced along it?

If so, searching for LED tape will get you a ton of sources.

LeeValley sells a very nice system...bit pricey though, as are most things LeeValley...but top quality.

They also sell LED rope light, in case that's what your after...spaced LEDs in a clear plastic tube.

Paul F.

[Art Todesco]

No, I was originally talking about LED filaments. You usually see the in classic look Edison lamps. The are actually strips, but very small. See:

I've used the regular LED tape before for kitchen under counter lighting and also for piano/organ music rack lighting. But, rbowman gave me an idea. Use the EL small rope. Put say, 2' of it in each bottle, sort of loosely tangled, and it might look pretty good.

[Robert Green]

something about going

I order from China all the time, sometimes through eBay and Amazon, sometimes directly. Never had a really serious problem. One thing to be aware of is that it's a lot cheaper for them to ship to us than us to ship to them, and that can be a factor if you have to return something. For items in the $20 to $50 range, you can end up spending as much to return a defective item (with tracking) in postage.