Why are over the range microwave lights so weak?

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chemEguy

Recycles dryer sheets
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We just got done replacing all the major appliances in our kitchen. The fridge, microwave, and oven all had non functioning features or something broken. Only the dishwasher was in good shape but it was less expensive to bundle all four than buy three. And mismatching would have driven my mildly OCD wife bonkers.

Anyway, I noticed immediately that the microwave light was poor. It’s a single 50 watt, 2 pin halogen bulb. Not nearly enough light to illuminate the range top to my satisfaction.

Fortunately Amazon to the rescue as I found corncob style, G8 pin LED bulbs. Specifically, a 100 watt equivalent that puts out 1000 lumens of 6000K color light at only 10 watts consumed power.

Huge, huge improvement. I can actually see what I’m cooking. Even with under cabinet lights and numerous recessed lights in the ceiling I still need something on the range.

I don’t understand why microwaves are not equipped with brighter lights from the factory for this purpose.
 
I have a two pin halogen bulb that’s not too bad and coincidentally I replaced it this morning. There’s not a lot of space under the glass plate. Can you attach the link to the one you purchased?
 
Mine was the same way. And again, Amazon came to the rescue. Apparently we're not the only ones who think the original light is useless. Maybe as a night light?
 
Good luck with that LED bulb lasting more than a month; I tried and failed LED bulbs for that purpose, went through 4 of them before returning to halogen.
 
sengsational said:
Good luck with that LED bulb lasting more than a month; I tried and failed LED bulbs for that purpose, went through 4 of them before returning to halogen.
Click to expand...
Yep, I had looked at those when looking for a replacement for my microwave and from what I saw the large 1000 lumen ones weren't designed to be a microwave light replacement. The common reviews for those that did use it in a microwave were flicker and short life span so I stayed away.
 
sengsational said:
Good luck with that LED bulb lasting more than a month; I tried and failed LED bulbs for that purpose, went through 4 of them before returning to halogen.
Click to expand...
Any idea why bulbs under the microwave (not inside) would die off so fast ? Sure hope it's not actual microwaves cooking the bulb as that would be quite a safety issue.
 
From what I recall the fixture needs to be designed for halogen.

Our new GE microwave was not very expensive. It has 3-level LED light, and it's plenty bright at the highest setting.
 
6000K is bluish. Be aware that bluish LEDs have been associated with development of cataracts, though as with any health data, there is some disagreement. I've switched mine to warmer LEDs, 4000K at the highest.
 
Made me look. The previous owners replaced all the kitchen appliances in 2017, Frigidaire brand. The over-the-range microwave has LEDs over the range, two levels, plenty bright. Two sets, 6 LEDs on each, looks to be a custom circuit board. Probably driven from a separate DC supply, so I'd expect them to last my lifetime.

It's the power supply that dies in the replacement 120V light bulbs, as they are all in close proximity and the electrolytic caps get over heated. If all that circuitry is tucked away from the heat, the LEDs themselves should last.
 
sengsational said:
Good luck with that LED bulb lasting more than a month; I tried and failed LED bulbs for that purpose, went through 4 of them before returning to halogen.
Click to expand...
Have a link for those LEDs? And what model microwave? Could just be a mismatch in specs.
 
ERD50 said:
Made me look. The previous owners replaced all the kitchen appliances in 2017, Frigidaire brand. The over-the-range microwave has LEDs over the range, two levels, plenty bright.
Click to expand...
Same here. Also Frigidaire, bought in 2015. No problem with brightness at all.
 
I replaced my Whirlpool microwave a couple of months ago. The range top light has three settings. It's plenty bright but my complaint is that it's not centered over the center of the range top. As a result I'm sometimes rotating the pan on the back burner to clearly see the food in the shadowed area of the pan.
 
GrayHare said:
6000K is bluish. Be aware that bluish LEDs have been associated with development of cataracts, though as with any health data, there is some disagreement. I've switched mine to warmer LEDs, 4000K at the highest.
Click to expand...
I was happy to switch to LED's once I learned the CFL's emit so much UV they are bad for paintings.

According to this article, ordinary standard LED's emit less UV than incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.

scienceinsights.org

Do LED Lights Emit UV Radiation?

The truth about UV light from LEDs. Understand the risk difference between standard household bulbs and specialized UV devices.
scienceinsights.org scienceinsights.org
 

Lxcom Lighting G8 LED Bulb 10W Ceramic Corn Light Bulbs(4 Pack)-2835 SMD 102 LEDs 80W Halogen Bulb Replacement 6000K Daylight White 1000LM G8 Base for Kitchen Under Cabinet Counter Lighting Puck Light​



I got those… happy with them.
 
Sunset said:
I was happy to switch to LED's once I learned the CFL's emit so much UV they are bad for paintings.

According to this article, ordinary standard LED's emit less UV than incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.

scienceinsights.org

Do LED Lights Emit UV Radiation?

The truth about UV light from LEDs. Understand the risk difference between standard household bulbs and specialized UV devices.
scienceinsights.org scienceinsights.org
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, I had been meaning to look it up. Good to know that white LEDs produce very, very little UV. I knew that they used a phosphor, which is also how CFLs work, so I feared that LEDs also produced UV. But the difference is the CFL starts with UV, converted to white with phosphor, while the white LED starts with Blue (with near zero UV), and the phosphor converts that to white.

Also, LEDs produce very low infra-red. Which is kinda obvious, since infra-red is the energy wasting heat end of the spectrum (at least energy wasting from a light producing viewpoint), it only makes sense that LED would be low in IR as well.
 
My understanding is blue light, not UV, is the issue with LEDs. The concern seems logical since blue is toward the higher-energy UV end of the spectrum. The solution of using lower-temperature lamps is easy and has no added expense.
 
I found the bulb I bought in 2019, which has been working fine in my microwave ever since:

It's listed as not currently available, but of course Amazon lists similar options. I've found the 6000K color to be fine for this application.

Note that this is the bulb which illuminates the range top, not the bulb inside the microwave. That one is incandescent.
 
GrayHare said:
My understanding is blue light, not UV, is the issue with LEDs. The concern seems logical since blue is toward the higher-energy UV end of the spectrum. The solution of using lower-temperature lamps is easy and has no added expense.
Click to expand...
That's not how it works. Sure, blue light is 'moving towards' UV, but it is not UV. That's like saying going from red to orange is 'moving towards' blue. True, but there is no blue in red-orange.

A lower color temperature white LED is still using a blue LED to excite the phosphor, it's just a different blend of phosphors. Moving to a lower color range LED doesn't change the already low UV output at all. So like the link above that @Sunset provided, the UV output of any version on white LED is extremely low.
 
Because they were really intended to be night lights:angel:
 
chemEguy said:

Lxcom Lighting G8 LED Bulb 10W Ceramic Corn Light Bulbs(4 Pack)-2835 SMD 102 LEDs 80W Halogen Bulb Replacement 6000K Daylight White 1000LM G8 Base for Kitchen Under Cabinet Counter Lighting Puck Light​



I got those… happy with them.
Click to expand...
How long have you had one over the cooktop and do you cook daily or less?
 
ls99 said:
Because they were really intended to be night lights:angel:
Click to expand...
That was my first thought when I saw how dim mine was, too.

So I did that thing no respectable DIY'er would do: I read the manual. Sure enough, they describe it as "the cooktop/night light."

I rarely use mine, since the lighting over the range is good without it, and I don't need a night light there. But that said, the LED "bulb" I linked above still works fine, even with all the steam and heat from cooking. The bulb does have a robust plastic enclosure, which appears to be doing its job.
 
sengsational said:
How long have you had one over the cooktop and do you cook daily or less?
Click to expand...
Just swapped the bulb the other day. But I put the same type in the microwave we just replaced and it lasted for at least a year or two. The light is on all night plus cooking time, I’d guess at least 12 hours per day.
 
The hours on time is less important than the amount of heat and steam, methinks

Marginally related...I put strings of LED bulbs outside...one under a gazebo (plenty of air flow) and one in the shed (minimumal air flow and very humid). All the gazebo bulbs continue to work after a few years, but 1/3 or more of the shed bulbs quit working. These strings came out of the same box, so the environment makes a big difference.
 
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