How to make longer lasting LED bulbs :: This is why we can't have nice things - planned obsolescence

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My LED bulbs sometimes burn out. And when they do I repair them by shorting the burnt LED. This metod works If the bulbs are with one circuit of LEDs in series this solves the problem temporarily. Until the next LED burns.

When the LED board contains two circuits connected in parallel it's a bit tricky, but the board can be repaired by shorting the same number of LEDs on every circuit.

The reason is that manufacturers are putting too much current and the poor heat dissipation leads to overheating (which decreases the lifespan).

Instead of buying new LED lamps I buy only components - LED PCB (the board with the LEDs) and power supply. And I am choosing the components in a way the LEDs work with the half their "normal" current. Because of this the lifespan of the LED bulb increases.

Another trick I am using is to connect some of the LEDs. This also decreases the temperature of the LEDs and increases their lifespan.

Тhe first LED bulbs to appear on the market were with massive heatsink. This increased the lifespan of the LEDs. The problem with these libght bulbs were the power supply and most specifically - the electrolytic capacitors. I have such light bulb, it's LEDs are working fine, I just had to replace the power supply.

These old style LED lamps were designed well in terms of heat dissipation. The LED board was connected thermally very well to the heatsink.

But manufacturers decided to make the bulbs cheaper and not long lasting. Here is a new model light bulb, the LED board is connected to the heatsink with a silicone. I tried to change the LED board (without changing the power supply) but the results were terrible - it burns shortly after.

You will notice how there are no mounting holes for the board. In the photo above is my attempt to repair the light bulb by powering about half of the LEDs (this way decreasing the heat, the power supply regulate the current so if the current is the same and the number of LEDs is decreased in half the power is also decreased in half).

This solution failed, for some reason the power supply was burning the LEDs. After changing the power supply and the LED board it works nicely.

I also deform the heatsink to decrease the thermal resistance between the board and the heatsink:

The LED bulb cools better when it is without a diffuser. This increases it's lifespan.

This mode of operation (without a diffuser) is also useful when the luminaire directs the bulbs towards the ceiling - then the ceiling acts as a diffuser. 

I am reusing the flickering style LED bulbs by powering the LEDs by a DC power supply. Some of the LEDs are connected to reduce the overheating and make the LEDs live longer.

Some of the LEDs are with larger voltage drops:

This should be considered when connecting two circuits in parallel. Or when calculating the power.

If the above video does not load, open it here: The lamps you're not allowed to have. Exploring the Dubai lamps