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Feit Electric Company

Feit Electric Company review: early burnout 46

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12:36 am EDT
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I have been installing low energy recessed ceiling lights (spot type) on an attrition basis for a few years. It appears that light manufactured by Feit Electric (bought at Home Depot) have a very short life... Lately, I have been collecting the failed bulbs and they continue to fail while original, incandescent bulbs are still operating... they are supposed to have longer life, not shorter.
It seems that low energy bulbs supplied by other manufacturers (I will not buy any more Feit bulbs) are lasting longer, but time will tell.

Jun 25, 2018 11:04 am EDT
Feit Electric Company customer support contacts
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4901 Gregg Road, Pico Rivera, CA, 90660-2108, US

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Please contact our customer service department Monday through Friday, 8-5 Pacific Time at 866-326-BULB.
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46 comments
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lola
Buckeye, US
Jun 01, 2009 10:51 pm EDT

So tell me have you contacted the company as of yet? or are you just # and doing nothing...

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lola
Buckeye, US
Jun 01, 2009 10:57 pm EDT

Oh, I know you were'nt reading the instructions and used them wrong that's why you have not called the company I get it.. man your sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo smart. hey give me a call I think there's a monkey next door that I can see if he available to help you out and count the light bulbs. have'nt you read what is on all the internet cfl's are junk and the people that use them are stupid and big followers man good thing for some of us that believe being special and not followers...

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jm-feitelectric
US
Aug 31, 2009 5:50 pm EDT

Dear Brian,
I am a company representative and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter with you personally. Can you please email me directly at jay@feit.com?
Thank you,
Jay Matsueda

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Douglas Ryan
US
Apr 30, 2017 12:19 pm EDT

I am experiencing the same problem with LED replacement bulbs. I just sent Jay an email explaining the issues I am having.

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jerry gilliard
US
Nov 29, 2017 8:29 pm EST

I am experiencing the same thing with the 60watt led bulb. They start flashing after about 3 months

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Andrew P.
Los Gatos, US
Sep 09, 2009 12:40 pm EDT

I'm seeing the same thing. i've gone through one 8-pack of bpce13t/8 bulbs (upc [protected]) in the last couple of years and have another yet unopened. these cfls are billed as 60w incandescent replacements, "energy star" compliant and are supposed to last 8, 000 hours — 7 years in average use, 8 times longer than a standard 60w bulb. they have been installed in open fixtures, with plenty of air circulation. they always fail with a smoky, phenolic smell, but the tube shows little of the darkening typical of old fluorescent tubes. I haven't bothered opening any of them up, but it is obvious that the electronic components are failing long before the fluorescent tube has reached end-of-life, and they're barely lasting longer than incandescent bulbs in the same application.

Since this keeps happening, it's soured me on feit electric and cfls in general. cfls contain mercury, require more energy in their manufacture than a standard bulb and we keep going through them at a prodigious rate. feit electric's insistence on using the cheapest, most marginal electronic parts is the product's undoing, and will ultimately be the undoing of the push to force cfls on an unwilling and rightfully suspicious public. they are not a good deal for me, for the u. s. balance of trade, nor for the environment.

For the record, i'm a degreed electronics engineer, and a registered professional engineer in california.

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natashren
San Marcos, US
Sep 13, 2009 12:26 pm EDT

I have the same problem with all of the flouresent Feit Brand bulbs that I purchased at Costco. I have contacted the company several times and they have sent replacements but I just quit doing that because they went bad too. I purchased some different brands at Home depot and none of them have gone out on me yet and it has been about a year. Most of the Feit bulbs were lucky if they lasted a month.

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FBM
Rochester, US
Jan 10, 2010 4:07 pm EST

I agree. I purchased feit bulbs and they have indeed been disappointing. one bulb out of 8 was broken on arrival in the package. furthermore the durability has been quite poor. I would not recommend this product.

Fb meyer

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GWISE
US
Feb 19, 2010 5:41 pm EST

Same here. Some Feit bulbs haven't worked right out of the box and others have only lasted a short time. I replaced all my bulbs with Feit bulbs purchased at Costco. I even bought a couple colored lights for Cristmas and one of the two didn't even last the season. I've switched to other brands and have had no problem so far. I think Feit quality is just poor.

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Bryce Nesbitt
Kensingto, US
Feb 24, 2010 11:21 pm EST

It is not green if it burns out in a few weeks.

I've had a number of Feit Electric Compact Fluorescent bulbs, both at home and at work. They've been installed properly (not getting too hot). But they burn out at an alarming rate. Cheap cheap cheap. I make a point, each time a Feit CF bulb burns out, to call the company for a replacement. But that's just because I'm seeking a way to get them to improve the product. I realize it is a waste of energy, money, and effort to buy and install a low quality (and incidentally, high mercury) bulb. Cheap is not value, cheap is not green. My most recent Feit bulb? A 200W equivalent replacement from Fiet used in a stand up office lamp. Yes, the replacement started to flicker horribly, and then it went totally dark, after less than a month's use. Some "EcoBulb" indeed.

Last month: my wife reported a pop sound and an acrid burning smell which we could not locate. We knew something plastic had melted, but looked for 30 minutes before finally finding the still mouldering remains of... you guessed it... another Feit bulb in an overhead track lamp. There are black streaks coming out of the bulb base, and the entire house stinks. This was a Feit 13 watt bulb that came with our rental. The bulb was properly installed, and in no way enclosed by the track lamp.

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display name available
US
Jan 29, 2011 1:20 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Working in my basement and came upstairs, leaving the lights on.. and I was smelling electrical smoke.. went back down stairs and the light was out and smokin!.. guess I better go pull the rest of those bulbs!..

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ftres
US
Oct 12, 2011 8:06 pm EDT

I've been buying theb feit bulbs at costco and i've also been thoroughly disappointed. it's interesting to note that the r30 bulbs 15w floods seem to hold up pretty well. it's the 23w r38s and 23w r40s that fail in 6 months or less. these bulbs burn out much sooner than incandescent bulbs. let's do the math. 6 months = (30 days * 24 hours = 720 hours). so these bulbs would burn for 720 hours if they were left on that whole time. but they're not. so they're failing after only several hundred hours of use? that's pathetic!

I also use the 11w globes in the bathroom. they're totally opened with plenty of air around them. these bulbs last 6 months at best, usually much less. the incandescent bulbs they replaced lasted 7 years. the bulbs don't even last 7 months.

I called feit to complain. they did nothing for me because the bulbs were more than 2 years old. I made the mistake of buying a few boxes at one time at costco and using them slowly over a couple of years.

Do yourself a favor and do not buy feit electric bulbs. i've used phillips bulbs that lasted several years. I got some no name brand r38 flood that is now in it's eighth year, and it still going strong.

The only saving grace for buying these bulbs is costco's no-questions-asked return policy. if not for that, I wouldn't go anywhere near these crappy bulbs.

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Steve G. F
US
Dec 31, 2012 5:19 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have also had terrible luck with the Feit Globe Bulbs, # C 11g/4. I also puchased a bunch at Costco. Over 80% of them have failed. Unfortunately, I did nothing in the beginning when they started failing except assume I had a bad one or two and disposed of them. In the last couple of months I have had six more fail after approximately 1- 1 1/2 years, and yes, they were installed and used properly! I only had two on hand when I called Feit to complain. They said that they were out of warranty. Not very green if you ask me! I wll never purchase another Feit bulb as long as I live! Anyone have a recommendation on a good fluorescent bulb MFR?

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JohnT3
Las Vegas, US
Mar 14, 2013 1:34 pm EDT

I have had similar problems. They only seem to last about 6 months. I contacted customer service first via email
And they spent a lot of time jerking me around asking for different number off the bulbs,
They did promised to send replacements, but then they told me to call customer service.
So I did, and the customer service rep was extremely rude, long story short they refused to honor the warranty

From an engineering perspective, these bulbs are simply a poor design.
It's not the actually florescent element that's burning out, the control electronics are failing
Most likely due to poor thermal design.

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whin'n'complain
anderson, US
Oct 26, 2013 4:56 pm EDT

Feit incandescent bulbs used to be good. their cfl bulbs never lasted as long as claimed on the packaging. now i'm finding that their led bulbs don't last at all. the company's quality has plummeted. i'm surprised costco still handles them.

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DonS1
US
Nov 14, 2013 2:38 am EST

Bought a 10 pack 60w cfls. I noticed they seemed to fail fairly quickly so I started writing on the bulbs the date I installed them. they seem to last less than 3 months of about 2-3 hours a day use, less than 3% of the claimed the 10, 000 hour average life. the 2 year warrantee is only from the date of purchase so it is useless if the bulbs have been stored as a backup for when they are needed.in addition to being a rip-off of the consumer, these do the opposite of helping save energy and natural resources.

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JimB101
Goldendale, US
Feb 27, 2014 1:32 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am having the same issues. note the attached picture. am waiting to hear back from feit.

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JimB101
Goldendale, US
Feb 27, 2014 1:33 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Let's try this again.

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Douglas Goodall
Santa Maria, US
May 02, 2014 11:35 pm EDT

It took me a while to catch on.. There are several problems for me with these bulbs. First off, trying to identify the bulbs manufacturer is a problem. The only marking that helps is a non-descript "F(C)", which I guess is supposed to be their Copyright. The other problem I have (aside from the short lifespan) is the bugus relationship between the actual power level and the corresponding level in Watts.

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Sick1one
Shingletown, US
Aug 13, 2014 8:51 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I agree with all the negative comments. I was in the bathroom when my bulb blew. it sparked smoked then put off the smell of burning plastic and what I believe to be mercury vapors. I began to choke and ran from the bathroom. I have tried repainting but the smell remains as does the cough I have. but all is well they sent me a new feit electric bulb. how about money to paint again?

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Sick1one
Shingletown, US
Aug 13, 2014 8:53 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Look!

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Sick1one
Shingletown, US
Aug 13, 2014 9:01 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Look no fire my,! is mercury vapor poisonous? uuu yes!

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Morningtide
US
Aug 29, 2015 7:40 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Smelled something foreign, air is not clean. Well it's my Feit CFL burning away in the kitchen. Scared the living you know what out of me. I have a 12 week old and concerned about the vapors. These are recently installed in the proper fixtures yet I'm seeing failure already. My question is, with so many issues how are these bulbs allowed to be sold on the market? I'll be contacting UL and every other agency possible tomorrow to investigate this issue. Local news as well. This is clearly not a safe product.

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Jonathan C Jablons
US
Sep 11, 2015 2:45 pm EDT

My
par 38/HP/led
16W 120 VAC/50/60Hz 136 mA
UL#E170906

The lights are failing

They 1st start to blink… then fail? I have 6 of these spot lights
I use them in my kitchen.

I was thinking about using this brand in laundromats

I’m really not happy …

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goramonc
US
Oct 06, 2015 9:01 pm EDT

This picture makes me nervous, sounds like I am not the only one concerned

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Richard Hoffmann
US
Jan 04, 2016 1:47 pm EST

F***Feit and their made in China crap! This is a California based company that does not care about the consumer and only their profit margin! DO NOT buy this crap from Costco, Menards, or Home Depot. In fact these companies should not carry FEIT products if they cared about their customers. They should be sued for defective products and false warranty claims. Just my two cents!

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alexza
US
Jan 11, 2016 11:47 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

just had the last of several Feit bulbs pop and blow out - leaving a putrid smell which I certainly breathed in - what are we doing now - poisoning people?

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Smokeywv
US
Jul 05, 2016 3:59 pm EDT

led dimmable 5in & 6in retro kit - I've had 2 fail so far in less than 6 months. Mine were sold at Bjs wholesale and I notice they are no longer stocking them. I've had a third showing signs on failure -- flicks off and then come back on after a few hours or so. I bought 7 of theses kits and had 2 failures. Which is for a small sample is a 35 percent failure rate when they advertise they will last 59, 000 hours. I will send back to get a replacement, I wouldn't recommend these lights. I will cost be at least $10- 15 dollars to mail back

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Dennis Thwaites
US
Dec 15, 2016 10:21 pm EST

Feit
Let's let everyone know your dirty little secret.
Alibaba has pages of bulbs comparable to your a19 9 watt led red and blue grow bulbs for wholesale prices at less than a dollar. Normal retail markup for something like this is usually what, around 70-100%. So the 4- $16 lights i bought for $64, i'm gussing you made a proffit of roughly $25-$30. So giving your waranty of a replacement bulb, you could replace the bulbs 4 times, pay for shipping, and still more than double your investment... Atleast, right?
December 2016, 2 out of 4 of your feit a19 grow bulbs fromtaiwan i bought @ $16 each, for my orchids malfunctioned only one day apart, less than 4 weeks @ 12 hours on, that's less then 250 hours on an open pendant light with no shade and manual switch, about 24' from the upper shelf. This is 1% of the rated 25, 000 hours, and say what, 2- 2 1/2% of your waranty?
Also straight out of the package, the plastic bulbs were so scuffed up, they look like they were shipped loose by dump truck across the ausstrailian outback before they were packaged. I was so discusted with the appearance i almost returned them to the store after opening them! From their performance i should have, and will! You will not make your millions selling your cheap defective foreign crap from me! So take your gracious waranty and... Well... I'm sure you've been told it before...
Feit... Don't just stand behind your waranty, stand behind your product.

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Disapproving customer
US
Jun 04, 2017 5:45 pm EDT

The Feit electric LED retrofit kit failed within 3 months to 1 year . I replaced 6 ceiling lights which I bought @ BJ wholesale club. Attached is the photo of the light kit and tag info. I replaced all with another brand and didn't want to waste more money mailing them back for replacements because all the kits failed.

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sinclair coop
US
Jun 10, 2017 2:26 pm EDT

I have their 75 watt LED flood light and it failed in like 3 months--what a joke. Bought from Costco

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theclintons
US
Nov 24, 2017 10:04 pm EST

Terrible products! We love Costco and bought MANY Feit bulbs there as part of a promption. SO DISAPPOINTED! I wish we hadn't thrown out the useless bulbs as they burnt out over the short months that have passed. They were supposed to last years...not 3-6 months. Would have been nice to have had the opportunity to return them to Costco. Originally thought we might have been unique with our product failure, but it is now abundantly clear that our experience is the norm. Coscto is usually so GREAT at promoting only good products. Disappointed

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Obray
US
Feb 27, 2018 10:06 am EST

I have been buying the LED 60 watt soft whites at Ace hardware because they have a special on. Now I know why. Last night I turned off two separate lamps and this morning neither worked. I thought it was an electrical problem. I put new bulbs in and they worked fine. Why would two separate LED bulbs blow over night when the lamps were turned off. So it couldn't have been a power surge or brown out becuase the lamps were switched off.

What the heck FEIT? These LED bulbs were only a couple months old.

has anyone gotten any answers from FEIT yet?

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Feit Electric Company
Feit Electric Company
Pico Rivera, US
Jun 25, 2018 11:18 am EDT
Replying to comment of Obray

Please contact our customer service department Monday through Friday, 8-5 Pacific Time at 866-326-BULB. We'll be happy to speak with you.

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getwood
US
Jun 06, 2018 2:12 pm EDT

I've had several of FEIT's high-CRI 60-watt-equivalent bulbs fail after a few months (the usual symptom is that they start to flicker/flash and then stop working). Purchased 'em at Canadian Tire.

These were installed as per instructions in open indoor luminaires (reading lamps in my living room). I suspect that the driver circuitry is to blame. LEDs can last a long time, but if their drivers fail, it doesn't matter how long-lived the actual diodes are.

No more FEIT bulbs for our family! We'll stick to stuff like Philips.

Feit Electric Company
Feit Electric Company
Pico Rivera, US
Jun 25, 2018 11:17 am EDT
Replying to comment of getwood

Please contact our customer service department Monday through Friday, 8-5 Pacific Time at 866-326-BULB. We'll be pleased to speak with you.

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debunker1
US
Aug 13, 2018 6:55 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

They say the complaint was void because the customer refused to talk to them to resolve the issue. Well it looks like their resolution is to just play stupid and replacing bulbs with more faulty bulbs. Some people are smart enough to not waste their time. Why companies think they can treat people like this is beyond comprehension, even a little kid won't let you burn him more than twice.

I'm sitting here with a $100 grow light I bought from them and after less than 6 months of only OCCASIONAL use when it's cloudy, half of the bulb doesn't work at all.
After reading all these complaints with no resolution maybe I'll just save myself the aggravation, write it off and chock it up to experience. OK feit, u burned me once, good for you. I own and run a business, I don't treat my customers that way, I don't try and sell anything that is junk.

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J1234567
US
Sep 03, 2018 11:12 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

These bulbs do not last anywhere near their claims of 22.8 years with 3 hours of usage per day. I've gone through 7 of them in the past 2 years already with moderate use, maybe 4-5 hours per day on average. Save your money, get another brand.

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Jane Ikemura
US
Oct 22, 2018 12:19 am EDT

Last night this bulb in my living room suddenly started smoking and filled the house with acrid smoke. Luckily, my husband was awake and caught it before there was a fire. This is definitely a lawsuit waiting to happen. Will NEVER buy these bulbs again.

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Flkamm
US
Dec 13, 2018 7:09 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Everytime we have an electrical outage the bulbs blink like a strobe light. Neighbors think the flashing lights are an alarm.The other smart bulbs that I use automaticly reset. If I am not home for a couple of weeks, that bulb could be blinking. That happened and a neighbor had to turn it off.

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Typhoon
US
May 14, 2019 6:47 am EDT

This is a documented email!
Tell me what this is all about? See the attached Pictures.
The smell that this emitted was toxic smelling, please advise as to what was emitted in the air of my house and if there is any health risk?

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oldmxrat
US
Oct 24, 2019 11:04 pm EDT

I've tried Feit bulbs many times over the past 15 years and they have ALWAYS had a very short life span and the CFL's almost always had the burnt up base as shown by other reviewers. Tonight I bought a 3 watt incandescent bulb at Home Depot (now owners of Feit electric) by mistake, and low and behold it was defective right out of the package. I really can't understand why Home Depot would buy this junk company with the reputation they have. Unbelievable.

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BulbGuy
US
Mar 03, 2020 12:22 am EST

I've bought both Feit CFL and Feit LED bulbs and had pretty good luck with them. When I've had an early burnout, they are always happy to replace them. I've also had some bad luck with GE, Sylvania and Philips. When you complain effectively, they all have sent replacements. I even had a nice talk on the phone with a Sylvania engineer. Anything electronic is going to have a certain failure rate, especially when you factor in power surges and the like. An electronic board can't handle a surge like an incandescent bulb can. And I find that T-8 fluorescents don't last anywhere near as long as a T-12. I own a small business and also take care of the lighting at a medium size church. I buy a lot of bulbs off all types.

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Strikeone1
St. George, US
Feb 23, 2022 7:23 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Purchased several boxes of Feit LED bulbs from Costco for indoor use. 5000k 800 lumens. They were a great buy but less than a week later, they are failing. I submitted a warranty claim after the first failure. I will wait another couple weeks to file another claim for more failed bulbs.

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