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Do Alzak cans and BR30 LED screw-in bulbs work together?

10 years ago

Long-time lurker here... I've gotten great value from this site as we are building our house, but now I have a question that seems new (at least I hope)...

We chose 5" Alzak trim cans throughout our new construction house. It's time to get light bulbs and we think we want LEDs, which we have in our current kitchen.

The cans are for regular incandescent fixtures, not the ones that are specially made for LED, hence the need for screw-in style LEDs.

We don't have any of the trim kits installed yet, so it's hard to see how it works in real life.

My general question is "Do screw-in LEDs and Alzak cans work well together?"

Some specific points:

- Will the bulbs fit ok - be sufficiently recessed to leverage the reflective can and look good, e.g. have a nice reveal of the ridged trim kit?

- Will the LED lights (FEIT BR30s from Costco for $10 after rebate) dim OK, e.g. to 25% or lower without buzzing?

- Should we reconsider LEDs? The pros for me are longevity, especially for the ceiling of the two-story family room. We also like the lack of heat vs. halogens. But if they look really bad in the Alzaks, then we'll go with something different... or perhaps not use the Alzak trims (sunk cost!) and go with those LED kits that include the baffles.

I'm going to email the GC tonight and try to talk to the electrical sub tomorrow, but I'm not terribly confident I'll get useful answers (especially compared to the collective knowledge on this site).

Thanks so much for any guidance.

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Comments (4)

David
10 years ago
Why would you use screw in BR 30 lamps + trim when you can get a CR6 which comes with an integrated trim ring for under $40 without subsidies?
Dan_98004
Original Author
10 years ago
Great point. Part of the reason is timing - months back I told the GC we wanted 5" cans and LEDs (and did a big upgrade to the lighting layouts), but not knowing any better, I went along with the Alzak option. So we now have a bunch of Alzak trim kits ready to be installed on Friday with either the sub's "contractor's special" lights or whatever we supply.

Another part is aesthetics and light quality - we were pretty convinced on the benefits of the reflective trim kit, whereas the CR6 and other integrated LED setups are "blander". In the same vein, the CR6 is a 6" "hole" whereas we got nice (expensive) 5" cans to look better.

That said, it's all sunk cost, so if we're better off with 40+ CR6s and trying to get the sub to take back the trim kits, that's what we'll push for. The future owner will have the surprise benefit of 5" cans when they go to change things out.... :)
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David
10 years ago
The newer cr6 lamps are supposed to fit inside some 5" cans.

They dim to about 5%. The nearest competitor is the Sylvania RT 6 which does not dim as well and has a greater lag time when switching on.
lee676
10 years ago
the Alzak trim kits i've seen have reflective parabolic surfaces that are intended to spread light from a conventional (A19) incandescent light bulb (not a floodlamp-shaped bulb). I've considered using A19 LED light bulbs with these (say the dimmable 600 lumen LED sold at Ikea). They don't look as nice installed as a BR30, PAR30, or CR6, all which give a flat recessed lamp surface to look at, and probably still aren't quite as adept at spreading light. It can be less expensive though, especially when comparing a 4" trim kit and $12 LED bulb with a CR4.

I've had mixed luck installing even the new, redesigned (625 lumen) CR6 into 5" cans. They work fine with those that have an actual round can beneath the intended trim kit, which most do. But some insulated-ceiling fixtures just have an open box once the trim kit is removed, and there's nothing for the three clips on the CR6 to hold, nor can the Edison screw mount be placed at a certain height so the CR6 is held by the socket at the right height so the integral CR6 trim ring winds up at ceiling height. The 6" version of these fixtures (which i've never encountered) might work by leaving the trim kits in; the 5" version is too small and the CR6 winds up 3/4" from the ceiling.

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