Did I get my moneys worth? CFL quit...

[lee n. field]

I've seen topics where people complain about how quickly their CFL bulbs were blowing.

Well, the one in my kitchen just quit.  Now, I've had the habit of writing the install date on my bulbs for quite a while.  This one was installed Dec 23, 2010.  So it made it not quite 5 years.  It was a 26 watt GE, replaced by a 9W Cree w/10 year warranty.

Anybody else have the habit of writing the date on the bulb?

I've started writing them on the LED lamps that I've put in.

We've got one compact florescent that's still working, that I put in when we moved in here over 20 years ago.

[KD5NRH]

Okay Cap'n Practical Pants. Ever hear of "for comparative purposes"?

Still not useful; I want to know which bulb will actually work best in a real world scenario.  One that only lasts 15,000 hours under "ideal" conditions, but doesn't suffer from cycling is better than one that lasts 20,000 hours under test conditions but loses half its life when cycled once a day.

[Perd Hapley]

Still not useful; I want to know which bulb will actually work best in a real world scenario.  One that only lasts 15,000 hours under "ideal" conditions, but doesn't suffer from cycling is better than one that lasts 20,000 hours under test conditions but loses half its life when cycled once a day.

The old standard was to test the bulbs running 3 hours at a time. Some companies test for 3 hours on and for 12 hours on.

I don't understand why Phillips is sole-sourcing some of its bulbs through Home Depot either (with some available through Amazon), but I've got one about 1/4 mile from me, so not a big deal.

It means our company can't get them.

[K Frame]

I'm sure someone will get right on that for you.

In the meantime, use one of these. Very simple interface.

[KD5NRH]

It means our company can't get them.

Well, if you hadn't worn your uniform shirt to wander through HD without pants, the other employees would still be allowed in.

[Firethorn]

As soon as I find an LED that's suitable for an enclosed outdoor location I might switch both front and back CFLs out.

Enclosed Outdoor?  Easy:
http://creebulb.com/Content/downloads/product_info/75w60w40w_StandardBulb_DataSheet.pdf
http://creebulb.com/Content/downloads/product_info/Cree_LED_Bulb_4Flow_Sales_Sheet_10_14.pdf

Though I did have 2 cree bulbs blow within a week of install, Home Depot swapped them without hassle(even receipt).  Electronics like LEDs tend to either blow quickly or last darn near forever, so if they survive the 'burn in', I figure I'm good.

I have at least a couple of fixtures with the "nothing over 60W" labels on them, and I want to get every damn bit of light possible from them.  If that's a 400W equivalent, great.

That's a heat safety thing.  You wouldn't be able to fit 60 actual watts of tube or LED in there because they DO need to be cooler than incandescent.  But when they say 'no more than 60w', feel free to shove a '200 watt equivalent' in there if it'll fit, so long as it's less than 60 watts total.  Sometimes it's also a cord/wiring thing.

I have had some crappy CFLs that quit after only 2 years(and less); the GEs have given me good service.  I think it's an area where price/brand DOES make a large difference.

[Perd Hapley]

60-watt LEDs I've seen cost well over a hundred dollars.

[Firethorn]

60-watt LEDs I've seen cost well over a hundred dollars.

~$106, using 2 150watt equivalents that each use 32 watts.  Note:  I figure that 4 watts is probably within 'tolerances' for the fixture, a 60watt filament bulb might actually use a touch more.

Ah, here we go:  60 watts!  $160 each.

6.5k lumens, equivalent to a 200W HID. 

If this isn't enough light coming out of a '60W' fixture, you probably need to get your eyes checked.  If you spend too long looking at it, you probably need them checked for that. 

[KD5NRH]

If this isn't enough light coming out of a '60W' fixture, you probably need to get your eyes checked.

Both fixtures I'm thinking of are so poorly placed that it's really just a matter of serious overkill to get enough light to where it's needed.  I'd move them, but it's a rental, and it's not worth the effort of rewiring.

[Perd Hapley]

Ah, here we go:  60 watts!  $160 each.

6.5k lumens, equivalent to a 200W HID. 

If this isn't enough light coming out of a '60W' fixture, you probably need to get your eyes checked.  If you spend too long looking at it, you probably need them checked for that. 

Yup. "Corn-cob" style.

[GigaBuist]

Both fixtures I'm thinking of are so poorly placed that it's really just a matter of serious overkill to get enough light to where it's needed.  I'd move them, but it's a rental, and it's not worth the effort of rewiring.

What about a temporary solution?

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-1403-Outlet-Socket-Adapter/dp/B001F71O70 + extension cord + http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Seymour-61-Lampholder-Adapter/dp/B000F6XO70

[Marnoot]

I have my current house mostly converted over to LED. I'm just replacing the CFLs with LED as the bulbs die. I have an even mix of CREE and Philips. Both have good long warranties, the problem is that you have to ship them the bulb (+ receipt + proof of purchase) to get reimbursed the bulb cost. Shipping the bulb costs almost as much as a new bulb (plus the hassle and cost of packaging it, driving it somewhere to ship it, etc.) Thus the warranty is worthless to me.

Sometimes the bulb fails quickly enough I can return it to the store (I've had 2 do this), but I've had 3 CREEs (2 60W equiv and 1 100w equiv) now fail me several months after purchase where the store has told me to contact CREE (see above warranty process). Haven't had any Philips LEDs die on me yet, but I've also had significantly more CREE bulbs than Philips if you count my previous house.

[Blakenzy]

You know, my parents have an original promotional Phillips CFL bulb from waaay back when they were first being introduced for consumer retail. It was quite the event when they brought it home, I remember. It had this spherical glass shroud that made it look like a huge glazed incandescent bulb. It has since broken that shroud exposing the actual florescent tube. They keep it on a bedside lamp, and last I checked it is still running some 20-25? years later.

[K Frame]

http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Seymour-61-Lampholder-Adapter/dp/B000F6XO70

Holy crap, they're still making those?

My God, they're still making the screw in socket to outlet adapters, too...

http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/pignoadmebat.html?gclid=CJTA2vWygMcCFdKPHwod3YMO0Q

Those adapters are products that were developed in the absolute earliest days of home electrical, when a home generally had a ceiling light and each room had one, maybe two if you were lucky, outlets.

[Pb]

After my CFL fire failure I eventually had a phone conversation with the owner of the light bulb mfg firm that imported the CFLs sold by his company. He told me that the Chinese would label thier CFL bulbs with any hour life the customer wanted and therefore the rated hours on chinese bulbs mean nothing at all. He was very nice after I told him there was no fire damage except for the bulb itself and no personal injury and I wasn't even looking for money. After I sent him my bulbs for forensic analysis, he sent me a free case of made in the usa incandescents with actual and according to him honest 20,000 hour life rating!

My bulb failure was not the somewhat notorious Globe brand and I had just switched on the light and walked past it as it burst into 10" flames from the base. I switched it off and only sooted the fixture but the thought of it happening when not in close attendance was enough for me. We even had a couple on timers to come on before we got home, thanks be to Allah it wasn't one of those!
Casa Kingcreek is a No CFL zone.

Umm.. what brand of cfl was this?

[Perd Hapley]

http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Seymour-61-Lampholder-Adapter/dp/B000F6XO70

We just had a rep come in from some obscure lighting company, with some of those bearing their company logo. They are handing them out with sample bulbs, so clients can plug in their lamps to any available outlet. We also have 200 adapters like that at one of our warehouses.

[K Frame]

I grew up in an old house and we occasionally used things like that because the outlets were never really where you needed them... I just figured they died out from lack of need over the years.

[erictank]

I had a CFL last on my back patio over 6 years. It was on 24x7x365.

Ones in the pole lamp out front don't last quite as long because the on-off cycles take a bigger toll, but I got around 5 or so years out of one.

As soon as I find an LED that's suitable for an enclosed outdoor location I might switch both front and back CFLs out.

I've (reluctantly) had CFLs in many fixtures inside the house.  There have been several fixtures that would blow CFLs as fast as incandescents, as little as 3 months depending on power cycling.  I've removed others that I installed over... 4? years ago which are still working fine - real estate agent and stager want all regular bulbs in place for showing the house.

Putting 75W halogens into the 60W incandescent fittings - actual power draw rating 53W.  They want it as bright as possible for pics and showings.