CFL Bulbs that really last for 5 Years

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BobL43

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probably because they never heat and cold cycle? i know that your bulbs last longer burning them than letting them sit. even with 12v automotive bulbs. i haven't replace any bulbs on my 2008 cr-v yet because i drive with the lights on all the time.

I tend to agree with your first statement, but daytome running lights ot not, they turn off when you park and shut off the engine, don't they? And go back on again whetether you drive in the daytime or nightime. In fact, it they go on during the day, you are doubling your cyling on and off, no?
 

BobL43

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Yes the Radio Shack kit had one of them in it, Worked good too. My boy built it.

Is there a better way to get into these Dead CFLs ? Then boil them in water until the glue lets loose.

I have to see what is inside, that failed so quick. Time to void the warranty.
Nice little IP Address app Don, but it detects the wrong browser
 
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DonL

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Nice little IP Address app Don, but it detects the wrong browser


You must have a trick machine.


I think JW may have a trick question because it says "I have two 100 watt incandescent bulbs that have been burning from dust to dawn for more than 14 years now"
 

JWelectric

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These bulbs are connected to a 120volt 15 amp circuit and they come at dust and go off at dawn.

They are 250 volt rough service bulbs and they emit about 50 watts each. They were installed for security purposes and are very high in the barn therefore they need to be dependable or the camera will not work very well.

Most bulbs are rated at 120 volts; I buy 130 volt bulbs from the supply house that last a real long time.
 

BobL43

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You must have a trick machine.


I think JW may have a trick question because it says "I have two 100 watt incandescent bulbs that have been burning from dust to dawn for more than 14 years now"

I know how to spell real good, but my fingers don't! And I don't have a spell checker installed to check before I send.:cool::)
 

DonL

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These bulbs are connected to a 120volt 15 amp circuit and they come at dust and go off at dawn.

They are 250 volt rough service bulbs and they emit about 50 watts each. They were installed for security purposes and are very high in the barn therefore they need to be dependable or the camera will not work very well.

Most bulbs are rated at 120 volts; I buy 130 volt bulbs from the supply house that last a real long time.


I thought maybe a reduced voltage. You can do the same by connecting 120 Volt ones in series.

I use the 130 volt Commercial service ones also, and have had them last 10 years. They are rated for 15000 hours when ran on 120 Volts.

I thought the 250 Volt had a different base.
 

BobL43

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I thought maybe a reduced voltage. You can do the same by connecting 120 Volt ones in series.

I use the 130 volt Commercial service ones also, and have had them last 10 years. They are rated for 15000 hours when ran on 120 Volts.

I thought the 250 Volt had a different base.
I have a couple of old temporary lighting bulbs and pigtail sockets I think from the 40's.
They still work:D. They have reverse threads in them so nobody would steal the bulbs to use at home, but I guess they did not realize that there would be people that would take the socket AND bulb. Of course, that was not me, as I was only a pre-teen.
 

Ballvalve

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US made, good solder, good gas, no cycles. Little lumens however per watt.

Another trick question? why not use 480 volt bulbs and have them last for your great - great grandchildren? Of course that extra 8 tons of coal burned to keep the lumens up might not give good payback.
 

BobL43

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And another one bites the dust.

A 13 watt Candleabra base spiral bulb that I bought 6 of not even a year ago at Lowes, just got smelly and went dark. Crap! a Sylvania branded, but made in China, of course, bulb.

I went to HD and bought a 2 pack of Ecosmart bulbs, same size. The 2 pack cost just under 11 bucks, so I can't see how this is saving me any money in any one year on electricity! The money these bulbs save comes out to less than the cost of the bulbs, and incandescant bulbs in these applications have lasted much longer for me than a year. Warranty? yeah, find the receipt and proof of purchase and send along with failed bulb to Sylvania. Since so many CFLs have been failing, I started saving the packaging and receipts better, but I don't know if its going to make much sense for me to spend money on shipping them back. Next time I go to Lowes, I'll bring the bulb along and see what they say. Last time I tried that, the bulbs I needed were no longer sold (over a year after purchasing them). A bulb here, a bulb there. I have so many friggin bulbs in the house, I need a bulb changing person. Yankee candles smell obnoxiously toxic and not much light. Groan........
 

DonL

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What a bummer Bob.

Do you think the LEDs will be any better ?

I hate to get LEDs until they are proven, I do not believe what the package says.
 

Chad Schloss

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"Warranty? yeah, find the receipt and" just buy another pack like you did and return the defective bulbs in the old packaging. without a receipt will give you in store credit, with a receipt =cash back. i've done it a few times at home depot. they take back everything with a warranty like that, including sump pumps. (been thru like 3 in the last year, no box, no receipt)
 

DonL

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"Warranty? yeah, find the receipt and" just buy another pack like you did and return the defective bulbs in the old packaging. without a receipt will give you in store credit, with a receipt =cash back. i've done it a few times at home depot. they take back everything with a warranty like that, including sump pumps. (been thru like 3 in the last year, no box, no receipt)


I always make copies of my long term receipts, I hate their thermal / disappearing ink.
 

BobL43

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I always make copies of my long term receipts, I hate their thermal / disappearing ink.

I have all the receipts. At the end of each year, we remove the previous year's stuff from the file cabinet and file them away in boxes by the year. On major stuff, I have another file cabinet for receipts and operator manuals, etc. Sometimes I try to be organized, but its kind of hopeless for me. When a bulb fails: did I buy it at Costco? Sam's Club? BJ's Club? HD? Lowes? That's the first important part. Once I know WHERE I bought the item, I can go into each year's box and look for it in the most recent year or two or 3. Then I struggle with the "is it worth all this trouble?" I know it is, but there are only 24 hours in a day, and I actually have over 25 years of receipts that I HAVE NOT thrown out yet! I save too much crap, but when I look for something, I can find everything but what I need. I have a very strong feeling I am not alone in this! with this new CFL bulb thing, I started saving the wrappers, and writing on them where and when I bought them.

Sure, when you have no receipt, the box stores will give you a store credit, but ONLY if that item is still in their computers. the last bulbs I bought at Lowes and brought back to them in about a year and a half or so, were no longer carried there, and the were helpless/clueless as what to do. However, when I brought my 2 cans of MAPP gas there and they played stupid, I got angry and demanded them to give me new ones as per the terms of the recall papers I brought with me (2nd trip) First trip to Lowes with MAPP tanks did not work out. I was so bad, I did not give a a shit that the line behind me got to be over 20 people long. Is it worth it? yes, and no. We pick our fights. Always fun to win, but win some, lose some. At the age of 69, I'm happy to win when it happens. Don't want to bust a vein and die of a stroke trying to save 5 bucks at the box store!
 

DonL

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That reminds me of when I took a automotive battery back to the wrong store.

You should be compensated for your Labor to replace them also.

Sometimes a warranty is not worth the paper that it is printed on.

I hate taking stuff back, and normally just do not buy the same brand again.

Sometimes I will take something that broke apart and see why it quit working, just for Grins.
 
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And another one bites the dust.

A 13 watt Candleabra base spiral bulb that I bought 6 of not even a year ago at Lowes, just got smelly and went dark. Crap! a Sylvania branded, but made in China, of course, bulb.

I went to HD and bought a 2 pack of Ecosmart bulbs, same size. The 2 pack cost just under 11 bucks, so I can't see how this is saving me any money in any one year on electricity! The money these bulbs save comes out to less than the cost of the bulbs, and incandescant bulbs in these applications have lasted much longer for me than a year. Warranty? yeah, find the receipt and proof of purchase and send along with failed bulb to Sylvania. Since so many CFLs have been failing, I started saving the packaging and receipts better, but I don't know if its going to make much sense for me to spend money on shipping them back. Next time I go to Lowes, I'll bring the bulb along and see what they say. Last time I tried that, the bulbs I needed were no longer sold (over a year after purchasing them). A bulb here, a bulb there. I have so many friggin bulbs in the house, I need a bulb changing person. Yankee candles smell obnoxiously toxic and not much light. Groan........

Candelabras and globes aren't worth messing with in CFL's from what I've seen, they cost over 3 times what a regular spiral CFL costs. Makes better sense longterm to replace the fixture with one that looks good with regular spirals. I hated the old hollywood lighting in the baths that used globes, looked tacky and the silly incandescents were burning out right and left--cost nearly as much as a spiral CFL. Same problem with the candelabras in two chandeliers. My wife wanted a different style for the chandeliers anyway so it worked out well as an anniversary gift! Replaced all of those fixtures 3.5 years ago. So far I've had 2 of the CFL's in the six new fixtures fail...and both of those spent a few years in two previous homes.

At HD you can just swap out bulbs through the service desk...if they have a single pack that matches...and since my bulbs almost never fail the one time I was going to use the warranty, I couldn't find a single pack for that $1.50 bulb. If I had 2 bulbs of that type fail, I would have been in business.
 

BobL43

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I was wrong about the wattage of this last bulb that failed; it is a 23 watt bulb. It is an uncovered spiral bulb running base up in a pendant fixture. I had no choice as to the bulb base type, as these 6 fixures I bought last year (at Lowes) have candelabra sockets in them, as many of the new ceiling and ceiling fan fixtures seem to be using lately. My 2 newest ceiling fans both came with candelabra sockets in their light assemblies. they (the fan units) now are all mandated by federal law to have wattage limiters in them to prevent fires by people relamping them with bulbs that give off enough light to be appropriate for the room area to be lit. The fans come come with incandescant bulbs included in the box. Relamping them with CFLs of higher equivalent wattage bulbs (more lumens) works out very nicely if there is room in the lamp fixture to accomodate them. I have had to CFLs fail in one ceiling fan. Those bulbs, Bright Effects bought at Lowes, were labeled on the packaging as appropriate for celing fans. They both failed a little over a year after installation. No smell, just no more light. maybe they failed from vibration, although this fan is pretty well balanced. These bulbs, are in open end glass shades mounted base up, of course.

Lately, I've noticed (some of) the newer bulbs being labeled as rated for base up mounting on the packaging. I have a bunch of failed CFLs of all sizes and types I was saving to bring to the town's recyling center, but maybe I should have some fun and bring them back to the big box stores according to the brands they feature. HD= Ecosmart, Lowes= Bright Effects and Sylvania. Who did I buy the FEIT ones from though? maybe one of the warehouse clubs. I have a kitty litter bucket full of them and dead alkaline and NiCad batteries for recycling. And yes, as you said, mr. Runs (that don't sound good), the candelabra base bulbs are way expensive compared to the standard medium base screw in bulbs. I just started seeing GU24 based CFL bulbs at the store, but they are way way too expensive, but cool looking: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...053&langId=-1&keyword=gu+24+cfl&storeId=10051

Glad you have had better success than I have on some of them. And yup, I've got a bunch of those old globe bulbs with candelabra bses too, but with those old incandescant bulbs, I had good luck, and thats why I still have so many. The fixtures are long gone.
 
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