Compact Fluoro's - operating position?

"who where"


** What utter crap !!!





** All CFLs run fine base down.

    Hot air rises you know.



.....   Phil

No, you are thinking about incandescents, these should be installed
base up


CFL should be installed base down where possible, though In my
experience,
I have had no noticeable trouble using 18w and less CFL's base up in
normal
household light fittings that were originally used with incandescent
bulbs.


Some of the larger ones - (such as those 60w ones Bunnings had a while
back)
may be a problem due to the greater heat involved, but have not tried
them.

The reports I heard were CFL's, and the rationale related to the
location of the mercury when the lamp is started.  Whether there was
any truth to it is what I'm trying to ascertain.

It wasn't a thermal issue.

"who where"




** Now you tell us .....

What failure symptom is linked to this alleged mercury V gravity issue ??

All the CFLs I see fail because the filaments go open, the electronics fail
or the glass breaks -  none last long enough for the light output to
diminish much.

AFAIK, mercury is absorbed into the white phosphor and turns to vapour soon
as the tube heats up -  there is always enough vapour at room temp for the
lamp to light up OK  -  but not so if the CFL is very cold.

Try this:

Put a CFL in the freezer for 10 minutes and then plug it in and see how dim
it is.


.....  Phil