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the 100W bulb lives on....

I have heard of a small number of fires and seen some nasty spectacular failures of dollar store CFLs, usually with no claim of UL listing at all, let alone questionable.

What I am talking about is the outright stool specimens that I see in most dollar stores other than Dollar Tree. The one I saw at Dollar Tree looks to me more like a "mainstream quality" CFL.

The stool specimens are of "brands" that I see mainly in dollar stores other than Dollar Tree, including a brandless one or two. In my experience, they have a few issues:

  • Light output always less than that of other CFLs with same claim
  • Color is often cool-daylight color
  • Some said to be "warm white" are cool-daylight
  • Most "warm color" ones have rotten color rendering like that of "old tech warm white" (whose CRI is 53)

Back to CFLs with honest UL listing, of major brands and/or sold by major retailers: Their circuit boards are made of a UL-recognized flame-resistant material, and their ballast housings are made of a UL- recognized grade of flame-retardant plastic.

--
 - Don Klipstein (don@donklipstein.com)
Reply to
Don Klipstein
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Flame retardant does not mean that they will not make a hell of a mess, or cause a fire to the kindling Bloggs apparently stuffs around his lamps. It simply means that they will not support combustion once the heat source is removed.

CFLs suck in all sorts of ways. I just ordered a couple hundred more incandescents.

Reply to
krw

On Jul 14, 7:11=A0pm, Jim Thompson 1000bulbs.com I buy 'em by the case... get the 130V versions, they

=A0 =A0 ...Jim Thompson

There is a problem with buying 130V light bulbs and using them where the voltage is 120 volts. You will pay more per lumen hour if you do this. The total cost is the cost of the bulb and the cost of electricity.

Roughly 50 cents for a 100 watt bulb with a life of 750 hours. And 75 kilowatts of electricity or at 15 cents a kilowatt, $11.25 . So total cost for 750 hours is $11.75. And you get about 1650 lumens or

1,237,500 lumen hours for a 120 volt bulb. So it is obvious that the electricity is the major cost.

If you look up 130 volt bulb on 120 volts, you will cut the cost of the bulb per 750 hours in about half ( so hurah we saved 25 cents ). And you will cut the cost of electricity by about 10 %. ( saved just over a dollar ). But the amount of light is decreased by about 20%. So the cost per lumen hour is higher. Better to buy a 80 watt 120 volt bulb and get the same amount of lumen hours, but less cost for the electricity.

These are all number off the top of my head, so look around the internet and get more accurate numbers. But the facts will work out the same. Those engineers at GE designed the standard bulb to provide the least cost per lumen hour. The long life bulbs cost more per lumen hour.

And the CFL's are cheaper per lumen hour , but not as good in other ways.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

If I recall correctly, the amount of useful light (from the point of view of the human eye) drops off faster than the amount of power saving, if you do this. Reducing the voltage causes the filament to run cooler, and shifts the balance of its emissions further down towards the infra-red.

Financially, standard incandescent bulbs are a better value than "contractor" 130-volt bulbs in most situations (where the labor cost involved in changing the bulbs is negligible) and for a given number of lumens desired.

--
Dave Platt                                    AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page:  http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
  I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
     boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
Reply to
Dave Platt

Nonsense. I'm talking about normal 750 hour, 100W incandescent bulbs like you used to put in the lamp; on your bedside table. I'm looking at a package right now: 1620 lumens.

In your dreams.

Wrong, as above. Apples to apples.

If you have huge lamps, sure. So what? Lots don't.

I already do. They suck fractionally less, but not enough to get excited about.

I'm shocked, _SHOCKED_ to hear that you leave your front porch light on when there's nobody there. Mine has a PIR motion detector, which used to be a good solution, back ih the dim distant days when the lights came on when you flipped the switch.

CFLs suck.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058

email: hobbs (atsign) electrooptical (period) net
http://electrooptical.net
Reply to
Phil Hobbs

Does your experience include making actual measurements? Otherwise it's worth bupkis.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058

email: hobbs (atsign) electrooptical (period) net
http://electrooptical.net
Reply to
Phil Hobbs

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TYPE IC LUMINAIRE =97 Luminaires marked "TYPE IC" may be installed such that insulation and other combustible materials are in contact with, and over the top of, the luminaire.

Reply to
Fred Bloggs

Klipste>>

Then explain how did your "cellulose packed ceiling" have such a problem that you're afraid of incandescents?

Reply to
krw

=A0 =A0 ...Jim Thompson

Right, but when they are also outlawed, the buyer may value lifetime above all. They take up storage space. They use present capital cost for future consumption.

Just not having to change the bulb as often has value. How do you calculate one's taste for that?

Reply to
Simon S Aysdie

Simple. Let people buy what they want.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058

email: hobbs (atsign) electrooptical (period) net
http://electrooptical.net
Reply to
Phil Hobbs

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UL breaks it down by fluorescent and incandescent recessed fixtures- the better brands have a thermal cutout anyway, so putting an incandescent in a fluorescent fixture trips it. When in doubt, don't put an incandescent in a fluorescent recessed fixture, the industry does not making everything foolproof. Light fixtures aren't the only devices with IC rating, this also applies to all kinds of receptacles too.

Reply to
Fred Bloggs

ost

Exactly.

I like CFLs and have good luck with them. I've found units that light instantly too. But, when color matters (like pictures, medical uses, or reading color codes), I prefer the occasional quartz halogen.

Those are my preferences. Would I force them on anyone else? No.

One of the most vital parts of the American miracle is 310 million people optimizing their own billions of purchases to meet their own requirements, and many producers constantly vying to best meet those needs.

Freedom. It's a good thing.

-- Cheers, James Arthur

Reply to
dagmargoodboat

Thank you for your usual straw man, dimbulb.

--
It's easy to think outside the box, when you have a cutting torch.
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Who cares? I use them where I want the heat along with light.

--
It's easy to think outside the box, when you have a cutting torch.
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

100 bulbs cost about $25 and take a couple cubic feet of storage space. 
--
It's easy to think outside the box, when you have a cutting torch.
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Klipste> >

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It's really simple. Use fiberglass insulation, instead of your Kotex wrappers.

--
It's easy to think outside the box, when you have a cutting torch.
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

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Reply to
Fred Bloggs

Klipste>>>

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It's not like people haven't been using recessed incandescent lights for, what, 60 years or more? We had them in my house growing up, and they were far from new in 1965. Making insulation that doesn't burn is not a big technological stretch.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Reply to
Phil Hobbs

By burning less coal!

-- Cheers, James Arthur

Reply to
dagmargoodboat

Will they last longer if being run on DC?

Reply to
MakeNoAttemptToAdjustYourSet

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