I changed out all my bulbs with cfl 3 years ago, I've had 2 failures out of about 30 bulbs.

In the garage I still run edisons wire and 1 flourescent.

 

I'm no longer up to speed on graphics, but imagine this:

A picture of a wicked looking missile with chinese writing on the side and a picture of chairman Mao - tipped with a gigantic CFL...

AND THE CAPTION?

(AP News Services)
"US Intelligence sources identify new generation SA-120V Intercontinental Ballistic Dirty Missile, the latest in the Chinese arsenal. Details at 11...."




You think I'm kidding! But hate and envy have no limits...

Personally I believe William Clinton was and is a traitor. That's unforgivable

 

snopes.com: CFL Mercury Light Bulbs <---- good reading material.

I just have an issue with the GOV. Telling me I have to use a light bulb with Mercury in it in my house. I work around Mercury every day. Yea so it's 4mg, lets see what happens in 10 years.

 

In ten more years - all of that will be in the landfills, of course.

I would put this question though -

Just how many flourescent bulbs are already in landfills, while the united states was making them?

I bet there will be a lot more tomorrow...

So WHO EXACTLY IS BITCHING?????

*I ask
I'm GOOD at it

Even if at times it seems I reverse myself.

 

I think now that the majority of CFLs are made in China, that is why life is spotty. I worked a long time ago for a Taiwan(the good Chinese) owned company. We sold $30,000 computer test gear. Once they took over production, their philosphies towards field failures were... "It works for us here" , "Just send the customer another one".

My personal experience with China specials of all types is they work OK if it is a simple easy to make part. Anything requiring complex manufacturing is suspect. Almost everything electrical I have seen has had components that were over stressed, ie wires too small, too low current capacity components etc.

I are an enjuneer, EE, so I take electrical stuff apart just to see what happened to the smoke inside. Most failed CFLs I have found had an obvious burn spot on the circuit board where a component had gotten too hot and failed. Usually something like a resistor or transistor etc. Solder joints are also SLOPPY. I are a NASA trained solder technician from way back and chinese solder must be done with a charcoal poker and some old bullets from the shooting range.


As a general guide, you should put CFLs where they get good air circulation. If they are inside of an enclosed space, like a glass globe or one of those louvered light covers, they will overheat and fail much quicker than expected. Also bulbs hanging in a cieling fixture like those recessed lights, will also often overheat and fail. they work best in the usual table and floor lamps where the air flow is from top to bottom and unobstructed.

CFLs also work best when they are not turned off and on a lot. Better to use them in fixtures that are on several hours a day. On/Off cycles are a common cause of premature failure of many electronic systems, not just light bulbs.

Just my ideas from using CFLs since at least the late 80s when they didn't even look like CLFs. My wife hates them by the way, so we will probably buy incandesents on the black market.

Jim Henderson

 

Another good thing about LED's is they don't produce much heat, I do kitchen cabinets and everyone has under (and over) cabinet lights. We put 20 in the last house, man they put out some heat!!! Not LED's though.

 

I buy all my CFL at Costco mainly because of where i live but also because when they burn out I take them back to store and they just give me new ones.

LED prices are falling down down down I bought 6 of them on sale at Costco for $20 60w equivalents. I really like they bright white light they produce and they are instantly bright.

 

CFLs won't be around much longer. There aren't many types of lamp for which you can't get an LED replacement. Cost will continue to come down. An LED factory is scheduled to be built here in So NV in the near future. The owner is a Chinese company.

I'm a very busy union electrician in Las Vegas. As far as lighting goes, I've seen it all. LED technology is becoming much more impressive. I'm doing a project now that uses all LED fixtures for site lighting. Along with the efficiency, the quality of light they put out is excellent. They can also be specifically focused so as not to offend the neighbors.

CFLs suck. Then again, I've been biased towards LEDs for years. Just look at my toy hauler.

 

THAT THING - is brilliantly lit....

I like it.

And you're right - why waste energy on a sub-standard.

 

i been stockin up on incandescent bulbs.......i got enough to last till i die or the nuclear zombie obama chevy apocalypse happens...

 

RAID Radio Shack for them.
(LED's)

They may be cheap - but they DON'T fail

 

Do not waste your money on Utilitech CFLs. I replaced our incandescent candelabra bulbs with Utilitech CFL daylight bulbs not even two weeks ago. Now i've got 2 of the 4 bulbs blinking faster than every second. They are not burned out but the electronics inside are causing them to now blink. It's like a strobe effect. I should have done more research on these.

A simple google search shows similar results with Utilitech CFLS. They are distributed by Feit Electric Company, or alias of FEC.

They are cheap chinese made garbage. Dont waste yer money. I'm taking printouts of the online reports and this crappy set of bulbs back to Lowes to see if i can get a brand exchange or money back.

 

I have found that any kind of bulbs by Feit are pretty much junk.

 

If you're a Duke Energy customer, here's a way to get them free. If you're not, there's a chance you can get them through your energy provider.

Don't miss your chance to get FREE CFLs--Duke Energy

 

Thanks John. Our local power company provides the discounts on the bulbs that we buy off the shelf at the local stores.