Light Bulb Filament Repair Kits

[jw]

How come no one sells kits to replace the filaments in incandescent light bulbs?

Until they do, I guess we're stuck with this crap.

[Tegger]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Is this a serious question?

You can't replace the filament because the glass is blown in place in/on the base with the filament inside. You therefore can't remove the glass from the base without fracturing it.

Incandescents cost about a quarter apiece before the environuts got involved in lighting. No point in trying to repair something that cheap.

[Don Klipstein]

That 25,000 hour 100 watt incandescent almost certainly produces less light than a 750 hour 75 watt once. At national average electricity cost of over 11 cents per KWH, the 25 watt difference costs over $2 for 750 hours. Superlonglife incandescents don't pay except where there is a labor cost issue in replacing them.

Meanwhile, I am happy about how long the CFLs in my bathroom are lasting.

My experience with a light meter differs from that mentioned in the link above. I am happy with the light output from my CFLs.

And where do they get this figure of CFLs using 20x their rated power for a whole second when turned on? That is definitely not true.

[A. Baum]

How come some people can turn on a computer, find Usenet, install Agent and subscribe to a news group while having an IQ around their shoe size?

Been using CFL for 7 years, most lamps are not crap. I have 4 23 watters outside for security that run dusk to dawn. Installed 4 in 2008, replaced one a month ago. I've replaced a total of 6 inside out of 12 in 7 years. Not crap by anyone's standards even though they are overrated for longevity I'm satified.

Flat panel computer monitors have been using CCFL backlight since they were invented.

[Don Klipstein]

In most light bulbs where ratio of watts to filament length (before uncoiling) is around or over 20 watts per inch, the bulb is filled with a mixture of argon and nitrogen. I heard on one web site, 93% argon 7% nitrogen.

In most with lower ratio of watts to apparently visible before-uncoiling length, the bulb has a vacuum.

[jw]

How do you know how big my shoes are. For all you know, my shoes might be ten feet. Or I might have ten feet and you must add the sizes together.

[dadiOH]

You don't need a kit, just a couple of things found in any well equipped household; namely, a gas torch and vacuum pump.

Just use the torch to heat an area of the bulb to the point of softness, make a hole in it, remove dead filament and insert new, use pump to suck out as much air as possible (makes the filament last longer) while sealing hole with a syrupy glass rod. Learn to do it well and you'll soon have a nice little business servicing your friends and neighbors,

[Jules Richardson]

:-) Reminded me of this guy:

[smhuddleston]

"And where do they get this figure of CFLs using 20x their rated power for a whole second when turned on? That is definitely not true."

Yes, CFL's and fluorescents in general have a massive surge consumption whe n initially turned on. They also contain dangerous chemicals like mercury a nd cadmium that must be disposed of in a very scientific manner. When using renewable energy and safe nuclear energy, incandescents are by far the bes t lightbulb for the environment.

[philo]

I don't know where your post came from but with incandescents, I find it best to drain the vacuum out of them once a year and fill them up with new.

[Frank]

Refill them with xenon or krypton and they outlast CFL's.

[Al Gore]

And if you're on a 2-phase center-tap transformer, it wouldn't hurt to swap the polarity of the bulbs occasionally.

[Pico Rico]

if you switch to outcandescents, all of these problems are averted.

[Tomsic]

And be sure to keep your burned out bulbs to screw into empty sockets so that the electricity won't leak out.

TK

[Ralph Mowery]

If you swap the polarity you convert them into dark suckers. They quit putting light in the room and suck the dark out of the room. Similar to revresing the flow in a heat pump and making it into a cold pump to heat and cool a house.

[Pico Rico]

and so that nothing leaks in, either!

[philo]

Great idea but now I've wreaked the filament... anyone have a schematic diagram? I have an extensive repair lab here and may be able to cobble together a fix.

[philo]

Or collect the loose electrons in a zinc tub.

[Jerry.Tan]

And dont forget to rotate your bulbs once a year. Plus, if you live in an area which gets real cold weather in Winter, you need to install Incandescent "Winter Bulbs" during the cold months.

[micky]

When you reverse the wires on a heat pump, it heats the outside, and it seems to do a good job too. It's always hot out when my friend does that.