Looking for facts about fires caused by compact florescent bulbs

[alvinamorey]

I am looking for facts about fires caused by compact florescent bulbs. The more I use them, the more dangerous they seem. It's bad enough they never live up to their normal life expectency, but they also seem dangerous as far as causing fires. A couple years ago I flipped on the bathroom lights (two fixtures) with CF bulbs. I sat down on the toilet when suddenly I heard a loud pop. One of the CF bulbs went black and at that same moment smoke and sparks began blowing out of the base of the CF. I got up and flipped off the switch before any further damage occurred. Yesterday I went into my garage, where I have 4 CF bulbs. When I flipped on the switch I heard a buzz that sounded similar to an arc welder but not as loud. One of the lights flickered and finally lit up. I was a bit puzzled and shut off the lights and turned them on again. This time the same bulb made that same sound and apparently died. It would no longer light up. When I walked near that CF I could smell a burnt odor.

I have been lucky that I was able to be nearby when these occurred, and it seems the problems happen when the lights are turned on. However, I am finding these bulbs to be dangerous as far as a fire risk. Because of this, I am going to be eliminating all of them and going back to standard light bulbs. I'd rather spend a few dollars extra per month on my electric bill than risk a fire.

Does anyone know of any facts about fires caused by CF bulbs?

Alvin

[Caesar Romano]

On Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:43:35 -0500, [e-mail] wrote Re Looking for facts about fires caused by compact florescent bulbs:

Good idea. BTW, did you notice where they were made?

[mike]

I can only offer an anecdote. A few weeks ago I had a 100 watt equiv. compact fluorescent bulb break and start arcing. I shut it off quickly, but it became wickedly hot. It was easily in the fire hazard temperature range. I'm glad I was right there. I searched the net about similar incidents without success.

It may have been a fluke, but I look forward to the day when there are cheap LED bulbs that I can use as a replacement. You'd think they'd make a product containing mercury (like CFs) a little more resistant to breaking.

[terry]

Nothing per that experience but I have one CFL Marked SE201 15W 120v

60Hz. on desk in front of me.

The reason it was removed from use is because the ceramic (or ceramic looking) base separated and the lighted part with some components attached came loose.

This btw is not one of the 'curly' types/ It has four straight tubes (well actually two tubes looped) each tube is about 7/16 in diam. about 4 inches long that project straight up from the base. Overall it's a shade over 6 inches long from tip of the screw in base to far end of the fluorescing tubes. So it's physically about as long as one of those incandescent bulbs that are often mounted horizontally above a picture frame. The ceramic base through which the tubes emerge has also crumbled slightly.

On other hand we have a plastic cased fluorescent hand inspection lamp which seems to work well, its fully enclosed bulb flickers once or twice and then comes on. Appears much safer in a garage or workshop environment than an incandescent bulb with a hot filament inside a glass bulb that could be broken.

While this was for its time of purchase a 'cheapie' at about $2 not impressed with it. It does use less electrcity and it does not get hot as does an incandescent. But this one definitely does not produce the same amount of light as say a 60 to 75 watter, as claimed.

[Chris Friesen]

I've been using CFLs for 6-7 years and haven't experienced any problems such as you've described. I suspect that if they were any higher-risk overall the manufacturers would have been sued by now.

Were the two bulbs that died the same brand?

As for life expectancy...CFLs are still fluourescent, and as such the more frequently you turn them on/off the shorter the lifespan. They're best suited for lights that get left on for hours at a time.

One rule of thumb that I've read is that if the light will be needed in the next twenty minutes or so it's better (from a pure financial perspective) to leave it running than to turn it off and then back on. Supposedly the increased lifespan makes up for the increased power consumption.

Chris

[Joseph Meehan]

First I suggest that you take a look at any lamp you have and any CF bulbs. Make sure it has the UL mark. If it does, I would have to suggest that it is safe. Nothing is 100% but the UL mark means it has passed tough testing.

Second there seems to be a problem with some of the higher wattage lamps from one or more manufacturers as they are designed to burn only base down and they have not all been properly marked. That has been changed, but there still may be some on the shelves.

[hallerb]

I have noted the same fire hazard.

plus dont use spray wax around a CF, if a little over spray gets into the bulb spark and flames will result.

UL is NO guarantee of safety. I fix roll laminating machines in my business. I noted a extreme safety hazard, after getting badly shocked. I just touched a metal switch at the time and happened to be grounded.

ended up really grounded, laying on floor across room.

the manufacturer appeared dis interested, in this real hazard. the metal part is mounted in a plastic bezel and handles line voltage. yet its not grounded . could be easily grounded called UL NOTHING happened even today.

no doubt it will be fixed when someone dies:(

I had a UL approved light set catch on fire.

UL isnt as safe as it should be.

but its no better than the feds. I hapen to know how to easily get a weapon on a plane. TSA caught the risk in one city but never bothered to spread the word.

so I called my legislators office arlen spectre.

nothing happened and I would know if it did.

labels like UL and TSA are just that labels

[jJim McLaughlin]

Those in the US who have anecdotes, or more importantly, actual failed bulbs, should contact the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and submit failed bulbs for inspection.

CPSC can be contacted at:

My quick count shows at least 3 folks in this thread claiming failed CFLs and possession of the failed parts indicating severe electronic / electrical problems.

If you want to have a pessitve effect on what you perceive as a safety problem, contact the CPSC. Don't just piss and moan about the issue here.

Wanna bet 99% of the CFLs are made in China and 100% of failed bulbs are Chinese made?

[e-mail] wrote:

[mike]

1. It's been several weeks. The bulb is long gone.

1. Even if I had it, I can't see going through the hassle of submitting a bulb.

2. I wasn't too fond of dealing with the broken bulb at all, considering the mercury content. I can't imagine what I'd have to do to mail the bulb somewhere without getting fined by the EPA or some other agency for who-knows-what.

[Meat Plow]

I flipped on a 30 watt coiled CF bulb down in my basement a couple years ago and watched in horror as sparks and flames sprayed out of the plastic. I called Sylvania/Osram and reported the incident. They asked for me to send the defect to them. I asked for a postage paid label but they declined so that's as far as it went. Never bought one after that.

[clot]

I've used CFLs throughout the house ( with the exception of the kitchen where we use striplights) for more than 20 years with little problem. I've had one where the glass cracked but didn't fall out of the fitting. Mostly, they have done what was said on the box. Usual life has been 6 to 8 years, though I've also had some early failures as I have in earlier years with filament bulbs.

I'm happy with my energy bills and I hope I've reduced my footprint on the planet. This nonsense about mercury is just that!

[clot]

This apparent issue about mercury! Salt is bad for you. You can also drink yourself to death with drinking water. CFLs do contain mercury and we do need to consider where it will be a major issue if we dispose of many in landfills. Having one smash in the house is not an issue. Think about the number of mercury thermometers we used to use and break without us all going loopy. CFLs are not a health issue to the user; they could possibly be to those involved in the manufacture and could also be to future users of the planet if we do not dispose of sensibly. They are not a hazard to the user!

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Please don't say these things to children, OK?

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Right. Better to bitch about it here, where it'll be read by what - 20 people? That's enough of a percentage of the population to allow you to feel like a real cool guy.

Right. The EPA is underfunded, but they still have someone at every post office, opening and inspecting packages.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

You're an idiot.

[willshak]

ould there be millions of fluorescent tubes going to the landfill every year? If not millions, many hundreds of thousands? How many fluorescent tubes are there in major buildings?.What should be done with them? Should we have hazardous waste companies that deal with fluorescent lamps? How much would you pay extra for new lamps to offset this extra cost? If you go to a large hotel chain like the Hilton, you will find that all the sconce lamps in the hallways have been replaced with CFLs. They said it saves them millions of $ a year.

[Don Klipstein]

I hear more about actual fires from lamps other than CFLs than I do about ones from CFLs.

I hear a lot about CFLs failing more spectacularly than one would like, with a main blame being filter capacitors rupturing. The major manufacturers have made improvents in that area, and I hear less about this than I did a few years ago.

As for reports of actual fires caused by CDFs or ones actually catching fire - I don't hear of amny of those, and I suspect those are mostly due to non-UL-listed ones available mainly at dollar stores, and from the few with safety recalls (which includes one of what I would call a "dollar store brand").

One more thing: Many CFLs are unsuitable for use in small enclosed fixtures and in recessed ceiling fixtures. Most over 23 watts are unsuitable there. The ones most suited are probably ballastless ones for use in fixtures designed for them, and after that Philips non-dimmable SLS up to 23 watts. However, if a CFL has UL listing, it is supposed to be at least "reasonably safe" unless used in a manner directed against. Note - ballastless bulbs are not subject to UL listing the way ones with ballasts are.

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Where do you "hear" these things? Might be interesting to share the source(s) in the newsgroup.

[Don Klipstein]

I suspect it is what I call a "dollar store junker", especially if it has an icy daylight color. I have had a couple come apart that way on me, one of them doing so even right out of the package.

In my experience, dollar store junkers produce anywhere from moderately less light than claimed to less than 1/3 claimed light output, with none outshining a better 40 watt "standard incandescent" by much or at all; most claiming 40-125 watts incandescent replacement in my experience underperformed a better 40 watt incandescent.

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[willshak]

on 9/19/2007 9:01 PM JoeSpareBedroom said the following:

Every fluorescent bulb and every neon tube has mercury in them. They have been like that for decades. Let's close Times Square and Las Vegas.