I replaced my front lamp post a few months ago. The new one uses a standard light bulb (not the mini bulbs the previous fixture used).
Problem is, the wind shakes the post and my bulbs are only lasting about a week. This was always a problem, but it's much worse with the larger bulb.
Are there bulbs that are made to withstand vibration?
You can buy a garage door opener bulb or a generic "rough service" bulb. Some of them have silicone rubber coatings to make them shatter proof. Any electrical supply house will stock them.
TDD
There are two types which I'm aware of. One is intended for drop lights, and produces pretty ugly light compared with "normal" light bulbs. The other type is labeled "ceiling fan bulbs". They're sold at Home Depot. I use the
40w version, and I'm not sure if they make larger ones for that purpose. Light quality is good, and they do what they're designed for in terms of resisting vibration. Assuming you're not trying to light up the yard like a baseball stadium, they should do the trick.
Use a CFL, mine are going on 5 years now. When the temperature is below zero, they take a while to warm up, but they do work at below zero once they warm up.
Use a CFL, mine are going on 5 years now. When the temperature is below zero, they take a while to warm up, but they do work at below zero once they warm up.
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Gotta be careful with some timers which will go belly up if they're controlling a CFL bulb. Intermatics in-wall digital timers had this problem, although the company was terrific about replacing them with updated versions.
Can you make the pole stiffer? Fill it with concrete, or replace with schedule 80 pipe or something?
-- aem sends...
Yes, but they acheive it by having very heavy filiments that consume a lot more power. For something like a lampost that is on for long hours, that is a consideration. A CFL would probably be very good in that application. Just allow 15 minutes or so to get to full brightness in winter time. A CFL left on 24/7 might cost less to operate than using a rough service incandescent.
Compact fluorescents are good for that and will work down to 0 degs. F, unlike regular fluorescents. But if you need incandescents, look for "rough service" bulbs, which have far more wire supports for the filament than regular bulbs do. Auto parts stores may have them cheap, but the lowest price I ever found was at Sears, back in the early 1990s, for their Diehard brand, which were stocked next to the garage door openers and only $1.25, compared to $3-5 for similar bulbs at other stores.
As I understand. Fluorescents use a tiny filament to heat the gas, and then the electricity goes through a heated gas. So, with a CFL, it occurs to me to turn it on when the wind is calm, and the post is steady. So you don't blow out the heater filament. Same deal with your blast cabinet.
The heater filament is not anywhere near as fragile as the filiment in an incandescent bulb. It's a non-issue.
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