Compact Flourescent Lamps

[Rick Samuel]

A few months ago(6?) I asked about using CFL's in a shop.

Recommendations were, not a good idea, no reasons given.

So, bought a few 42W, 5100K full spectrum, CRI of 82. Lamp price $12, porcelain screw in fixture, $3. (Need 45 lamps to reach 2.1 W per sq. ft.)

These few I bought seem to be just fine. Everything seems to line up with tube type as to output, life, etc. Except tube fixtures cost more then the whole setup using CFL's. Not HD fixtures. (Lithonia)

May throw in a few 4100K lamps to warm things up a bit, don't know.

What am I missing?

Thanks

[Richard Evans]

Maybe the dangers of breaking them and releasing mercury into the air.

[B A R R Y]

My shop is full of them.

On a side note, they make great tool mounted lamps, as there is no filament to fail due to vibration.

[Leon]

A couple of problems with a florescent is that they do flicker and they can at a quick glance make certain tools appear to not be turning. If you think your saw blade is not turning you might have an accident. This may be more of a problem with a VS DP or Lathe and if you cannot hear the machine running. Have you ever noticed how a drill chuck seems to spin backwards stop and go forward as you raise and lower the speed when using florescent lighting? As the speed of the chuck goes into and out of phase with the cycles of the lamp the chuck can appear to be turning at a different speed or direction. Another problem is many are very slow to come up to full brightness, cold makes this situation worse. I currently have 6 florescent flood lights in my home and all take up to 20 - 40 seconds to put out any usable light and they are comparable to a 65 watt spot.

[Robatoy]

I used to play with mercury when I was a kid... I used to rub it on silver dimes to make them shiny... and I grew up norbal...geeezzz..

[J. Clarke]

The big problem I have with them is that they don't work worth crap with any kind of electronic control. Not just dimmers, but they have trouble with any X10 stuff or the like that doesn't use a mechanical relay.

[Richard Evans]

When I was a kid, shoe stores used to have X-ray machines you could stick your foot in just to see what it looked like. We survived lots of things that have since proved harmful.

[Phisherman]

Like playing with a bowl of mercury as if it were Jello.

[Robatoy]

Goodness...I was never lucky enough to have a whole bowl... lucky you!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I have two on X-10, one on the appliance module, the other on a lamp module. Works OK but I never need to dim those two. They are good in places that need night lights or in difficult to reach fixtures as they last a long time. I'll never convert 100% though, they can't do it all.

[Rick Samuel]

nothing about a difference.

[Rick Samuel]

Well, a real, and helpful answer, thanks. I have a few mag. switches.

[Fred the Red Shirt]

Some of us did.

[Father Haskell]

CFLS? I thought the flicker frequency was in kHz range, undetectable.

Takes my eyes at least that long to focus, so no problem. Note that the Lexan-encased PAR floods with the CFL tubes inside offer a solution to the leakage of the trace of mercury should the tube break.

[Elrond Hubbard]

Robatoy wrote in news: [e-mail]:

My 10th grade chemistry teacher - Miss Green - dropped a 500 ml beaker about half full of mercury. We all played with marble-size balls of the stuff for days.

The next year, she dropped a large sealed flask of chlorine gas. They evacuated the science wing for the rest of the day.

Scott

[Richard Evans]

I'm guessing that there is, based on several observations:

- I've never seen dire warnings about the consequences of breaking the tubes..

- There are not complicated cleanup instructions for broken tubes.

- The landfill accepts tubes but not CFLs.

- I've never seen in the dicusssion of the dangers of CFLs a mention of similar dangers from tubes.

[Lobby Dosser]

innews: [e-mail]:

I set off a thermite bomb in the hood and they evacuated the school -

2500 kids.

[Robatoy]

Here's a comparison re: mercury quantities in different products:

Product Amount of Mercury Number of Equivalent CFLs

Compact fluorescent lamp

5 milligrams 1

Watch battery

25 milligrams 5

Dental amalgams

500 milligrams 100

Home thermometer

500 milligrams =96 2 grams 100 =96 400

Float switches in sump pumps

2 grams 400

Tilt thermostat

3 grams 600

Electrical tilt switches and relays

3.5 grams 700

[Fred the Red Shirt]

I do, vaguely.

The mercury vapor is needed so that there is a conductive path between the electrodes when the tube is cold, before the gas is ionized.

[Fred the Red Shirt]

Oh, it was a high school administrator who made that decision, right?