Compact Flourescent Lamps

[Leon]

In many cases it is undetectable but as a bulb begins to go bad and or the ballast goes bad the flicker can be more evident. I was at a friends house a few months ago and and the 24" florescent fixture on the ceiling in the laundry room made you feel like you were in a Disco, it was nauseating.

Additionally the flicker is normally hard to see until you compare it to something turning slightly out of phase with the kHz. I have some "dimmable" floresent spot lights in track lighting and when they begin to go bad they put on a light show.

Good to know, is that for all brands or a particular brand?

[Leon]

Are you using "Dimmable" Fluorescents? They work well for me but they are about 4x more expensive.

[Bruce]

On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 05:10:49 -0600, Rick Samuel wrote (in article ):

In my experience, their lifespan is roughly the same as incandescents. This seems to follow for cheap/expensive and their on/off duty cycle.

-Bruce

[Father Haskell]

T12s flicker at line frequency. Narrower tubes turn on and off at higher frequencies, same as how the thinner high E string on a guitar sounds higher than the bass E.

Cheapest works fine for me.

[Father Haskell]

CFLs include PC boards, probably soldered with lead. Lead amount per CFL is probably the same as for an incandescent, however.

[Father Haskell]

Smaller tube. Less Hg needed.

[Andrew Barss]

Robatoy wrote: : On Aug 9, 11:28?pm, "Rick Samuel" : wrote: :> >>What am I missing? :>

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

:> >

:> ?Same with tube type. ?Is there more mercury in CFL's? ?The above said :> nothing about a difference.

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

Good to know, but it seems the mercury (as vapor) in CFCs is released more immediately into the air than in most of the items you listed. (The air one is breathing while cleaning up a broken CFC).

-- Andy Barss

[Robatoy]

e:

How long do you think mercury vapour stays airborne? The stuff sinks like a stone.

[Puckdropper]

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

I doubt that CFLs would be soldered with lead. There's a witch hunt going on for lead, so most outfits have switched to a lead-free solder.

Puckdropper

[Father Haskell]

innews: [e-mail]:

My next dead appliance to take apart to see what's inside.

[Lobby Dosser]

Why did I set off the bomb? I'd done a term paper on thermite bombs - this was only a dozen or so years post WWII.

Why did they evacuate the school? Hood didn't do a very good job and somebody panicked.

[russellseaton1]

The distribution of the light may not be as good with the CFLs in the porcelain fixtures. With the 4' or 8' fluorescent tubes the light is very well distributed. Last winter I put in about 40 4' 2 bulb fluorescent lights into the basement. Each fixture is about a foot or so from the next in a row with about 6 feet between rows. Used the cheap bulbs because I could not justify the 4 times cost for the nice bulbs. Lots of light everywhere in the basement with no spots much brighter than others. Very even distribution of light. Maybe wth very high ceilings the porcelain fixtures with CFLs would have an opportunity to disperse the light well enough. Or you could have bright spots and dark spots in the room.

[Andrew Barss]

Robatoy wrote: : How long do you think mercury vapour stays airborne? The stuff sinks : like a stone.

Have a look at what you need to do to cleap up a CFL - requires being down near the floor.

-- Andy Barss

[Robatoy]

You mean like Pluto the dog, sniffing a trail? Who puts their face/nose on the floor when they're cleaning? I suspect in some cases, some spilt Peruvian Marching Powder might compel some to 'snort the floor'...

Or does mercury 'hover' on your planet? (hint: it's very heavy)

[Jim Harvey]

You can get CFLs rated for ceiling fan use. They have higher vibration tolerance.

[B A R R Y]

But do you need them?

"Regular" CFLs have been great for me in tools, ceiling fans, and garage door openers.

[Mark & Juanita]

Garage door opener, now that might be a really good application, thanks for the idea.

Other than that, I haven't been very happy with the quality of light from CFL's. They're OK for the porch lights since they save some money on electricity (although they seem to attract more bugs with the extra UV). The last batches I've bought seem to last a bit better than earlier versions, such that they may be lasting long enough to actually save money.

[Father Haskell]

High blue output. 15 or 25 watt cool white CFLs make excellent, inexpensive plant grow lamps. While you might not like the dead blue spectrum, plants absolutely flourish under it.

[B A R R Y]

Be aware that they take a while to come up to full brightness in the cold. I see it as an annoyance, but it's definitely a negative.

[Andrew Barss]

:> Jim Harvey wrote: :>>

:>> You can get CFLs rated for ceiling fan use. They have higher vibration :>> tolerance. :> :> But do you need them? :> :> "Regular" CFLs have been great for me in tools, ceiling fans, and garage :> door openers.

: Garage door opener, now that might be a really good application, thanks : for the idea.

: Other than that, I haven't been very happy with the quality of light from : CFL's. They're OK for the porch lights since they save some money on : electricity (although they seem to attract more bugs with the extra UV). : The last batches I've bought seem to last a bit better than earlier : versions, such that they may be lasting long enough to actually save money.

I've had much the same disappointing experience. Several didn't last long, and overall the quality and intensity of light doesn't seem up to snuff. Dimmer (even ones that are supposed to exceed the replaced incandescents in lumens), and off somehow.

I'm hoping for breakthroughs in LED manufacturing, so we can leapfrog over the CFLs.

-- Andy Barss