Will they withstand the vibration, or should I continue using regular bulbs in the fan light? I've never found the specialized fan bulbs to be worth it.
Thanks for advice.
Karen
- posted
16 years ago
CFL bulbs in ceiling fan?
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- posted
16 years ago
they sell ruggedized cfl bulbs for fans. i saw them yesterday in target.
regards, charlie cave creek, az
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- posted
16 years ago
I have a garden variety Sams club CFL in my drop light and it gets the hell beat out of it.
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- posted
16 years ago
Do not put the twisty CFL bulbs in your ceiling fan. I don't know about the other models but they are probably the same.
When I tried it they flickered constantly and it was very annoying. I went back to incandescent type.
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- posted
16 years ago
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- posted
16 years ago
I've had CFLs in my ceiling fan for YEARS without any problem.
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16 years ago
I've found them to last longer than the "fan bulbs" - at my last (rented) place I had a ceiling fan in my bedroom that just ate bulbs for some reason - excess vibration from cheap motor maybe? slapped some CFLs in it and never replaced a bulb again.
Had the same problem in a blast cabinet - even the ruggedized "drop light bulbs" wouldn't last through a single session. CFL still works.
nate
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- posted
16 years ago
i use the 6 for $10 cfl's in my ceiling fans without issue.
s
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- posted
16 years ago
Theoretically, CFLs will work better. They do not have a (relatively) fragile filament to break.
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- posted
16 years ago
You can even get smaller CFLs for fans with limited space.
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- posted
16 years ago
In about 1987, I found that the Phillips filament bulbs of that day would not tolerate vibration, but GE were just fine.
Likely some similar thing with CFL, some brands work OK.
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- posted
16 years ago
What brand works for you?
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- posted
16 years ago
I use CFLs in a ceiling fan, and I see that done a lot, and I have yet to see or hear of vibration problems.
The bigest problems are:
- If there is bare tubing, it is easy to break the tubing by screwing the bulb in by holding the tubing. There are "ceiling fan" CFLs with outer bulbs, but those generally tend to start dimmer and take longer to warm up. The tubing gets hotter in CFLs with outer bulbs. Since fluorescents only work well over a limited temperature range, CFLs with outer bulbs are optimized for higher tubing temperature - and need such to do their best.
- Higher wattage ones easily overheat if operated base-up in a downlight. It appears to me that most 14 watts or less are OK. 15, 20 and 23 watt non-dimmable Philips SLS are also OK, if they fit and if you get them in without cracking the tubing.
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
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- posted
16 years ago
I see lots of CFLs in ceiling fans and I never saw one flicker. Could you tell us what brand, model and wattage flickered in your ceiling fan?
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
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- posted
16 years ago
I don't remember the brand, probably GE or Sylvania. It was 40-watt equivilent. I do have a wireless remote installed within the fan electrical system so maybe that was the cause. The fan man at the store didn't seem too surprised when I told him the problem.
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- posted
16 years ago
Electronic switching devices sometimes cause CFLs to malfunction unless the CFLs are ones rated to use on dimmers. Electronic switching devices being used to switch non-dimmable CFLs should be rated to switch fluorescent lamps and electronic devices.
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)