saw something really unsafe yesterday:(

[hallerb]

Went to dinner at a local pizza hut. It was a zoo being valentines day.

I noted they replaced all their outdoor accent light bulbs with compact fluroscents, a good move to save energy:)

However they are all mounted upside down:( All of my compact fluroscents warn not to do this. I figure the heat rising from the lamp will overheat the ballast built inside the lamp base. worse all of these fixtures are sealed glass rounds so there is little or no natural air circulation.

Is this a fire hazard and who should I inform?

[Doug Kanter]

Do *all* compact fluorescents have to be used with the base down?

[Bob]

I've never seen anything on the packageing indicating it is a problem. So it obviously isn't.

Bob

[trader4]

I've seen packaging on at least some saying they should only be used pointed up. But then I've got one of these in my garage ceiling fixture. I think they should provide more info. Like maybe it's only an issue in an enclosed fixture because of heating?

[hallerb]

all of mine state burn base down only on them....

[spamTHISbrp]

I had some nice 40watt CFs in the garage, open porcelain fixture, base up. They fried much sooner than they should have.

-Dave

[Joshua Putnam]

Just checked the packaging for our spares, none of them say base-down only.

In fact, some cheap Commercial Electric ones specify base-up only. (But it's written in text that can only be read base-down.)

[never heard]

I've got 26 CFs (13W to 27W) in their basement recess light fixtures. About 10 of them are used daily. Haven't gotten any problem yet since I put them on a year ago.

Most of those are plain CFs. (6 for $10 HomeDepot ones). But I also got some flood CFs. Never noticed that the bases have to be down.

[Joseph Meehan]

I just checked the four kinds I have representing three totally different designs and not one indicated anything about base down. Three indicated not to use with a dimmer (the third I could not read anything on it) and none indicated anything about base up or down. Three indicated to keep always from moisture and two indicated that they should not be used in a "totally" enclosed fixture.

[barry]

It depends on what the mfg of the lamps in question would say about the specific situation. I've never seen such a restriction with any of a bunch of brands/ratings.

Heat dissipated by CFL is way less than with any tungsten. So little, I'd obsess elsewhere, or not.

[Mark Lloyd]

What brands, and where is the message? Could they be older ones?

I checked several CF bulbs I had here, and none say anything about "base down".

[k]

I just looked at some that I have. While there are no restrictions printed on the package, there are three no-nos printed right on the ballast area of the bulbs themselves. No contact with water, no totally enclosed fixtures, and no dimmers.

Keith

[Jim Yanik]

"Doug Kanter" wrote in news:CcJIf.14797$ [e-mail]:

First,I would not consider this "really unsafe";it just means the lamps will fail sooner,the heat shortening the life of electrolytic caps in the ballast.They aren't going to last forever,anyways.

Being outdoors,it's probably not any serious fire hazard,either.

To answer your Q,not all compact FLs must be used base-down. (just the cheap ones.)

[hallerb]

have you ever seen a pizza hut burn? Several have had fires locally all that grease, they really go good:( ( firemans lingo for BIG fire)

I was under the impression ALL compact fluroscents had to burn base down, apparently thats not true.

a good buddy used to be a pizza hut manager and those accent lights were always a maintence issue. if the compact fluroscents last it will be a good thing and save energy.

I used to use a compact fluroscent in my pole light, for whartever reason they only lasted 6 months, and the one outdoor pole light special 20 buck one died in 2 months.

I use a lot of them around here to save energy $$. But they dont last 4 or 5 years as advertised.

[Al Moran]

Who are you, johnny f****ng do gooder? I hope you do report them. I'm sure your next pie will have the extra special sauce.

[Al Moran]

all your base are us.

[Mark Lloyd]

In an enclosed fixture, it's going to get hot all over. It shouldn't matter which way you turn the bulb.

Thinking of enclosed fixtures, most of the ones I have are attached to ceiling fans. The bulb would be base up.

[Harry K]

I have 2 outdoor yard lights, base up in glass globes. Been there over

10 years and haven't failed yet. Of course they burn 24/7 (too lazy to turn em off) so maybe the lack of cycling is extending their life.

Harry K

[maradcliff]

I never saw that, but I cant say I read all that stuff either. However if they were meant to be used with the glass side pointed up, there are few places they could be used. I have them in all of my garage fixtures, just the common porcelain fixtures. I have one on my hall light, pointed down and enclosed in glass. The funny thing is I had two in my bathroom with the glass pointed up (the only fixtures I have where the bulb points up. Those kept burning out, so I put standard bulbs back in there. Could the OP have it reversed?

Mark

[maradcliff]

Oh shit..... My hall light is totally enclosed. I better go see if the hall is on fire. Be right back....... (unless there is a fire). Suppose I should drill a few holes in the base. I have done that on standard bulb fixtures to prevent burning up the wires. It helps and a few 1/4" holes are not noticable.