Light Bulb

How many posters in this Newsgroup does it take to change a lightbulb?

1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed.

12 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently.

9 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

6 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.

4 to flame the spell checkers.

3 to correct spelling/grammar flames.

1 and we all know which one, to complain about top-posting.

6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... another 6 to condemn those 6 as anal-retentive.

3 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "lamp".

8 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "light bulb" is perfectly correct.

17 to post that this News Group is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb forum.

13 to defend the posting to this group saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this NG.

25 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

6 to post URL's where one can see examples of different light bulbs.

3 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL's.

5 to post about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group.

11 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too".

3 to cross-post replies to twelve other News Groups.

4 to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

5 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?".

1 infrequent visitor to the group to respond to the original post 6 months from now and start it all over again.

Argh!

Reply to
Phil
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Talking of light bulbs, it seems extraordinary that they never say how much light they give out, but only how much power they consume.

As their purpose is presumably to give out light, it would seem more logical to say how much it provides.

I can't imagine a butcher telling you how much power you need to cook a joint, rather than how much it weighs.

Reply to
Timothy Murphy

Reply to
The Wanderer

.. and one to point out that if you have a fitting with two bulbs you are much less likely to be left in the dark

.. and another two point out that if you do this, you'll be changing bulbs twice as often

Reply to
Tony Bryer

Just one or two a week.

Si

Reply to
Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot

A win win situation...

No disadvantages allowed to be mentioned.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

"Mungo \"two sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

You're lucky, I get loads more than that

mike

Reply to
mike ring

You forgot about me! I say you should get a pro in to do it.

Arthur

Reply to
Arthur

One to point out that the lighbulb would in fact last forever if it was made using two coils of wire and a small generator of electrical impulses and that it would also prevent scaling of the cold water supply and increase the efficiency of the boiler to 150%.

Reply to
Steve Firth

And another one called NT to point out this isnt a problem if your lights are made accessible in the first place, and you keep the variety of bulbs you use to sensible numbers and sensible prices, and you overlap the lighting areas so that with one fitting out you still have at least some light there.

And to point out that if you use a switchbank you also get 3 brightness levels, saving energy and making the place more comfortable in the evening.

And to explain this was common practice in the 20s & 30s when electricity was seriously expensive, ie it is a well proven energy saving method. Having used such an ancient installation, and ahving used this method in modern days, I can say its a thoroughly good idea.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

Look on the side of the packets.

There is often a number "1000 lumens" for example.

100lm/W is excellent, for the best fluorescants, 180lm/W is typically only achievable with yellow sodium monochromatic low-pressure lights, 15lm/W or so is fairly typical for your average tungsten light bulb, and CF lights can be around 50-60lm/W.
Reply to
Ian Stirling

Thanks very much, I see that about half of my rather large store of light bulbs have a lumen measure on them.

Tesco are just selling sets of 3 11 watt energy-saving bulbs very cheaply, and these claim to give 600 lumen, while a "soft tone" Phillips 60 watt bulb specifies 710 lumen, which seems a little low by your measure.

Since I am in the presence of such luminous knowledge, why does one never see very bright energy-saving bulbs - I mean the equivalent of a 150 or 200 watt standard bulb?

Reply to
Timothy Murphy

You can get very bright 'per square inch' fluorescents - we use them in filming - but the tubes, and possibly control gear, are very pricey.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Soft tone is less efficient than pearl - the more diffusing the glass the more light it absorbs, and also the slight tint of soft tone is caused by absorption of light. Opal is worse than pearl but better than coloured soft tone, clear is more efficient than any of the others (but of limited use of course).

All this assumes that you have the same filament, gas fill etc.

Reply to
Chris Hodges

check the lifetime rating of those, dont bother if theyre the 1200 hr ones.

Questionable British regulations forbid loads of 50w with no waveform correction, which is too expensive, so people just use 150/200 filaments instead. A daft situation.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

Because they turn out to be rather unreliable. They are available in the US, but the tube cooks the control gear leading to early control gear failures, and they are usually restricted to being operated base down in open luminares, making them unsuitable for many applications. The highest power rating I've seen in the shops in UK is a Philips 30W one with ES lampbase at Homebase, which is probably 120W equivalent. You can find some higher rated ones by searching mail order specialists.

At the moment, for higher power ratings, you are better off with a lamp with separate (remoted) control gear so the heat from the tube doesn't cook it.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

And John Prescott, who is going to make you.

Reply to
Nick Atty

I assume that's a reference to the EMC standard IEC/EN 61000-3-2 which sets limits for the harmonic content of the mains current drawn by various types of load. AFAIK the 50 W limit only applies to Class D, and that's when the waveform correction may be required.

Lighting equipment has its own class (Class C) where the harmonic limits are specified in terms of percentages of the fundamental. AFAICS there's nothing there that would prohibit CFLs of higher ratings.

Reply to
Andy Wade

limited use? I wish I could get them more easily. Theyre just as good for light fittings where the bare bulb isnt visible, and look much better in some types of light.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

That's certainly true. I'm often unable to find what I want in B&Q/Sainsbury's, but can nearly always get slightly unusual bulbs in a shop near where I work. The big Asda/walmart in Bristol is sometimes good as well, but I don't go there very often, so everything has moved by the next time I'm in there.

Reply to
Chris Hodges

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