OT - is this logical ?

[therustyone]

seen in Wilko Glass Orb Shade bulb 60w max or energy saving 12w max

[David WE Roberts]

Look back to the 20th November for the thread titled "Lamp shade bulb power ratings" which starts "Got a lampshade from The Range and the sticker inside says "Lamp shape 60W Lamp shape 12W"

This has me puzzling. Is there something about CFLs which makes the base much hottter than a traditional bulb? What about the CFLs with a globe around the outside which look like traditional lamps? Or has someone done a dumb thing and thought "The equivalent to a 60W filament bulb is a 12W CFL so that is the maximum size of CFL to fit"?

Struggling to find the logic here."

Some discussion ensues :-)

[David]

That will be the reason ;-)

Regards David

[polygonum]

Witness that it has taken all these years for someone to think as far as mentioning CFLs at all in this regard! How long before they notice LED lamp bulbs?

[The Natural Philosopher]

I expect some dumb spotty teenager on work experience was given the job, and looked it up and said '60W bulb = 12W CFL ' and stuck it in and no one else really gave a f*ck.

[dennis]

yes.

CFLs tend to use plastic bases and burn if they are enclosed well before a GLS lamp will. Did it have a plastic lamp holder?

[Man at B&Q]

The issue is that the base contains the electronics. Using them in pendant fitting, where they hang downwards, especially with close fitting shades, is known to cook the electronics and shorten the life.

MBQ