4' fluorescent bulbs burn out a LOT!

I've used 4 footers in my garage for longer than I can remember. Now that it is a WW shop, I've got 9 of them. No matter if they have electronic ballasts or the older types, the bulbs don't last long. I'd venture a guess that I replace about 10 to 12 of them in a year. In the past it seemed that one or two of the fixtures had more failures than others, so I replaced the fixtures with electronic ballast. The temperature at which they are turned on at seldom is below 50 degrees. Half of them turn on automatically with a motion sensor, each time someone enters the shop. BUT, the others are only turned on with a pull switch when needed and they have had failures also, so I don't think that it is the frequency of switching them on/off that's the problem. I've used GE Residential bulbs and Phillips bulbs that HD carries now. I've had 2 or 3 immediate failures of the Phillips bulbs (flickering) so I returned them for refund and switched back to GE, which always work when new.

My question is: do you guys have frequent bulb failures with the 4 footers? I'm thinking of replacing them with eights if that will solve the problem.

Incandescent bulbs in my home last for ages, except for those little night lights.

dave

Reply to
Bay Area Dave
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I am one of those who subscribe to the theory of leaving most sorts of electrical equipment (without motors, of course) ON, if you don't have to turn it off ... this specifically includes fluorescent fixtures.

I leave my 8, four footers in the shop on 24/7 and haven't burned out a single bulb in 2 years at the current location. I do the same with computers, amplifiers in the studio, etc. ... we have an old BBS computer at the office that has been on for almost 8 years... afraid to turn it off, now.

Even leaving the shop lights on all the time, electricity for the shop is still less than $30/month ... and this in an area of high electrical costs.

Strictly FWIW and YMMV ...

Reply to
Swingman

Quite the opposite of my experience. Have about a dozen 2-tube

4-footers and cant remember having to replace a single bulb in about five years now...

Incandescents, on the other hand.....

Those suckers pop on me at the rate of about 2 a month. I'm slowly replacing them with screw-in fluorescents. Pricey, but worth it if they last as long as the advertising says they will. The sylvania

90-watt equivalents (pull about 25 watts of power) give a brighter, whiter light than the other brands, which are yellowish.
Reply to
LP

Dave,

I can't say anything about 4 footers, but I have 8 footers in my shop and I haven't changed a bulb in over 3 years. (Living in FL, my shop almost never gets below 50.)

Good Luck,

Mike G.

Reply to
Mike

Have you tried the T8 fixtures and bulbs? I used to have have the same short-life problem you are seeing with the older style (T12 I think) fixtures. When I built my new shop last year, I put in all T8 fixtures and haven't had a bulb fail yet (~1 year). They're cheap, put out more light, and use less electricity -- I'm sold on them.

Lance

Reply to
Lance Spaulding

I have 4 and they are all different types HO, cold, cheap... In 3 years not a single replacement. I also have 9 screw in fluorescents and like those alot also.

BRuce

Bay Area Dave wrote:

Reply to
BRuce

I used to have problems with bulbs and fixtures I installed in a garage when I lived in Ottawa, Canada. They didn't work in the cold and bulbs and ballasts (non-electronic) would fail frequently.

A sales rep at an electrical store suggested I use high output fixtures and bulbs, which are available in various lengths. So I installed 4' fixtures and bulbs, and those lights worked on even the coldest days. And they lasted for several years, too. They might still be working, for all I know.

Reply to
Guy

Reply to
Phisherman

Dave you might check the voltage at the source. It sounds like you may have a low voltage problem. Typically fluorescent lamps last a good long time. What gives me this impression is that you said your incandescent lamps last a long time. If you operate incandescents at reduced voltage , the filament life is greatly increased. Just a thought.

Mike

Reply to
Mike

I thought it was the cold too, Guy, but the last 3 fixtures I bought (within just this past year) are rated to zero degrees. It's never less than 40 when they are turned on; usually it's over 50. This puzzles me, as there is a couple of fixtures which almost never burn out the bulbs, and then a couple that use to burn them out frequently I replaced with the zero degree rated electronic ballast type, and those kill the bulbs pretty quickly. Maybe because they are cheepies? "American" is in the brand name; I forget the EXACT name.

dave

Guy wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

Lance, are the T8's single pin 8 footers?

dave

Lance Spauld> Bay Area Dave wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

I'll check the voltage later today. Thanks.

dave

Mike wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

No, mine are all 4' dual-bulb fixtures. I think I got them at either Lowes or Home Depot for about $12 each. I also bought a case of the T8 bulbs for about $3 each as I recall.

Lance

Reply to
Lance Spaulding

Sorry, I forgot to answer your other question. They have two pins on each end not just one. The T8 bulbs are a smaller diameter than the older bulbs and have green ends (at least mine do).

Lance

Reply to
Lance Spaulding

I use T-8s as well, with OSRAM electronic ballasts. More light, less power, and they start reliably to 0 F. You can get them in 4' and 8' lengths. They are bi-pin designs, but the pins must be wired together at each end when used with electronic ballasts. Most of the bulbs are reduced mercury, tri-phosphor designs with a broad spectrum. I love mine as well. I pay $3.60 each locally for an ALTO850 tube - 2950 lumens, 32 watt, 5000k color temperature. FWIW,

Greg G.

Reply to
Greg G.

Reply to
Matt Zach

just checked. 115V with all 9 of them on.

dave

Mike wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

Could it be that they are manufacturing them so they burn out quicker? Everything is motivated by profit in this country. Would it be in the best interest of a company to produce a bulb that last longer or shorter?

FWIW

Rich

Reply to
RKON

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Grandpa

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Phil

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