How cold? I have three cheap 4 foot double bulb lamps that I use a lot. The one above my work bench is used the most and the bulbs have been in it for over 20 years. Another is hasn't had a bulb change in at least 15 years. The third is closer to the door (garage door that doesn't seal real well) and outside wall and doesn't work well in the cold, has a bad tube, and is unplug at present. Bulbs lasted about 6 years with a lot of use but I haven't used it much in recent years.
Wow! Everyone says their bulbs last a long time. Sometimes my four footers don't last even 6 months. I checked voltage to them today--115V. I haven't had any problems with all of my electronic equipment or power equipment; just those bulbs.
dave
George E. Cawth>
Maybe it's the brand? I have 3 each 4' duals in my office, burning bright nearly 24/7 for several years. "Sylvania Cool White Deluxe 40W" I read on one of them above my head.
-- Mark
I think it's the bulbs. I haven't fared well at all with the borg Phillips "contractor pack" T12 bulbs, even though the box says "average life 20,000 hours". Replaced a couple after about 20 hours, most others at around 200 hours, which leaves me to believe that Philllips learned how to measure an hour from lawyers working on class action lawsuits. Further I think the "contractors pack" has nothing at all to do with number of bulbs in the box but rather refers to bulbs designed to give just enough life for the contractor to move onto the next job. Good news is that there are only 2 left in the last box I will ever buy.
Latest adds have been with T8 fixtures since it gets cold (like real cold) here and the cold start is nice. Too early to say about bulb longevity but they seem to be holding up well.
Back when it was Westinghouse which was pre Phillips, never considered them to be a serious competitor.
Looks like little has changed.
20,000 hours per tube, or the whole box added together?
-- Mark
I've used lots of the GE Residentials and a few (crappy) Phillips. Don't think I've seen the Sylvania's at the stores I frequent.
dave
Mark Jerde wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 16:45:49 -0600, Phil brought forth from the murky depths:
I had no trouble with the last set of dual 4-footers. Bulbs would last years and years. But I switched to new, electronically ballasted models (at twice the price) in March of 2002 and just replaced my
18th effin' bulb within these 4 units. I'm not at all impressed. As I replaced 2, I thought it might be a good idea to take the bad ones back to the Ace store and let them run some tests on them. Maybe they had a bad lot. I got a box of 30 which is now almost gone. Those in the standard fixtures in the house haven't needed changing, so it might be the stupid cheap electronics doing it. Either way, I need to get it straightened out. One fixture just stopped working yesterday. Grrrrr! ========================================================= The Titanic. The Hindenburg. +
So I'm not the only one having to replace those bulbs more often than should be expected. The last ones (note plural) were in a new fixture, I double-checked my fixture connections because I was surprised that both lights could have gone out simultaneously and so quickly. I've replaced at least 4 others in the past year.
I'll have to start looking for a different brand after the remaining bulbs are gone.
Menards has em.
but I don't have a Menards!
dave
Dave wrote:
I've been using Wal-Mart's finest el-cheapo GE two-packs in Wal-Mart's finest el-cheapo bottom of the line $5 shop light fixtures. I have some bulbs out there that have been working since 1999, through all kinds of hot and all kinds of cold. (The fixtures themselves are all new, owing to a little wiring rectocranial inversion that fed their predecessors 220V for a short time. BTW, don't try that at home.)
Are all the fixtures on the same circuit?
Nope. they are split into two circuits. bulbs fail frequently in all but one fixture. there is an old fixture mounted over the W/D that almost never burns out a bulb.
dave
Greg Neill wrote:
Ah. I was thinking that perhaps some electrical hash from a motor was getting onto one circuit but not another. Voltage spikes could shorten the life of the bulbs.
Try rigging a small incandescent light on each circuit and watch for brightness changes while you're going about doing what you do. You might uncover a problem with a ground loop.
Good idea, Greg. I've got some of the lights on a power strip so that'd be easy. thanks.
dave
Greg Neill wrote:
being 'picked' one time to be the maintenance man at a church has disadvantages... BUT, ther was one room that had 15-4 light 4 foot fixtures in it, and they kept complaining the bulbs would NOT last.... they were going down to the local HW store or Walmart and pay $1.50 a pair (this WAS some years back), and complain when in 2 weeks they would burn out.... I ordered from an electrical supply house a BOX (24?) of the better quality GE bulbs, paid the sum of almost $3 each... the bulbs quit burning out... there does seem to be a difference in QUALITY.
--Shiva--
I'm buying the GE Residentials...and they burn out in months.
dave
--Shiva-- wrote:
are the fixtures grounded? this is critical with rapid start type lamps
every last one of them.
dave
Thomps>>I'm buying the GE Residentials...and they burn out in months.
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