Just installed my first compact fluorescent light bulb.

[mattkime]

>>Any suggestions for what to do with them after they die?

have a home depot nearby? THey accept them for recycling the location where i dropped them off had a collection bin right by the entrance.

[JEBB]

I've written the date I've installed the bulbs on their base. Way too many of them have lasted no longer than incandescent bulbs they replaced. Of course they cost many times more than the incandescents so I'm beginning to suspect a scam.

[clay]

JEBB wrote:
I've written the date I've installed the bulbs on their base. Way too many of them have lasted no longer than incandescent bulbs they replaced. Of course they cost many times more than the incandescents so I'm beginning to suspect a scam.

I've done the same in several instances. If you bought good bulbs, just call the manufacturer's customer support line and get them replaced. It's worked for me the 2-3 times I've needed to do it.

[AAA]

Good idea.
I noticed the 3M furnace filters I bought yesterday come with a sticker, not unlike oil change reminder window stickers.

CFL would do well to have similar stickers, or a place designated to record date/time.

[Racer X]

lafinfil wrote:
I've replaced quite a few but still have some that I haven't. Primarily the low voltage halogens in some track lights.

I'd also like to find some high wattage reflector style floods for that are dimable for my studio. I have ceiling cans
that currently have 65watt bulbs in them but they are pretty dim (gray room & 10 foot ceilings)

Anybody have a lead on a good high output model ? Since the fixtures are rated for 65watt I could get a
pretty bright CF in there if I could find them.

I have a friend who is an EE for the power company. the 65 watt rating has to do with the heat output of a tungsten bulb, not the current in the wires. You can put one hell of a CF bulb in that fixture.

and go with a higher color temp bulb as well. My 3200K CFs look quite a bit brighter than my cheap 2700K bulbs. If you special order in some 4100K or even "daylight" high wattage CF bulbs, I'll bet you will be surprised.

In my office I dropped from 2 100 watt regular tungsten bulbs to 2 75 watt GE Reveal bulbs, and it still looks brighter (and saved some current on that circuit for startup mode on my ancient laser printer) I need the higher CRI of the Reveal bulbs over CF bulbs.

[Lee3]

They don't want you to know the date.

AAA- I run X10 controllers and I haven't had a problem with the signal. You do have to get the wall switch modules that can run an appliance. They have a relay in them. The dimable kind don't work. The ones that do work are more expensive and bigger.

[Acer]

Been using CFLs since the mid-1990s. I have had maybe 2 or 3 go prematurely, but always in fixtures that have a lot of quick on-off use, like a bathroom. Even with the loss, I am miles ahead.

CFLs have come down in price to the point where even if they fail well before their expected time, they are still cheaper to operate.

[mattkime]

the other thing that can cause CFLs to fail is a recessed pocket. CFLs can be sensitive to heat build up and lack of air flow.

i agree that they don't last as long as they claim but you still come out ahead.

[Rolando]

The first CFL's I put in were in the kitchen 3+ years ago, they are still going on.

[Racer X]

I get several years out of my porch light CFL on a photo cell, vs maybe 6 months with a tungsten bulb.