Can anyone confirm that the 40 watt appliance bulb pictured in this photo
looks normal?
http://webpages.charter.net/aapace/bulb.jpg

It still lights up so it's not burned out. I just don't know if I've ever
seen a black burned-looking spot on a bulb like that. Maybe it's just about
to burn out?

I just had the oddest experience in which this appliance bulb in my fridge
melted through the plastic light casing that covers it. I was taking items
off a shelf in there and noticed a melting plastic smell within about 4
minutes of having the door open. Within another minute, I identified the
source of the smell as the light cover and immediately called the
manufacturer, whose rep was very helpful and is graciously replacing the
parts involved.

I am so curious as to what could have happened... can light bulbs "surge?"
I've had that door open for longer periods than 5 minutes in the past.
Nothing's been moved, so I can say with confidence that the bulb hadn't
shifted in its socket. The fridge and the bulb are 3 years old, clean, and
otherwise working fine. It really seems like the bulb all of a sudden
produced way too much heat.

Anyone have a theory that doesn't involve appliance bulb gnomes or Justin
Timberlake?

Thanks!
-Oldylocks

"Michael Daly" wrote in message
able.rogers.com...

On 3-Feb-2004, "Oldylocks" no wrote:

I just don't know if I've ever
seen a black burned-looking spot on a bulb like that. Maybe it's just
about
to burn out?

It's not that uncommon, though you're probably more familiar with frosted
bulbs and don't notice. The filament will keep losing material and it
coats
the glass. Once it gets too fine, one surge (as in turning it on) will
cause
it to pop. Some types of bulb get coated thicker and faster than others -
Mini-Maglites (IIRC - krypton bulb) look silvered by the time they reach
the
end of their life.

Mike

So can the bulb get hotter than normal when this happens?
-Oldy

Michael Daly wrote:

On 3-Feb-2004, "Oldylocks" no wrote:



I just don't know if I've ever
seen a black burned-looking spot on a bulb like that. Maybe it's just about
to burn out?



It's not that uncommon, though you're probably more familiar with frosted
bulbs and don't notice. The filament will keep losing material and it coats
the glass. Once it gets too fine, one surge (as in turning it on) will cause
it to pop. Some types of bulb get coated thicker and faster than others -
Mini-Maglites (IIRC - krypton bulb) look silvered by the time they reach the
end of their life.

Mike


I'd expect that as the filament lost material it's resistance would
increase and the wattage dissipated would decrease, so it wouldn't get
"hotter" towards the end of it's life.

But, maybe the coating on the inside of the glass doesn't let the heat
pass through as well as clear glass, so the bulb glass gets hotter when
it's coated?

The OP didn't say what parts the manfacturer is replacing. Maybe there's
just something wrong with the plastic so as it ages it either smells
when warm or changes so thatm it absorbs more light and heats up to the
point where it smells. Or perhaps some foodstuff go smeared onto the
plastic and then got rancid?

Too many variables here, 'eh?

Just my .02,

Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Michael Daly wrote:

On 3-Feb-2004, "Oldylocks" no wrote:



I just don't know if I've ever
seen a black burned-looking spot on a bulb like that. Maybe it's just about
to burn out?



It's not that uncommon, though you're probably more familiar with frosted
bulbs and don't notice. The filament will keep losing material and it coats
the glass. Once it gets too fine, one surge (as in turning it on) will cause
it to pop. Some types of bulb get coated thicker and faster than others -
Mini-Maglites (IIRC - krypton bulb) look silvered by the time they reach the
end of their life.

Mike


Was the plastic shell is a location where someone could have overstuffed
the refrigerator to the point where it got pushed against the bulb, but
then sprang back out when the stuff was removed?

Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Nope. My fridge is always very clean and unfortunately very empty. That shelf had a few cans of soda on it today, that's all. It didn't just smell funny, it melted the plastic cover almost all the way through. I've been e-mailing a light bulb expert and it's looking like the bulb could get very hot before burn out.

-Oldy


"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message ...
Michael Daly wrote:

On 3-Feb-2004, "Oldylocks" no wrote:

I just don't know if I've ever
seen a black burned-looking spot on a bulb like that. Maybe it's just about
to burn out?

It's not that uncommon, though you're probably more familiar with frosted
bulbs and don't notice. The filament will keep losing material and it coats
the glass. Once it gets too fine, one surge (as in turning it on) will cause
it to pop. Some types of bulb get coated thicker and faster than others -
Mini-Maglites (IIRC - krypton bulb) look silvered by the time they reach the
end of their life.

Mike
Was the plastic shell is a location where someone could have overstuffed the refrigerator to the point where it got pushed against the bulb, but then sprang back out when the stuff was removed?

Jeff


--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Oldylocks wrote:

Nope. My fridge is always very clean and unfortunately very empty.
That shelf had a few cans of soda on it today, that's all. It didn't
just smell funny, it melted the plastic cover almost all the way
through. I've been e-mailing a light bulb expert and it's looking like
the bulb could get very hot before burn out.

-Oldy




snipped

Lemee know what he says, it's never too late to learn, and it'd be a gas
if my guess about the inner coating absorbing heat has some merit.

I know the reason there's a "hands off" precaution for halogen bulbs is
that finger grease on the outside of the glass absorbs IR energy and can
get so hot that the glass melts in that spot.

Have you contacted lighting guru Don Klipstein?

http://members.misty.com/don/light.html


Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

found this in a different group but I though it was appropriate.

How many group posters does it take to
change a light bulb?

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

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

7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs

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

53 to flame the spell checkers

41 to correct spelling/grammar flames

6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... or another
spelling

6 to condemn those 6 as anal-retentive

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

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

156 to email the participant's ISPs complaining that they are in
violation
of their "acceptable use policy"

109 to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to please take
this
discussion to a lightbulb group

203 to demand that cross posting to hardware forum, off-topic forum, and
lightbulb group about changing light bulbs be stopped

111 to defend the posting to this group saying that we all use light bulbs
and therefore the posts *are* relevant to this group

306 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

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

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

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

33 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all

headers and signatures, and add "Me too"

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

19 to quote the "Me too's" to say "Me three"

4 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ

44 to ask what is a "FAQ"

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

143 to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions
about light bulbs"

1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and
start it all over again


--

Christopher A. Young
Jesus: The Reason for the Season
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com

In article , Oldylocks wrote:
Can anyone confirm that the 40 watt appliance bulb pictured in this photo
looks normal?
http://webpages.charter.net/aapace/bulb.jpg

It still lights up so it's not burned out.

Is that image the offending bulb or another one of the same type?

Bulbs with that filament style sometimes have the "tip of the V"
part of the filament short out. When that happens, the bulb gets
brighter, produces whiter light and usually burns out soon. Heat output
increases somewhat, with most of the extra heat being radiated rather than
convected/conducted.
If the bulb had a partial filament short and that made the difference in
melting the plastic, then I suspect the design of the plastic casing that
melted was marginal.

I just had the oddest experience in which this appliance bulb in my fridge
melted through the plastic light casing that covers it.

- Don Klipstein , http://www.misty.com/~don/bulb1.html)

"Don Klipstein" wrote in message
...
In article , Oldylocks wrote:
Can anyone confirm that the 40 watt appliance bulb pictured in this photo
looks normal?
http://webpages.charter.net/aapace/bulb.jpg

It still lights up so it's not burned out.

Is that image the offending bulb or another one of the same type?

Bulbs with that filament style sometimes have the "tip of the V"
part of the filament short out. When that happens, the bulb gets
brighter, produces whiter light and usually burns out soon. Heat output
increases somewhat, with most of the extra heat being radiated rather than
convected/conducted.
If the bulb had a partial filament short and that made the difference in
melting the plastic, then I suspect the design of the plastic casing that
melted was marginal.

I just had the oddest experience in which this appliance bulb in my
fridge
melted through the plastic light casing that covers it.

- Don Klipstein , http://www.misty.com/~don/bulb1.html)


Don, you're one of the bulb experts I emailed about this! Small world.
Thanks for your comments and answering my e-mail, Don.

The plastic casing is opaque white, somewhat flexible, and ~2 mils thick.
It probably would melt easily if touching. I'm trying to determine if the
bulb and the casing were in contact with each other but the way the casing
melted in a big bubble makes that hard to figure out. When I receive the
replacement part, I'll be able to tell. If they do touch, I'll have to take
more things apart and see if I can move the socket a little.

I'm just a very unlucky person, I guess.

-Oldy

.... and one to say thanks for the laugh.
-Oldy

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
found this in a different group but I though it was appropriate.

How many group posters does it take to
change a light bulb?

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

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

7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs

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

53 to flame the spell checkers

41 to correct spelling/grammar flames

6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... or another
spelling

6 to condemn those 6 as anal-retentive

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

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

156 to email the participant's ISPs complaining that they are in
violation
of their "acceptable use policy"

109 to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to please take
this
discussion to a lightbulb group

203 to demand that cross posting to hardware forum, off-topic forum, and
lightbulb group about changing light bulbs be stopped

111 to defend the posting to this group saying that we all use light bulbs
and therefore the posts *are* relevant to this group

306 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

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

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

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

33 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all

headers and signatures, and add "Me too"

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

19 to quote the "Me too's" to say "Me three"

4 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ

44 to ask what is a "FAQ"

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

143 to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions
about light bulbs"

1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and
start it all over again


--

Christopher A. Young
Jesus: The Reason for the Season
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com

"Oldylocks" no wrote in message ...


The plastic casing is opaque white,....

Opaque? It now lets no light through?

Stormin Mormon wrote:

found this in a different group but I though it was appropriate.

How many group posters does it take to
change a light bulb?



I just can't resist that opening....

My answer is TWO...

See:

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/jeff/screwing.gif

Jeff
--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."

Was that X rated? It oughta be!

--

Christopher A. Young
Jesus: The Reason for the Season
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...


Stormin Mormon wrote:

found this in a different group but I though it was appropriate.

How many group posters does it take to
change a light bulb?



I just can't resist that opening....

My answer is TWO...

See:

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/jeff/screwing.gif

Jeff
--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."