On 23 Nov 2005 00:33:44 -0800, "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:

Has anybody looked at the electronics inside compact fluorescent lights
and found any differences between the good and bad brands?


It seems to be very hard to tell which ones last and which fail early.
I've replaced every bulb in my house with a CFL where they will fit.
Some of them are on 18 hours a day (24 hours outside).

Some of the more expensive GEs have been very reliable. Even way past
their expected life, they are still working, but are getting very dim.
Some cheaper spiral tube GEs had caps fail, but this was easy to
repair. Eventually the tubes failed when one of the heaters opened.
Surprisingly, I've yet to have a single $1 Ikea bulb fail in any way.
After more than 5000 hours, all 4 are still going strong.
Andy Cuffe

-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

-- Use this address after 12/31/2005