On Nov 15, 1:32*am, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:53:47 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:





BobR wrote:
On Nov 14, 3:23 pm, N8N wrote:
On Nov 14, 2:19 am, Ashton Crusher wrote:

I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with
non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the
switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched
circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or
off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and
put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer
would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs
but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the
dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup
but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to
dim them.

So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the
non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the
dimmible bulbs???

I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find
a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. *I did notice more recently
that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were
designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with
displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have
any of them installed. *So, after spending lots of time and money
trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put
incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by
dimmers. *Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I
tried.

I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you
actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion
is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot
thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough,
and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever
did.

nate

I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want
to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated
light.

I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have
found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more
in the long run.

I bought a dim able cfl at the home depot, over 10 years ago. Worked pretty
good. Really nice color temperature. There is a threshold you have to deal
with. The bad part, it cost over $15.
This was really cool. I modified a 500 watt floor lamp into the cfl, using
the same dimmer. I broke the cfl while moving. Its steal broke.

Bought a batch of feit ceiling cfl floods, said dimmable. One blew out
immediately. The others worked like ****. From costco..

Greg

I have 8 of those in my kitchen on a dimmer and nothings gone wrong
with them yet. *They are about year old, maybe more. *Their range of
dimming isn't nearly as much as incandescent's but it's good enough
for what I need.

I can't remember now which ones actually dimmed, but this was on a
standard Lutron Decora-style dimmer, and there was only one brand/
style "bulb" that actually dimmed. I didn't like it because a) it
made the dimmer buzz which worried me b) the lights did not dim far
enough for my taste (they were wall sconces in a living room, when you
could conceivably want to dim the lights very low, just enough to see
by) and c) the color got very odd when it was dimmed, kind of a
reddish-orange, instead of a warm yellow like an incandescent. Most
of the others that I tried just flashed when you tried to dim them
just like a regular non-dimmable CFL. This was prior to the
introduction of "CFL" dimmers in retail stores. But I was so
disappointed by the results and felt that I'd spent so much time and
energy trying to find something that worked (because I really would
prefer to adopt energy-saving technology when possible) that I didn't
bother pursuing farther, because I was becoming used to
disappointment.

I *think* the one that worked was Sylvania, but like I said, I can't
remember. It's probably in an old post somewhere. I did not try with
an old-style rotary dimmer because that would have never been passed
by the design department, although I did sneak some vintage pressed-
brass switchplates and brown devices into some rooms upstairs that
were outside the DD's purview.

nate