On Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:44:06 -0000, "Ian Field"
wrote:



"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...



FWIW, of the modest pile of CFLs I autopsied from my own house, 100%
of the failures were from failed heaters.

** Most CFLs have PTC thermistors that increase current flow to the heater
for the first few seconds - makes the lamp start quickly, particularly in
cool weather conditions.

It also burns out the heater in a few hundred or so cycles.

Claims for life spans of 6 or 8 thousand hours are based on continuous use
in a cool environment - plus lotsa good luck.


This may be atypical. I get good service from CFLs running them
without enclosures; the enclosed, base-up fail modes may be different.


** Recently, a neighbour had an 18W CFL explode and bits go all over the
kitchen - it was base up in a non ventilated fitting.

Must've been a pretty big explosion for bits to go everywhere from a
non-ventilated fitting!

Can lights aren't ventilated. In fact, many are insulated (IC rated).
They're hell on CFLs.