DIYbanter - View Single Post - "Normal" compact fluorescent bulb in 3-way lamp safe?

(Christopher Green) wrote in message . com...
"Travis Jordan" wrote in message ...
Duffy Tweedy wrote:
I've seen some mixed messages, even from labs and government sites,
about whether "normal" CFL bulbs can be used safely in 3-way lamps.
Some say flatly Yes, others No. But I haven't seen much about this in
general. Can someone point me to a definitive site, or answer this
one? The reason I'd like to be able to use regular CFLs is, of
course, lower cost. But unless I can determine finally that it is
safe to do so, obviously I'll have to assume otherwise and not use
them. Thanks.
--Duffy Tweedy

A CFL bulb in a standard 3-way fixture is perfectly safe.

There are also 3-way CFLs. I haven't been particularly impressed, but they do work.

Thanks for the responses, everybody. That's what I thought. From what
I now hear, the only possible danger is if some lamp advertised as
"3-way" in fact used a dimmer switch, since dimmer switches are big
no-nos (for reasons I don't understand) with CFLs.
--Duffy Tweedy