In article , indago wrote:
050429 2145 - KTwo posted:

I have a recessed light above my sink that is eating bulbs. About every
4th day the the R19 buld in the can burns out. I've checked the
connections in the switch box and replaced the switch - to no avail.
Any other suggestions?
Thx
-K2

Sounds like a heat problem. Try one of the new fluorescent screw-in lamps.
They run a lot cooler. One of the new "40 watt" equivalent lamps is labeled
to draw 10 watts, and after about a minute, brightens up and seems to have a
lumens equivalent of at least a 50 watt incandescent lamp.

Please note some things about using compact fluorescents in recessed
ceiling fixtures, downlights, etc:

1. Compact fluorescents produce more non-radiant heat than incandescents
of similar wattage, although usually less than that of incandescents of
same light output.
For example, a 42 watt compact fluorescent makes the fixture hotter than
a 60 watt incandescent does, although not as hot as a 150 watt
incandescent that the 42 watt CF approximates in light output.

2. Compact fluorescents do not take temperature extremes as well as
incandescents do. Excessive heat can reduce life, dim them, and adversely
affect their color and color rendering properties.

Many compact fluorescents are not even rated for use in recessed ceiling
fixtures.
Two that I have known to be rated for use in recessed ceiling fixtures
are the Philips SLS 15 and 20 watt, and notably not higher wattages of
this product line. (It's been a few years since I last checked.) The 15
and 20 watt SLS are available with snap-on R30 (3.75 inch diameter) and
R40 (5 inch diameter) snap-on reflectors. The R40 version is not quite as
good optically as an incandescent floodlight, and the R30 version is more
severely compromised.
The 20 watt has raw light output about that of 75 watt incandescents,
although in floodlight duty with the R40 reflector may be closer to 60
watt unless the lamp count is large enough that you benefit from beams
spreading into each other. The 15 watt version has raw light output about
that of 60 watt incandescent.

As for other compact fluorescents in heat buildup situations: It
appears to me that you usually get away with it with wattages up to 23
watts, and not with wattages of 24 watts or more. (For one thing, the 23
watt version of spiral units appears to me an improved version of 24 and
25 watt ones that did not do as well before.) I do expect that 26 watt
and higher wattages will run into more heat trouble than wattages 23 watts
or less. I do expect that most models 13 watts or less (with light
output at most on a good day about that of a 60 watt "standard"
incandescent) will run reasonably well in fixtures that accumulate heat.

My compact fluorescent "top page" is http://www.misty.com/~don/cfx.html

- Don Klipstein )