I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.

"Chad" wrote in message
...

I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.



I forgot to say I needed silent lights where all is calm and all is bright.

badampa

In article , Chad wrote:

I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.

The spirals normally do not do this humming, bit I have found a couple
that did. One was a 27 watt model and the other was a 30 watt model.

I have also known heat buildup problems in some fixtures with higher
wattages, and even some complaints of early failures of 42 watt ones
operated base-up apparently resulting from heat. I also saw a possibly
heat-related failure of a 24 watt spiral, and those have been replaced by
23 watt ones due to improvements in efficiency of the electronics.

In addition, I have seen a slight trend of color of spirals being
slightly harsher with higher wattages as wattage increases past 23 watts.

As a result of all of this data, I might suggest to use 23 watt ones if
you were using a higher wattage. 23 watt spirals have light output a
little over halfway from "75 watts" to "100 watts" of "standard
incandescent" "equivalence".

The next step down in wattage in spirals is the 18-20 watt range, with
18 or 19 now being the norm here. Those have light output about that of
75 watt 120V "standard incandescents".

- Don Klipstein )

"Chad" wrote in message
...

I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.
I have used plenty of various sizes and brands, but never had one hum
Try it in a different fixture. If it still hums take it back and try a
different one.
If it doesn't hum in the second fixture, well.. I am not sure what to say.

"Don Klipstein" wrote in message
...
In article , Chad wrote:

I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.

The spirals normally do not do this humming, bit I have found a couple
that did. One was a 27 watt model and the other was a 30 watt model.

I have also known heat buildup problems in some fixtures with higher
wattages, and even some complaints of early failures of 42 watt ones
operated base-up apparently resulting from heat. I also saw a possibly
heat-related failure of a 24 watt spiral, and those have been replaced by
23 watt ones due to improvements in efficiency of the electronics.

In addition, I have seen a slight trend of color of spirals being
slightly harsher with higher wattages as wattage increases past 23 watts.

As a result of all of this data, I might suggest to use 23 watt ones if
you were using a higher wattage. 23 watt spirals have light output a
little over halfway from "75 watts" to "100 watts" of "standard
incandescent" "equivalence".

The next step down in wattage in spirals is the 18-20 watt range, with
18 or 19 now being the norm here. Those have light output about that of
75 watt 120V "standard incandescents".

- Don Klipstein )

Thanks for the info. These are 23 watt bulbs (100 watt equivalent), brand
is "Bright Effects" item# 153972. I tried in a diffrent socket and all for
bulbs (was a 4-pack) still have the hum.

Will have to take them back to Lowe's. I hope they don't give me any
problems becase the package is mangled.

Sounds like you are saying that going with a lower wattage might reduce the
hum. I like the brightness though so I might try another brand and see if I
get lucky since you and others say that a hum is not typical.

Thanks for the reply.

"Toller" wrote in message
...

"Chad" wrote in message
...

I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.
I have used plenty of various sizes and brands, but never had one hum
Try it in a different fixture. If it still hums take it back and try a
different one.
If it doesn't hum in the second fixture, well.. I am not sure what to
say.


They do hum in a different fixture also. Will have to take them back.
Thanks for the reply.

In article , Chad wrote:

(To condense greatly to edit for space, he got 23 watt ones while my
response before I knew this was to go for lower wattages such as 23
watts or less)

I aslo advise that results will gnenerally be better if:

1. The CFLs are of one of the "Big 3" major brands. They have a lot to
lose from bad products having negative impact on their reputations. These
are GE, Philips and Sylvania (in the USA).

2. The CFLs have an "Energy Star" rating/qualification. This means that
the CFLs in question have achieved good energy efficiency and good usage
when used as directed. The color is either in some specifiable way
reasonably incandescent-like or "adequately" described as being a
"specialty color" (my words) such as "3500K" (a whiter shade of "warm
white") or sunlight-like or daylighht-like. Electrical and functional
reliability have to be reasonably at least half-decent (my words).

- Don Klipstein )

Chad spake thus:

I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.

As others have said, take it back where you bought it.

I've used all kinds of compact fluorescents, a real mongrel collection
including some I got for a buck from one of those
everything-made-in-China dollar stores, and *none* of them have ever
hummed. (Nor whistled.)

The most annoying CFLs I have are the 20-watters I got at Ikea, back
when they were the cheapest place to get them. They light OK, but they
take several seconds to come on. I can get halfway across the room
before they light up.


--
Just as McDonald's is where you go when you're hungry but don't really
care about the quality of your food, Wikipedia is where you go when
you're curious but don't really care about the quality of your knowledge.

- Matthew White's WikiWatch (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wikiwoo.htm)

Don Klipstein wrote:
I aslo advise that results will gnenerally be better if:
1. The CFLs are of one of the "Big 3" major brands. [...]

I've had the worst experience with the major brands. Sylvania and GE
bulbs in particular have given me nothing but grief (two GE three-ways
and one Sylvania died within a week of purchase, out of four bulbs
purchased total). The off-brands bought from the store haven't done
great either, though. I've had better success with bulbs bought online.
Greenlite has been the best to me so far, with eight or so bulbs doing
very well (though they're older, mechanically ballasted, so some of
them buzz a tiny bit).

2. The CFLs have an "Energy Star" rating/qualification. [...]
Agreed. This is the best way to ensure that the bulbs will be
instant-on, flicker-free, silent, and reliable.

-Chris Snyder

Chad wrote:
I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.

Do you by chance have an X10 wall switch that controls the lights?
I've found that CFL bulbs aren't compatible with regular X10 wall
switches or controllers.

Ahem! "Fluorescent ......................." !

Must be one of the most misspelled words around?

But my spell checker catches it every time I do!

terry wrote:
Ahem! "Fluorescent ......................." !

Must be one of the most misspelled words around?

But my spell checker catches it every time I do!

Why are you correcting me? I didn't even attempt to use the word.

I used the term "CFL"; any spelling errors of The Sacred Word were made
by the original poster.

I merely quoted.

In article m, David
Nebenzahl wrote in part:

I've used all kinds of compact fluorescents, a real mongrel collection
including some I got for a buck from one of those
everything-made-in-China dollar stores, and *none* of them have ever
hummed. (Nor whistled.)

I have tried 57 "models" of 19 "brands" of $.99-$2 compact fluorescents
from dollar stores, and none have met their claims of light output. Some
that I got fell short of claimed light output by a factor of more than 3,
regardless of time spent warming up and room temperature. None
significantly outshone a 40 watt 120V "standard" incandescent. Most did
not claim to be UL listed, and most did not have FCC IDs. Some that came
in packages saying "softwarm white light" produced a cold bluish
"daylight" light. Most of the few that actually had a warm color had low
color rendering index. A couple of them failed quickly and spectacularly.

I would advise to use compact fluorescents other than $.99-$2 ones from
dollar stores.

- Don Klipstein )

Don Klipstein spake thus:

In article m, David
Nebenzahl wrote in part:

I've used all kinds of compact fluorescents, a real mongrel collection
including some I got for a buck from one of those
everything-made-in-China dollar stores, and *none* of them have ever
hummed. (Nor whistled.)

I have tried 57 "models" of 19 "brands" of $.99-$2 compact fluorescents
from dollar stores, and none have met their claims of light output. Some
that I got fell short of claimed light output by a factor of more than 3,
regardless of time spent warming up and room temperature. None
significantly outshone a 40 watt 120V "standard" incandescent. Most did
not claim to be UL listed, and most did not have FCC IDs. Some that came
in packages saying "softwarm white light" produced a cold bluish
"daylight" light. Most of the few that actually had a warm color had low
color rendering index. A couple of them failed quickly and spectacularly.

Well, you're addressing an issue I didn't raise, but since you did, I
have to say that even the dollar-store specimens I've bought put out the
amount of light claimed. But yes, some of them had just horrible colors,
ghastly bluish/greenish. Won't buy those again.

Never seen any of those infant mortalities you describe. Guess I'm just
lucky.

'Round heah' (SF Bay Area), the best deals on CFLs are at various places
where stores sell bulbs subsidized by the local greedy *******s^H^H^H^H
utility company (Pacific Gas & Electric in this case); my favorite
electronics shop in Bezerkeley is selling the 23-watters for $1.25 each.

And regarding brands, you can safely ignore the advice given by someone
here to only buy big name brands (GE, Sylvania, etc.). The ones I've
been buying both at this electronics place and at Home Despot are by
Feit Electric, and they work fine.


--
Just as McDonald's is where you go when you're hungry but don't really
care about the quality of your food, Wikipedia is where you go when
you're curious but don't really care about the quality of your knowledge.

- Matthew White's WikiWatch (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wikiwoo.htm)

"Chris Snyder" wrote in message
ups.com...
Don Klipstein wrote:
I aslo advise that results will gnenerally be better if:
1. The CFLs are of one of the "Big 3" major brands. [...]

I've had the worst experience with the major brands. Sylvania and GE
bulbs in particular have given me nothing but grief (two GE three-ways
and one Sylvania died within a week of purchase, out of four bulbs
purchased total). The off-brands bought from the store haven't done
great either, though. I've had better success with bulbs bought online.
Greenlite has been the best to me so far, with eight or so bulbs doing
very well (though they're older, mechanically ballasted, so some of
them buzz a tiny bit).

2. The CFLs have an "Energy Star" rating/qualification. [...]
Agreed. This is the best way to ensure that the bulbs will be
instant-on, flicker-free, silent, and reliable.

-Chris Snyder


These had Engergy Star on the package. Go figure.

wrote in message
ups.com...

Chad wrote:
I just put 3 flourescent replacement lights in my bathroom (shaped like a
spiral, meant to replace the incandescent bulb in the same socket).

When I turn on the power there is a very audible hum. I know that
flourescent's can hum but did not think it would be this bad. Is the
humming a possible indactor of another problem? I can't have a bulb that
makes this sound in a small bathroom.

Do you by chance have an X10 wall switch that controls the lights?
I've found that CFL bulbs aren't compatible with regular X10 wall
switches or controllers.

no X10 here

Chad wrote:
These had Engergy Star on the package. Go figure.

Hmm... Those should have had electronic ballasts, which don't hum. It's
possible, I guess, that the bulbs were older stock, and passed an
earlier version of the Energy Star specification that didn't allowed
mechanical ballasts.

-Chris

wrote:
terry wrote:
Ahem! "Fluorescent ......................." !

Must be one of the most misspelled words around?

But my spell checker catches it every time I do misspell it!

Why are you correcting me? I didn't even attempt to use the word.

I used the term "CFL"; any spelling errors of The Sacred Word were made
by the original poster.

I merely quoted.
..
I didn't.
Just posted the 'next' numbered message in the thread to point out to
all that the spelling in the origin of the thread was incorrect.
Apologies if any offence was assumed.