I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

On Mar 12, 11:57*am, Steve wrote:
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... *Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? *The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

I have about 50 HD brand bulbs working 2 years with 2 failurers.
Enclosed fixturs can overheat them. HD has 7 yr warranty

Welcome to my world. I bought into the be-green-use-CFL hype, and ended up
spending a lot of money on CFL bulbs that for the most part don't last a
year. Yes, they have warranties. I don't bother with them though - it's not
worth the trouble and I don't want another crap bulb that will burn out in
10 months.

Like you, I'd like to know what brand of bulbs actually last the 5-10 years
they are supposed to last.



"Steve" wrote in message
...
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

Zootal wrote:
Welcome to my world. I bought into the be-green-use-CFL hype, and ended up
spending a lot of money on CFL bulbs that for the most part don't last a
year. Yes, they have warranties. I don't bother with them though - it's not
worth the trouble and I don't want another crap bulb that will burn out in
10 months.

Like you, I'd like to know what brand of bulbs actually last the 5-10 years
they are supposed to last.



"Steve" wrote in message
...
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve


A few years ago I got some CFLs that started to fail.
Each time one failed I called and they sent a new one. Got about 5 new
bulbs. Now they do seem to last much longer.

Lou

Odd, I've had a regular indoor CFL (because that's what I had handy)
in my front porch for over a year and it's still going. I expected it
to fail but it hasn't yet. I think I have only replaced one CFL, ever
(installed at bottom of basement steps; might have been bumped by
moving stuff around)

nate

On Mar 12, 1:22*pm, "Zootal" wrote:
Welcome to my world. I bought into the be-green-use-CFL hype, and ended up
spending a lot of money on CFL bulbs that for the most part don't last a
year. Yes, they have warranties. I don't bother with them though - it's not
worth the trouble and I don't want another crap bulb that will burn out in
10 months.

Like you, I'd like to *know what brand of bulbs actually last the 5-10 years
they are supposed to last.

"Steve" wrote in message

...



I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... *Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? *The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have one in my front porch that has been there for 3 years. However, I
don't turn my porch light on very often, so that probably isn't a good test
of longevity. I used to use them in my bathroom, but got tired of them
burning out. Same for dining room and kitchen. It doesn't seem to matter
where/how they are used.

I have a lot that is supposed to be for high temp locations. So far they
seem to be doing well, but it was a one-time purchase at HD, and I'll
probalby never see the brand again.


"N8N" wrote in message
...
Odd, I've had a regular indoor CFL (because that's what I had handy)
in my front porch for over a year and it's still going. I expected it
to fail but it hasn't yet. I think I have only replaced one CFL, ever
(installed at bottom of basement steps; might have been bumped by
moving stuff around)

nate

On Mar 12, 1:22 pm, "Zootal" wrote:
Welcome to my world. I bought into the be-green-use-CFL hype, and ended up
spending a lot of money on CFL bulbs that for the most part don't last a
year. Yes, they have warranties. I don't bother with them though - it's
not
worth the trouble and I don't want another crap bulb that will burn out in
10 months.

Like you, I'd like to know what brand of bulbs actually last the 5-10
years
they are supposed to last.

"Steve" wrote in message

...



I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:29:22 -0700, in alt.home.repair, "Zootal"
zootal.nospam.zootal.nospam.com wrote:

I have one in my front porch that has been there for 3 years. However, I
don't turn my porch light on very often, so that probably isn't a good test
of longevity. I used to use them in my bathroom, but got tired of them
burning out. Same for dining room and kitchen. It doesn't seem to matter
where/how they are used.

When I bought my house seven years ago, I bought a bunch of the cheapest
CFLs that Lowe's offered (Sylvania brand, 13 watt). I installed them almost
everywhere. Some didn't last long, but most did. The ones that failed did
so within the first year. The rest are still installed, working and being
used more or less every day.

Where I used them is places where they are turned on and left on for hours
at a time. I didn't put CFLs where lighting is needed infrequently and/or
only for short periods each day (closets, bathrooms, most exterior
locations). I don't know if that's a false economy. And there were places
where standard fluorescent lighting was the right choice (kitchen, garage).

One CFL I wouldn't waste my money on again is a 3-way CFL. Its three levels
are "dim", "slightly less dim", and "no brighter than the last level".
Maybe that particular technology has improved since then, though.

I put CFLs in two ceiling fans, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how
well they tolerate that environment.

On Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:33:06 GMT, (Scott) wrote:

On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:29:22 -0700, in alt.home.repair, "Zootal"
zootal.nospam.zootal.nospam.com wrote:

I have one in my front porch that has been there for 3 years. However, I
don't turn my porch light on very often, so that probably isn't a good test
of longevity. I used to use them in my bathroom, but got tired of them
burning out. Same for dining room and kitchen. It doesn't seem to matter
where/how they are used.

When I bought my house seven years ago, I bought a bunch of the cheapest
CFLs that Lowe's offered (Sylvania brand, 13 watt). I installed them almost
everywhere. Some didn't last long, but most did. The ones that failed did
so within the first year. The rest are still installed, working and being
used more or less every day.

Where I used them is places where they are turned on and left on for hours
at a time. I didn't put CFLs where lighting is needed infrequently and/or
only for short periods each day (closets, bathrooms, most exterior
locations). I don't know if that's a false economy. And there were places
where standard fluorescent lighting was the right choice (kitchen, garage).

I second the recommendation for Sylvania, and I also have had very
good results with Phillips (I've got one that's going on 7 years of
service now, and several others surpassing 5 years). Also agree on
assigning CFLs to locations where the bulbs will remain on for
extended periods of time, not on and off like in closets or bathrooms.

On Mar 12, 12:57*pm, Steve wrote:
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... *Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? *The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

Hopefully you will recycle them correctly.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=7431198

Limp Arbor wrote:
On Mar 12, 12:57 pm, Steve wrote:
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

Hopefully you will recycle them correctly.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=7431198

Not me. They quit working, they go in the trash.

HeyBub wrote:
Limp Arbor wrote:
On Mar 12, 12:57 pm, Steve wrote:
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve
Hopefully you will recycle them correctly.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=7431198

Not me. They quit working, they go in the trash.


Dittos. Along with used motor oil

HeyBub wrote:

Limp Arbor wrote:
On Mar 12, 12:57 pm, Steve wrote:
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights)
go bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs
are better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer
it seems...
Steve

Hopefully you will recycle them correctly.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=7431198

Not me. They quit working, they go in the trash.

Our local hardware store collects CFLs and batteries for proper disposal,
since I'm there every week it's not much of a burden to take the occasional
dead CFL there instead of sending it to a landfill.

On Mar 12, 11:57*am, Steve wrote:
I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... *Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? *The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

Not the HD brand thats for sure. I spent big bucks to replace 9
ceiling can PAR floods (6 inch cans) with dimmable CFL's (100 watt
equiv light output). I have some old halogen ones in some other cans
that are used just as frequently. Well, all 9 of the dimmable CFL
floods bulbs stopped working after about 4 to 6 months. The halogen
PAR floods in the other cans have been going for about 5 years with
only one replacement. Both circuits use the same brand high-wattage
dimmer switches.

I think the new dimmable CFL's are something you definitely want to
stay away from. Since my town now charges extra for people to recycle
(no profit in recycling anymore I guess), my CFL's will be in a
landfill somewhere.

The best use for CFL's I experienced to date is in outdoor lighting,
they do last much longer in severe conditions like that, and I hate
changing the outdoor bulbs (mud, ladders, dropping the thumbscrews,
etc.)

Steve wrote:

I just had the third one of the CFL's (compact flourescent lights) go
bad within about a year... Wondering if one brand of CFL bulbs are
better than others?? The old incandescent bulbs last way longer it
seems...
Steve

I haven't noticed one brand being any better or worse, some have lasted for
several years and others have died within a year--sometimes in the same
fixture. CFLs that are cycled on and off frequently apparently live shorter
lives. However when we replaced almost all our incandescent bulbs with CFLs
we noticed an immediate drop in our power bill, so as long as the retailers
will take back the short-lived ones, we'll go on using them.

The newer bulbs tend to last longer. The published life is based on a
minimum 4 hour burn time. The more you turn them on and off, the
quicker they'll burn out. But before everybody freaks out, you should
know that even if a bulb burns out 75% faster than advertised and you
don't recycle them properly, you STILL prevent more mecury from
getting into the environment--AND, you'll save enough money on
electricity charges to buy another CFL and still have change left
over. The electricity to burn a standard incandescent bulb (from a
coal fired plant) pollutes almost twice as much.

On Mar 12, 11:28*pm, Rick-Meister wrote:
The newer bulbs tend to last longer. The published life is based on a
minimum 4 hour burn time. The more you turn them on and off, the
quicker they'll burn out. But before everybody freaks out, you should
know that even if a bulb burns out 75% faster than advertised and you
don't recycle them properly, you STILL prevent more mecury from
getting into the environment--AND, you'll save enough money on
electricity charges to buy another CFL and still have change left
over. The electricity to burn a standard incandescent bulb (from a
coal fired plant) pollutes almost twice as much.

Lots of facts. Can you provide a source?

You want facts?

Here's some.

EPA site has some side by side comparisons too.

Just search for CFL & mercury.

Also search for CFL & life

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_li...curyInCFLs.pdf
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pro...luor_lamp.html

On/Off issues

http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-b...i=&p_topview=1