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#1
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with
non-dimmable CFLs. I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. Didn't work, they were either on or off. So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? |
#2
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 14, 2:19*am, Ashton Crusher wrote:
I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? i was told that attempting to run a non dimable CFL off a dimmer can result in the CFL overheating and becoming a fire risk...... |
#3
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 14, 1:19*am, Ashton Crusher wrote:
I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? Not sure, but in effect that's what is happening. I would be very leery of what you are doing, however, because it obviously is running the CFL's in a manner to which they were not designed. I would expect that any guarantee about lifetime would be out the window, and also I would be very careful to see if they overheat under that type of operation. You're taking an appreciable risk in doing what you are doing, although I have done the same thing just for a couple of 20 second experiments out of curiosity just like you did. |
#4
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 14, 7:19*am, Ashton Crusher wrote:
I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact...p#Construction |
#5
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 14, 2:19*am, Ashton Crusher wrote:
I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate |
#6
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 14, 3:23*pm, N8N wrote:
On Nov 14, 2:19*am, Ashton Crusher wrote: I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. *I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. *So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. *Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated light. I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more in the long run. |
#7
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
BobR wrote:
On Nov 14, 3:23 pm, N8N wrote: On Nov 14, 2:19 am, Ashton Crusher wrote: I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. Didn't work, they were either on or off. So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated light. I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more in the long run. I bought a dim able cfl at the home depot, over 10 years ago. Worked pretty good. Really nice color temperature. There is a threshold you have to deal with. The bad part, it cost over $15. This was really cool. I modified a 500 watt floor lamp into the cfl, using the same dimmer. I broke the cfl while moving. Its steal broke. Bought a batch of feit ceiling cfl floods, said dimmable. One blew out immediately. The others worked like ****. From costco.. Greg |
#8
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:53:47 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote: BobR wrote: On Nov 14, 3:23 pm, N8N wrote: On Nov 14, 2:19 am, Ashton Crusher wrote: I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. Didn't work, they were either on or off. So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated light. I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more in the long run. I bought a dim able cfl at the home depot, over 10 years ago. Worked pretty good. Really nice color temperature. There is a threshold you have to deal with. The bad part, it cost over $15. This was really cool. I modified a 500 watt floor lamp into the cfl, using the same dimmer. I broke the cfl while moving. Its steal broke. Bought a batch of feit ceiling cfl floods, said dimmable. One blew out immediately. The others worked like ****. From costco.. Greg I have 8 of those in my kitchen on a dimmer and nothings gone wrong with them yet. They are about year old, maybe more. Their range of dimming isn't nearly as much as incandescent's but it's good enough for what I need. |
#9
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 15, 1:32*am, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:53:47 +0000 (UTC), gregz wrote: BobR wrote: On Nov 14, 3:23 pm, N8N wrote: On Nov 14, 2:19 am, Ashton Crusher wrote: I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. *I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. *So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. *Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated light. I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more in the long run. I bought a dim able cfl at the home depot, over 10 years ago. Worked pretty good. Really nice color temperature. There is a threshold you have to deal with. The bad part, it cost over $15. This was really cool. I modified a 500 watt floor lamp into the cfl, using the same dimmer. I broke the cfl while moving. Its steal broke. Bought a batch of feit ceiling cfl floods, said dimmable. One blew out immediately. The others worked like ****. From costco.. Greg I have 8 of those in my kitchen on a dimmer and nothings gone wrong with them yet. *They are about year old, maybe more. *Their range of dimming isn't nearly as much as incandescent's but it's good enough for what I need. I can't remember now which ones actually dimmed, but this was on a standard Lutron Decora-style dimmer, and there was only one brand/ style "bulb" that actually dimmed. I didn't like it because a) it made the dimmer buzz which worried me b) the lights did not dim far enough for my taste (they were wall sconces in a living room, when you could conceivably want to dim the lights very low, just enough to see by) and c) the color got very odd when it was dimmed, kind of a reddish-orange, instead of a warm yellow like an incandescent. Most of the others that I tried just flashed when you tried to dim them just like a regular non-dimmable CFL. This was prior to the introduction of "CFL" dimmers in retail stores. But I was so disappointed by the results and felt that I'd spent so much time and energy trying to find something that worked (because I really would prefer to adopt energy-saving technology when possible) that I didn't bother pursuing farther, because I was becoming used to disappointment. I *think* the one that worked was Sylvania, but like I said, I can't remember. It's probably in an old post somewhere. I did not try with an old-style rotary dimmer because that would have never been passed by the design department, although I did sneak some vintage pressed- brass switchplates and brown devices into some rooms upstairs that were outside the DD's purview. nate |
#10
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
On Nov 15, 9:29*am, N8N wrote:
On Nov 15, 1:32*am, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:53:47 +0000 (UTC), gregz wrote: BobR wrote: On Nov 14, 3:23 pm, N8N wrote: On Nov 14, 2:19 am, Ashton Crusher wrote: I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. *I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. *Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. *Didn't work, they were either on or off. *So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. *With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. *Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? *Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. *I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. *So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. *Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated light. I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more in the long run. I bought a dim able cfl at the home depot, over 10 years ago. Worked pretty good. Really nice color temperature. There is a threshold you have to deal with. The bad part, it cost over $15. This was really cool. I modified a 500 watt floor lamp into the cfl, using the same dimmer. I broke the cfl while moving. Its steal broke. Bought a batch of feit ceiling cfl floods, said dimmable. One blew out immediately. The others worked like ****. From costco.. Greg I have 8 of those in my kitchen on a dimmer and nothings gone wrong with them yet. *They are about year old, maybe more. *Their range of dimming isn't nearly as much as incandescent's but it's good enough for what I need. I can't remember now which ones actually dimmed, but this was on a standard Lutron Decora-style dimmer, and there was only one brand/ style "bulb" that actually dimmed. *I didn't like it because a) it made the dimmer buzz which worried me b) the lights did not dim far enough for my taste (they were wall sconces in a living room, when you could conceivably want to dim the lights very low, just enough to see by) and c) the color got very odd when it was dimmed, kind of a reddish-orange, instead of a warm yellow like an incandescent. *Most of the others that I tried just flashed when you tried to dim them just like a regular non-dimmable CFL. *This was prior to the introduction of "CFL" dimmers in retail stores. *But I was so disappointed by the results and felt that I'd spent so much time and energy trying to find something that worked (because I really would prefer to adopt energy-saving technology when possible) that I didn't bother pursuing farther, because I was becoming used to disappointment. I *think* the one that worked was Sylvania, but like I said, I can't remember. *It's probably in an old post somewhere. *I did not try with an old-style rotary dimmer because that would have never been passed by the design department, although I did sneak some vintage pressed- brass switchplates and brown devices into some rooms upstairs that were outside the DD's purview. I have tried a couple of the dimmable bulbs but was totally dissatisfied with them and am not about to pay more for the overpriced experiments that don't work. Based on the bulb price to electric savings I figure I will be dead and pushing up dasies for 20 years before I break even. Fool me once.... |
#11
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Q about dimmable CFLs vs Non-dimmable ones
gregz wrote in
rg: BobR wrote: On Nov 14, 3:23 pm, N8N wrote: On Nov 14, 2:19 am, Ashton Crusher wrote: I replaced the incandescent bulbs in a 6 bulb fixture with non-dimmable CFLs. I didn't realize it at the time I did it that the switch was a dimmer switch. Realizing it was a dimmer switched circuit I tried dimming them. Didn't work, they were either on or off. So just to see what would happen I took out two of the CFLs and put regular incandescent back in. With the inc bulbs there the dimmer would dim the non-dimmable CFLs. Not as well as real dimmable CFLs but certainly enough to be dim enough to satisfy my needs in the dimming department. there is a slight buzzing when I dim this setup but it's not enough to be a problem to me for the few times I want to dim them. So what's different about the dimmable CFLs compared to the non-dimmable ones? Do they just add a resistor in parallel inside the dimmible bulbs??? I'm not sure, but at least as of a few years ago I wasn't able to find a dimmable CFL that worked acceptably. I did notice more recently that the "big box" stores started selling dimmers that apparently were designed specifically to work with CFLs, but even the ones with displays to test out the various dimmers, timers, etc. did not have any of them installed. So, after spending lots of time and money trying to find a good dimmable CFL I just gave up and put incandescents in the few fixtures that I had that were controlled by dimmers. Fortunately I was able to return most of the CFLs that I tried. I'll revisit it again in a few years if the stores ever let you actually see how the dimmers and CFLs work together, but my suspicion is that they'll never really work well because LEDs are the new hot thing and I suspect that they'll be ready for prime time soon enough, and apparently those handle dimming better than any fluorescent ever did. nate I have yet to find or see a truely dimmable CFL Bulb unless you want to count how long the damn things take to actually produce the rated light. I have replaced most of the lights in my house with CFL's but have found that they don't last much longer than incadescents and cost more in the long run. I bought a dim able cfl at the home depot, over 10 years ago. Worked pretty good. Really nice color temperature. There is a threshold you have to deal with. The bad part, it cost over $15. This was really cool. I modified a 500 watt floor lamp into the cfl, using the same dimmer. I broke the cfl while moving. Its steal broke. Bought a batch of feit ceiling cfl floods, said dimmable. One blew out immediately. The others worked like ****. Can't relate. Never shoved a turd in a light socket myself. From costco.. Greg |
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