Capacitors in CFL's

[ben7]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

it's a gray fuseable resistor, not a regular smoke&flame type.

Yeah but they still take time to go O/C, and they get very hot ... they can set things on fire, even though they themselves don't burn xD

i'm thinking your not seeing electrolytics bursting because your only 115v,
try Europe where we have to use 400v electrolytics in these things.
usually 1.8 or 2.2uf

Why do you say that?
I've seen bad ones caused by using the CFL on a dimmer :P
Including failed (bulged) nichicon and NCC caps, lol.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

Of all the CFLs that have failed on me and I was able to crack the case, the failure mode tends to be the filament going OC and will no longer start with the built in starter.

The outliers:
1 failed due to corrosion on the tube wires
2 failed due to overheating coil, probably due to semiconductor failure due to heat.

Not one bad cap yet, oddly enough. I didn't put any CFLs on a dimmer or at least never tried dimming a non-dimmable CFL on a dimmer. Then again that "big" visible capacitor in most CFLs is equivalent to that big capacitor in computer PSUs... and those don't usually fail either...

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

Incandescent lightbulbs aren't illegal.

The worst that will happen is that they are sold as a specialty bulb, which alone can be good news!
They're more likely to last longer instead of being the dreaded "1000" rating. At least compared to the large quantities of the past.

Even the mercury vapor lightbulbs of the same type that the street lights used were still being made recently!
(I thought I wouldn't see any with a manufacturing year later than 2008!)
(Looks like the only thing that changed is that all new ballasts are required to be metal halide-compatible or HPS-compatible)

[budm]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

http://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoSmart-...7?N=5yc1vZbmg5
This is what I can get in California to replace regular incandescent 100W lamp.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

I bought a halogen A19 bulb for kicks, curious of lighting. It seemed very similar to regular incandescent but slightly higher color temperature. I am a bit disappointed by the lifetime which is no better than a regular incandescent, but perhaps that's how it got the 25% power savings...

Plus at $1.25-$1.50/bulb they are no longer cost effective. Buy if you like or need the heat. I'm not sure what the kids will do to fix their E-Z-Bake ovens...

[Capybara]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

I am also one who feels that CFL life is over-rated. I tried to be an early adopter and bought some for a server room. On all the time. But they died within 12 months.

I also hate the inconsistent colour spectrum they put out. As a camera hobbyist, I can't get the white balance of pictures to look right. And as human, food doesn't look as appetizing and people don't look as nice under CFL lighting.

And then there's the toxic waste situation created when you break one. My aging parents broke one and I had to leap into action because they were either going to just sweep up the fragments or (worse) use a vacuum cleaner.

I swear there must be a CFL lobby out there influencing the government. No reasonable person with any technical background would think these bulbs are a good idea.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

We have no choice, because the incandescent bulbs we'd need are illegal now (yes, ILLEGAL).

Bullshit!! I recommend that you get Osram Sylvania 40W incandescents.

[stj]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

for people in Europe, pearl/frosted are banned, but clear are not.
i dont know if the same rule is gobal.

[ben7]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

for people in Europe, pearl/frosted are banned, but clear are not.
i dont know if the same rule is gobal.

WTF. That's weird!

Also, two 40W bulbs aren't bright enough for the bathroom...

EDIT: Crap, double posted somehow... :S

[ben7]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

for people in Europe, pearl/frosted are banned, but clear are not.
i dont know if the same rule is gobal.

WTF. That's weird!

Also, two 40W bulbs aren't bright enough for the bathroom... that's why I said "...because the incandescent bulbs we'd need... "

[stj]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

clear bulbs bypassed the ban because the appearance is needed in some types of glass fitting that you cant get from a cfl.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

I think in the US, the clear bulbs are also banned from commercial sale now, but then the "specialty" bulbs (usually long life, which are even less efficient than regular) are still OK to sell.

Recently I went through my bathrooms' vanity bulbs, and they all use the G25 shaped bulbs. As I only have 8 clear G25 incandescent bulbs left, I put them in the two 4-lamp vanity fixtures. The 6-bulb vanity fixture I have a hodgepodge of bulbs because that's what I have... two 5000K CFLs, two 2700K bulbs of one brand, one 2700K of another brand, and one last frosted incandescent bulb. Looks kind of weird when they're on but when they're off, it's not too noticeable...

Not sure what I'll do when the next bulb burns out, especially if it's one of the clear ones... Fortunately the G25 bulbs count as specialty and thus are still available for purchase.

[kc8adu]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

this means no lights of america (lights of china).
they are pure shit!

Reports from defrauded consumers (including myself) clearly show that using substandard energy saving lamps can cost you money.
Why waste your money on energy saving lamps which don't last as claimed?
To avoid this kind of a problem, insist on energy saving lamps with a warranty, ideally not requiring proof of purchase.

[kc8adu]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

btw i had a cfl start buzzing and strobing a while back.i opened it up and the cap was popped.a replacement fixed it.am i the only one who would recap a cfl?
btw its a ge 23w and the cap was an aishi?
since its was a bridge rather than a doubler i used a 200v cap i have a bunch of.
these things get hot enough inside to darken the board!

[stj]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

btw i had a cfl start buzzing and strobing a while back.i opened it up and the cap was popped.a replacement fixed it.am i the only one who would recap a cfl?

i have recapped lots.
all the failed ones i have had either had a bad cap or open heater.
the open heater ones went in the bin,
the bad cap ones, i use panasonic NHG series.

[tom66]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

clear bulbs bypassed the ban because the appearance is needed in some types of glass fitting that you cant get from a cfl.

I stocked up on a ton of 150W bulbs for my series light bulb tester

(I use LED bulbs in 95% of the house. A couple of infrequently used lights are CFLs, and the bathroom uses halogens with an electronic transformer.)

So far, zero failures (but I found CFLs to be OK, just had a few that would buzz or flicker)

[stj]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

what cfl's are you using?

my standard base ones are phillips,
the candles are "morrisons" own re-brand.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Capacitors in CFL's

I think these are the CFL brands I've used and their rating from my opinion of each brand based on how long they've lasted:

Commercial Electric - Works as expected, most hours logged
GE - not enough data yet
Greenlite - So far so good (alas I bought these *cheaaaap*)
Feit - so far so good, but not as much info as Greenlite and Commercial Electric
Lights of America - Crappy
Phillips - Not enough data yet, but so far so good.
Sunbeam - Acceptable but not great