A VERY LONG LIFE

[WA5KRP]

Our house chews up light bulbs like they're party snacks, even after having new wiring installed throughout. A 75 watt incandescent bulb typically lasts three or four months, ending its life like a flash bulb and scaring the hell out of us. What's really weird, as soon as one goes three or four more will go out within a couple days.

I decided I'd try one of those $7 helical flourescent lights (FLE20HLX/9/SW) that are made to screw into a regular socket and put it into a table lamp we leave on 24/7. It's rated 20 watts but has the lumen equivalence of a 60 watt incandescent bulb. GE said the life expectancy of this big bux bulb was 6000 hours. (Yeah, right.)

The bulb gave out yesterday. I had written the installation date on the base: 12/19/01 WHOA! 29 months continuous service or 21,000 hours. Never expected something like that around this house.

VERY COOL.



WA5KRP
Texas

[K4JSR]

Finally a post that sheds more light than heat!!! YAAAAY!!!
I've converted over to those funny little flourescent bulbs
and have been well pleased with the amount of light and the
low power consumption. While they have not completely
displaced Mr. Edison's bulbs in my house, they are making inroads. The cost of these flourescent bulbs seems to be
coming down slightly as time goes by, which makes them even more cost effective.
They don't even seem to "buzz" my HF station like the long
tube flourescents do! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

73, Cal K4JSR

[n3ijw]

I was going to ask about RF noise from those critters, KRP has your experience been similar? Got enough noise in here as it is #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[w6ez]

I have four of those about 9 feet from my hf station and have never had a bit of rf hash from them.

And they last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs (or lamps, before someone starts an arguement about the true name.)

[n0ov]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n3ijw @ May 18 2004,09:45)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I was going to ask about RF noise from those critters, KRP has your experience been similar? Got enough noise in here as it is #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I've been using those bulbs for quite a while and experienced no RF noise.

Some of the new, more energy efficient bulbs (I think they're the T3) also have no RF noise that I can tell -- couple of natural light bulbs in the kitchen and the wife has a very big smile on her face.

(Keeping the wife happy is important too!!!http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[K9STH]

The problem is that the &quot;typical&quot; line voltage from most electric companies in the United States these days is 125 volts +/- 2 volts (usually on the &quot;+&quot; side during the summer months). As a result, the 120 volt light bulbs that you get at the corner supermarket, WalMart, etc., are running in the over-voltage mode.

There are 130 volt bulbs available, often at home improvement centers, lighting specialty shops, electrical supply houses, etc. Often these are as cheap, even sometimes cheaper than the 120 volt bulbs. You don't get quite as much light out of them as you will get from an over-voltage supplied 120 volt bulb (but most people cannot tell the very slight difference). However, they usually last between 10 and 20 times as long as the 120 volt bulbs, even longer when the line voltage is less than 120 volts (still happens in some areas!).

When I was working for TXU whenever I did seminars, etc., on lightning protection and grounding, there was always a question from the audience about the fact that their light bulbs didn't last as long as they used to. Going to 130 volt bulbs is what I always recommended.

By the way, Lowe's has the 60 watt replacement flourescent bulbs on sale for 5 for $12.95. I just bought a &quot;card&quot; (5 on a sales card) last week. The ones that I got are rated at 18 watts with an equivalent of a 60 watt regular bulb.

Glen, K9STH

[n3ijw]

Schweet! Sounds like a worthwhile purchase in that case.

Anything that will help cut down the electric bill around here will be welcome indeed.

[KL7FZ]

My gripe about light bulbs is they are made to burn out after a designated time. Why? OTs will remember back in the sixties, I believe it was, the ads for the lifetime bulbs. Guaranteed to never burn out. Boy. it looks like the manufacturers decided THAT was a mistake. They disappeared pretty fast. You can still get extended life bulbs at a higher price. A lifetime bulb can still be produced at little or no extra cost over present limited life bulbs, but that doesn't sell a lot of bulbs does it? The old planned obsolescence (I think I spelled that right) ploy. Keep the light bulb makers in business.
Been a rip-off for many years now.
And the reason that many of your light bulbs go out at once is that they are all rated at the same lifetime in hours and you replaced them all about the same time, and then it happens again all about the same time when they reach their lifetime. Not voltage related.
You have been had by the marketers.

#But I did like the Mr Magoo ads!

#From the Great White North
#Where it is DARK SIX MONTHS A YEAR
#(think of the implications for light bulb makers there!http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
#KL7FZ

[N2ACX]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Well here's a good one. We moved into a townhouse in 1980. After replacing all of the light bulbs in the house on a very regular basis it dawned on me after about 10 years that I've never replaced the bulb on the second floor hallway.
I removed the cover and it was one of those 'handicapped veterans bulbs, I remember them , they sold for about 5 bucks in the 70's, 120v 100w.
Well in 2002 we moved, since the light was still going, I took it with me. Iam still using it in my shack desk lamp. This lamp is over 24 years old.
Yes &quot;they&quot; can make lamps to last if 'they' want to.
73 Gary N2ACX

[W3MIV]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (N2ACX @ May 19 2004,13:42)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #Well here's a good one. We moved into a townhouse in 1980. After replacing all of the light bulbs in the house on a very regular basis it dawned on me after about 10 years that I've never replaced the bulb on the second floor hallway. #
#I removed the cover and it was one of those 'handicapped veterans bulbs, I remember them , they sold for about 5 bucks in the 70's, #120v 100w.
#Well in 2002 we moved, since the light was still going, I took it with me. Iam still using it in my shack desk lamp. This lamp is over 24 years old.
#Yes &quot;they&quot; can make lamps to last if 'they' want to.
73 #Gary N2ACX[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I used to buy those handicap vet bulbs, too. They are underrated and basically the same as the ones Glen mentioned in his post above. The ones I used to buy were 55 watt.

The outfit that sold them (you gave a donation and the bulbs were a &quot;gift&quot;) no longer call me. ??

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[K8ERV]

Most of my tungsten lamps are on dimmers, last forever. (The lamps, not me). http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

TOM K8ERV

[KC8QMU]

A lot of what you see with the voltage is going to affect your surroundings, such as if there are any large manufacturing plants and such immediately nearby.

I work on 3 phase services and the like, mostly 208Y and 240 Delta. I can honestly say I've never seen a true 208V out of the buildings I work in, usually more like 215-220V, with the old 240 Delta building I deal with usually anywhere between 235-245, dependant mostly on the loading of the service. Still, these fall within allowable specs, you don't usually run into a lot of trouble unless you have phases that become severly imbalanced, often causing the overloading of a neutral. Any of these systems with one leg compared against ground usually runs about 125 or so volts.

Now out here in the rural area where I live, there are nothing but residential services, my typical 240V single phase service runs at about 118V to ground off of either leg. That's pretty darn good, and it's usually fairly consistent.

Having a few extra volts is much better than having line voltage drop below 110V under a good sized load! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[WA5KRP]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K9STH @ May 19 2004,10:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">There are 130 volt bulbs available, often at home improvement centers, lighting specialty shops, electrical supply houses, etc. #Often these are as cheap, even sometimes cheaper than the 120 volt bulbs. #

By the way, Lowe's has the 60 watt replacement flourescent bulbs on sale for 5 for $12.95. #I just bought a &quot;card&quot; (5 on a sales card) last week. #The ones that I got are rated at 18 watts with an equivalent of a 60 watt regular bulb.

Glen, K9STH[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I've occasionally bought the &quot;rough service&quot; bulbs, typically rated 130V, from Grainger for about $3 a pair. #Lowes and HD around here don't carry them. #They do last longer. #But I generally wind up &quot;borrowing&quot; them for one of my drop lights.

I'll vouch for the other guys' comments: #I've never had any rf interference from these flourescent bulbs. #My station is adjacent to one of our back doors and I have one installed in the porch light. #Long ago I did an on/off test with no discernable effects from broadcast band through 440.

Glen,

Looks like I'm headed to Lowes. #That's a hard-core BARGAIN! #Just hope I'm not too late.


WA5KRP
Texas


(BTW........we all know why they're called drop lights. Some genious oughta come up with a bounce light.)

[N3BIF]

Back on the farm before I was born Legend has it that my great uncle, a PHD in chemistry and textiles sciences, put a 220 volt 100 watt bulb in our house's stairway socket during WWII, the light was never turned off and it was still burning 40 years later when my parents moved out . True it only put out 50 watts of light, but it was plenty for the application.
# # I have sinced looked for a source of 220 v bulbs but can't find them retail,

[k6pme]

A number of years ago I read an article in the Sacramento Bee about a Sac. City firehouse that had a light bulb in the apparatus room that was from the 1920's or 30's and was still going strong. The thoery was at the time that since it was NEVER turned off that it never had a 'voltage surge' so that is why it lasted so long.

[N0PU]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (davn3bif @ May 19 2004,13:42)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Back on the farm before I was born Legend has it that my great uncle, a PHD in chemistry and textiles sciences, put a 220 volt 100 watt bulb in our house's stairway socket during WWII, the light was never turned off and it was still burning 40 years later when my parents moved out . True it only put out 50 watts of light, but it was plenty for the application.
# # I have sinced looked for a source of 220 v bulbs but can't find them retail,[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
That doesn't surprise me... half the battle on keeping a bulb long lasting is keeping it on... it is the stress of the metal from heating and cooling... but don't try to convince my wife of that...

Great idea...

Do not forget to write your anti-BPL letters,
encourage new amateur radio participation and generally be nice
to one another. That is all.