i thought these jokers were supposed to last like 7 years. i just had one go dead and i've had it less than a year

12/12/2009 7:44:05 PM

surely your sample size large enough.

12/12/2009 7:45:16 PM

but don't you feel all warm and fuzzy because it only burned 27 watts instead of 70 or some shit like that?

12/12/2009 7:45:31 PM

where were you using it?

12/12/2009 7:46:25 PM

That sucks. I have lit my whole apartment with the same 5 for almost two years now.

12/12/2009 7:47:24 PM

In my living room

12/12/2009 7:51:29 PM

haha sorry, I should have been more specific. Table lamp, fan light, recessed ceiling light etc.

12/12/2009 7:52:26 PM

check the current running through your house, yo...

12/12/2009 7:53:26 PM

If you got a name brand CFL it probably has a 3 or 5 year warranty. Exercising the warranty usually requires sending in the original UPC though (I've kept the packages to all mine in the closet in the laundry room.)

I've had no failures yet, but I only changed them out a year ago.

12/12/2009 7:57:05 PM

i hate that delay when you turn them on

12/12/2009 7:58:48 PM

I haven't noticed much of a delay. It's definitely not as quick as LED fixtures but mine are still pretty instant. I've had them in my bedroom fan, my bathroom, and table lamps around the apt for 3 years now. Haven't had any die on me yet.

12/12/2009 8:00:57 PM

if they have been off for a long time and aren't warmed up or something there's a noticeable delay

12/12/2009 8:01:56 PM

can't wait til OLED light panels are as cheap as CFLs

12/12/2009 8:02:14 PM

I broke it when he was out of the room. Don't tell him.

12/12/2009 8:15:40 PM

hahahahaha, call hazmat if you break one of those things. I think I'll just burn the 30 extra watts

12/12/2009 8:18:41 PM

^^What a dick.

12/12/2009 8:21:34 PM

the lighting from it sucks. I might have broken it.

12/12/2009 8:22:23 PM

^^^

Linked from GE and backed by the EPA:

Quote :

"What should I do if a CFL breaks? Because there is such a small amount of mercury in CFLs, your greatest risk if a bulb breaks is getting cut from glass shards. Research indicates that there is no immediate health risk to you or your family should a bulb break and it's cleaned up properly."

[Edited on December 12, 2009 at 8:29 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2009 8:23:33 PM

so, we should also believe the tobacco companies when they tell us that cigarettes are not harmful, as well?

12/12/2009 8:24:39 PM

Quote :

" proper clean-up and disposal guidelines: Call 911"

12/12/2009 8:24:45 PM

^^ that came from the EPA...GE simply linked to it from their site in an FAQ. It must be cleaned properly (ie you need to get all the pieces off the floor/carpet/couch/whatever and they recommend you open a window to air out the room). But as long as you clean it they (the EPA) claim it is nothing to be concerned about due to the low levels of mercury present in the bulb.

[Edited on December 12, 2009 at 8:32 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2009 8:25:31 PM

and GE didn't pay them off to say that... riiiiiiiight.

12/12/2009 8:42:20 PM

yeah these bulbs suck ass. they take a full minute to get to their brightest setting and sometimes instead of coming on they just wildly flicker for a while.

12/12/2009 8:42:23 PM

I am not sure what cheap-o CFLs you're using but mine have never let me down. My desk lamp sometimes takes a moment to reach full luminosity but it isn't something I am either going to bitch about or resort to using god awful incandescents.

Quote :

"and GE didn't pay them off to say that... riiiiiiiight."

Considering the EPAs instructions are based off of a report done in February 2008 you can bet that GE didn't pay anyone off in Bush's Environmental Puppet Agency. Kindly go fuck yourself.

[Edited on December 12, 2009 at 9:02 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2009 8:53:41 PM

lol

funny you say that. the one on the front door of my apt went out today too

12/12/2009 8:55:01 PM

Quote :

"and GE didn't pay them off to say that... riiiiiiiight."

anywho, I admit im certainly not an expert on this stuff and havent had a large number of these to work with to apply this to all CFLs, but I've had about 8 in use for 3 years and 2 more that have been in use for 5 (one of the 5 year ones gets used almost every single night for hours at a time as it is the main table lamp in my apt). Never experienced any flickering and haven't had any die yet. The only time I have ever noticed a lamp taking awhile to "warm up" is when I am gone for a long weekend or something. As far as perceived brightness, I'd say in the few cases I've noticed this, its probably 80% brightness for all of a few seconds before looking to be about "full brightness."

I am definitely looking forward to LEDs being more affordable but until now I have had 0 problems with CFLs.

I have known two people in person who were having problems with them burning out in <1 year. Both of these people were using these lights in areas without windows and thus had the lights on probably 15+ hours a day and both of them had them in recessed ceiling light setups.

[Edited on December 12, 2009 at 9:23 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2009 9:21:03 PM

anybody who has turned on a bathroom light in a wolf village apartment knows how fucking long some of these take to get bright

12/12/2009 9:25:25 PM

Can't say I've been there. If the warm-up time is something that bothers someone or they really notice a lot, I would just recommend not putting them in a place like a closet or bathroom/powder room with no window. In larger rooms, or places where the lamp is going to be on for more than 60 seconds, I can't see it making much of a difference.

12/12/2009 9:30:23 PM

literally takes the ones in WV bathrooms >2 mins to reach full brightness

[Edited on December 12, 2009 at 9:32 PM. Reason : gf stayed there. i would just leave the damn thing on and shut the door]

12/12/2009 9:31:54 PM

they give you cancer

12/12/2009 9:32:45 PM

=/=



[Edited on December 12, 2009 at 9:36 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2009 9:34:50 PM

I put the 100W replacements everywhere I had a 60W incadescent so that I wouldn't have to wait for it to turn on. That way they're putting out decent light when you first start them up.

12/12/2009 9:35:27 PM

^^i'm talking about CFLs. i know the difference.

12/12/2009 9:37:01 PM

I've had one in a lamp by my front door continuously on for about 7 years. still burning (knock on wood)

12/12/2009 11:57:20 PM

i like the fluorescent bulbs i have in my house.

12/12/2009 11:58:19 PM

you people will bitch about anything.

12/13/2009 9:26:38 AM

next thing you know, they'll complain that they don't get warm enough to heat your house!

12/13/2009 9:39:11 AM

I have this exact same beef with them!

They do not last longer, in many cases they last less time. They cost like 10x more. They also are filled with mercury which is harmful for the environment.

NC has on the books to ban regular bulbs in 2012........................

12/13/2009 9:42:46 AM

rawr rawr rawr they suck rawr rawr expensive rawr

i've got some CFLs in my apartment now that have been with me for about 6 years now, through an apartment, a house, and now another apartment. Some in lamps, some in bathroom fixtures, and had no problems with them. The ONLY CFL that I've ever had go bad was one I stupidly put on a switch that did variable current, and burned it out.

12/13/2009 9:47:01 AM

I had the same one in my bedroom for like four years and it just blew out.

12/13/2009 10:40:40 AM

all the lamps in my house have shades that attch by grabbing onto the lamp and i'll be damned if i am replacing all the shades too

12/13/2009 10:53:29 AM

i've had to replace my traditional incandescent bulbs far less frequently than i have had to replace my CFL bulbs, despite the fact that I have far MORE incandescent bulbs.

CFL's suck.

12/13/2009 10:54:30 AM

I have read stuff that says CFLs are HORRIBLE for lights that get turned off and on all the time. (bathrooms, closets, etc). The starter is usually what fails, the bulb is actually designed to last much longer but when the starter fails the bulb is trash.

Kind of stupid to have such a complex device that cant outlast something made of glass and very minuscule amount of metal.

12/13/2009 11:02:51 AM

Maybe you people should buy some brand-name bulbs instead of shitty no-names.

12/13/2009 11:22:15 AM

I have them everywhere, including the bathroom, and they've all lasted 3 years so far and more than payed for themselves.

12/13/2009 11:48:53 AM

I'm not necessarily a huge proponent of CFLs, but I'm not a hater either.

I'd say about a third of the lights in my house are CFLs, and I have yet to have one burn out on me. I have a mix of the name brand ones and cheapo ones.

The only real difference I notice between the cheapo ones and the brand name ones is that the cheapo ones have about a second delay between hitting the switch and lighting up. They also take a little longer to achieve full luminosity.

12/13/2009 11:48:54 AM

Quote :

"The only real difference I notice between the cheapo ones and the brand name ones is that the cheapo ones have about a second delay between hitting the switch and lighting up. They also take a little longer to achieve full luminosity."

so the non-cheapos don't do that?

hmm

12/13/2009 11:53:07 AM

sometimes the super cheap ones hum. But its pretty quiet, and I've only seen the Big Lots ones do that.

[Edited on December 13, 2009 at 11:57 AM. Reason : -]

12/13/2009 11:57:17 AM

^^

usually they say "instant on" on the packaging. I think the brand I have like that was sylvania.

12/13/2009 12:52:29 PM

Quote :

"Maybe you people should buy some brand-name bulbs instead of shitty no-names. "

i've never gotten the cheap ones.

12/13/2009 1:34:48 PM