CFL lighting question....

[Fulthrotl]

i have a commercial account that i installed about 4 dozen Halo
remodel 6" can lights that take a CF18TE/835 4 pin lamp. i'm using
the lamps made by Ushio.

it's been 2 years since they were put in. i get a call today from
the customer, asking if i can check the installation 'cause the
lamps don't seem to last all that long... so i go take a peek, and
the lamp bases are somewhat discolored from heat... and those
4 dozen fixtures have gone thru about 18 lamps in 2 years....
but the package says these are supposed to last 7,000 hours.....
yea, right....:wink:

this halo fixture mounts the lamp base up. anyone else have problems
with this type of installation, with regards to service life?

thanks for any insight you may have.

randy

 

[ultramegabob]

how many hours a day are they left on?

 

[Fulthrotl]

how many hours a day are they left on?

probably about 8. six days a week.... call it fifty hours a week.
2600 hours a year.

 

[cadpoint]

Sounds like a great reason to call the Rep. :roll:

There is 8760 hours in one year, 10 hours a day is 3650 hours.

Ha, great minds think alike.

You didn't say what was the enviroment ! ?

Instruct you clients to install lamps by the base...

 

[ceb58]

Let me through in a crazy idea. The way I understand the OP the lamp is hanging down vertically. Correct? If this is the case could the lamps be vibrating loose causing the pins to lose some contact causing overheating and shortening the life of the lamp? But if you do the math 18 lamps out of 48 over two years is less than 2% per year.

 

[ctmike]

18 lamps out of 48 is 37.5 % but just remember stated hrs is an avg not a guarantee. complain to your dist. they will probley replace them

 

[peter d]

One thing I noticed about CFL's in remoted ballasted fixt.....errr..luminaires is that they get incredibly, ridiculously hot, particularly the 32 watt variety. I suspect heat may be a factor for premature lamp failure.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Sounds like a great reason to call the Rep. :roll:

There is 8760 hours in one year, 10 hours a day is 3650 hours.

Ha, great minds think alike.

You didn't say what was the enviroment ! ?

Instruct you clients to install lamps by the base...

what i'm gonna do is drop off a case of lamps, and a brand
new sharpie..... and mark the install dates on the bases...
and have him do the same... it'll keep him busy... and if
they start failing after six months burn time, the wholesale
house can start exchanging them. there's nothing else i
can really do at this point.... he's got 48 lights. they in
theory should last 2 years. that's 24 lamps a year.

if specific lamps are failing in a few months, that's another
thing, but without writing install dates on them, there's no
way i'm going to my wholesale house whining "dey burned out".

i have a brand new sharpie (green, no less) with his name on
it.... problem solved.

randy

 

[barclayd]

Please keep in mind that the Rated Life value means that, in this case, after 7000 hours of operation, HALF of the lamps will still be operational.
db

 

[Rockyd]

Dumb question to add - Do CFL's get a 3 hour hit, against each start, in regard to total lamp life (like a "normal" 4' flourescent tube)?

 

[chris500]

And in two years this is what you will hear.

"Sorry, you voided the warranty by marking on the bases with green marker. That's what made them heat up and fail."

:smile:

 

[Besoeker]

Sounds like a great reason to call the Rep. :roll:

There is 8760 hours in one year, 10 hours a day is 3650 hours.
[/COLOR]

Fulthrotl said eight hours a day, six days a week.
That would account for the disparity between your figure and his.

 

[danickstr]

is voltage ok?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I have some mixed feelings on CFL lamps. Halo makes a can that is designed for the PLC type CFL lamps. They are expensive in comparison to the resi fixtures but you must realize that these latter fixtures have never been tested with CFL's and are approved as incandescent luminaires. I suspect the fixture manufacturer will give you no help on this. Good luck with the bulb manufacturer.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Dumb question to add - Do CFL's get a 3 hour hit, against each start, in regard to total lamp life (like a "normal" 4' flourescent tube)?

prolly. however, i've got two fixtures one on each side of my garage door,
and i put in 12 watt piggly wiggly CFL's into them, and did the math,
and it wasn't worth the $35 timer to turn them off... the timer would pay
for itself about 3 years after i die.

so i left them on.... the first one finally burnt out, after 3 years. 24/7.

 

[cadpoint]

Visitor, and that why your the engineer... :roll:

I was to excited that other's went on to show other some well rational numbers!

For some reason I went to 10 cause all I've known lately, I also thought and rationionalize (again) there would be some on that new vague flex time...

 

[Besoeker]

Visitor, and that why your the engineer...

And, despite my best endeavours, we still haven't (yet) got convergence on decimal, metric, SI, and the calendar.
Perhaps 10 hour days, 100 hour weeks, and 1000 day years are still some way off.

 

[Greg Swartz]

And, despite my best endeavours, we still haven't (yet) got convergence on decimal, metric, SI, and the calendar.
Perhaps 10 hour days, 100 hour weeks, and 1000 day years are still some way off.

The first 2 I have contemplated for some time... that means 100 second minutes, 100 minute hours, 10 hour days...

But the last one: 1000 day years... well either you got to re-define a year, or you got to talk to God about it... :roll: