Frequent Light Bulb changes...

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MrHopper

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Probably not the right section but no other section really looked appropriate either. Someone will hopefully know the answer.

I'm sure lots of you have heard of this, I've heard of this several times but never been there to check out the problem.

People claim to have fixtures that burn out bulbs often or have one bulb that burns out often. My neighbor claims that their light fixture in their kitchen (5 blub fixture) has one bulb that burns out about once a week (the same bulb). Like I said I haven't looked at it but electricly it doesn't make much sense to me. It would seem you either 1.have the connection of line voltage to the bulb, 2.you don't have the connection or 3. you have some kind of resistance.

If you have a good connection the bulb will light and function normal,
If no connection, no light.
If there was resistance the bulb should be dimmed (which it isn't) and should actually increase in life.

So, thats how I see it. I would think it would take a higher voltage at the bulb to cause the life to be shortened, and in a fixture such as this all 5 bulbs should have the same problem.

So, do these people have an over-active imagination. Does this really happen and what causes it? It really doesn't matter but it bothers me if it happens and I can't figure out why. I probably need to get a ladder and my meter and head to my neighbors house but I'd rather find out on here.

Thanks in advance!
 
A bad socket will cause this issue. The cheap phenolic sockets have the conductors rivited on them. This is what I'd suspect with one lamp out of a cluster of 5. Very common find on paddle fan light kits too.
 
I have had incandesant bulbs burn very fast when connected to a flouresant lighting cir. probably the high noodle current
 
I have found that when all else is checked and functional, check the voltage at the fixture I have found as much as 130V and they have had a 120V bulb in the fixture. I had them change to commercial type bulbs with the higher voltage rating and have not heard back yet.
Just a thought

Mark
 
my obeservation comes from trouble shooting a stairwell incandesant fix that owner said bulb lasted a week every time, while opening fix. and wiggle testing wires for bad conn. noodle splice came off in fingers and gave my the shock of my life up till then -crashed down ceiling and layed in the stairwell and wondered what a lonely place to die for no had heard me scream-- 277v and all other fix were flouresant
 
It may be as simple as cheap lamps. For traffic signals we use 130V rated lamps, they have a life of 8,000 hours.
Even in a residential application, 130 V lamps last longer but the downside is the lumens is less. Traffic signal lamps are lumen rated so they have odd wattages, such as 69, 113 and 165 watts.
Have you tried compact floresent?
 
Thanks everyone, some great results. I like asking questions on here because its like tapping into many years of experience in a few hours. I'm a little confused on the noodle thing though.
 
Using a 130 volt rated bulb is always a good idea, I use them frequently. As for this specific problem, I ran into an identical situation a few months back with a kitchen overheard light. I checked everything out and could not find a thing wrong with it. Decided to go with a compact flourescent bulb and has not been a problem since. I think going this route is a win win situation all around since it is a brighter whiter light, uses less energy and runs cooler. The arguement will be that some people just hate flourescent lighting, but others are cool with it.
 
Actually, there's another option.

This really does happen, and one major reason is a dirty or corroded connection between socket and bulb.

This can cause the light to flicker, but so fast that it's not really perceptible to the eye. The flickering ends up burning out the bulb (as if someone was turning the light on and off 5000 times a day.)

I've had good success with cleaning the socket connection points with a q-tip and denatured alcohol or mineral spirits.
 
Something that is often overlooked is vibration. I have had fixtures in my own home go through lamps in less than a week and found the socket assembly loose in the fixture. I have one fixture in a hallway on first floor that I have to use rough service lamps. Cheaper than replacing fixture right now
 
Good Bulb, bad bulb-- say it 10 times fast

Good Bulb, bad bulb-- say it 10 times fast

I agree with Mark--almost every situation I have seen is because the bulb is being replaced with 120 volt rather than 130 volt bulbs. Since it is the same socket I suspect the owners have bought a bunch of 120 volt bulbs. It would be interesting to see if the other bulbs in the fixture are 130 volt bulbs. Of course, if the socket is bad it will usually make the bulb flicker or not work at all. It is possible that it is flickering in the fixture and they don't notice it with 4 other bulbs on. The flickering will burn out the bulb prematurely. My bet-- the bulb-- with high power company voltages.
 
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