GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

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mc5w

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I am running into a Spare Parts Conspiracy problem. I am relamping some outdoor compact fluorescent fixtures that were made by Regent and which I had installed about 2.5 years ago. These are some of the problems:

1. General Electric compact fluorescent triple tube bulbs are somehow about 1/4 inch longer than everybody else's bulbs. The original bulbs were Sylvania or Philips or Cooper 26 watt triple tube 4 pin base. The generic part number is F26TBX/SPX41/4P for the originals. The only thing that I can get locally is General Electric which is somehow 1/4 inch longer and sometimes does NOT fit into the fixture. There is a minor modification involving slight bending of the sheet metal on which the lampholders are mounted and that allows the bulbs to just barely fit.

2. I am getting about a 50% lampholder failure rate including inability to retain the wires. There is a make of CF lampholders that is junkier than Leviton.

3. I am getting a more than 60% ballast failure rate. Regent made the ballasts of had them brand name labeled.

All told, the next outdoor compact fluorescent fixture installation will use "incandescent" fixtures with compact fluorescent refit bulbs. At least I get a new ballast with each bulb and these seem to be very reliable as far as cheap Chinese junk goes.
 
Re: GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

Mc5w
We use only Sylvania as we have had problems with GE in the past and a week or bad bulb in any fluorescent fixture can lead to premuture ballast failure. As far as the sockets go try a little diaelectric grease on the pins.

Here is a very good source to buy Sylvania lamps at a good price and you can deal with them a little as they have a little room to price from:

The Bulb Man

You can get about any bulb made through them even hard to find ones. :D
 
Re: GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

Thanks. I also found a place named www.atlantalighting.com that is also reasonable.

I am cleaming the bulb pins with #220 silicon carbide abrasive paper and then coating them with Ilsco Deox (R). This seems to improve reliability.

The problem with electronic ballasts burning out when the bulbs go is that there is no fixed or switched bleeder resistor inside of the ballast to keep spikes from overcharging the storage capacitor when the bulbs are not presenting a load. See http://home.earthlink.net/~mc5w/badnewsballasts.txt . I had to do an autopsy on a General Electric ballast because when I asked them for inrush current data I got a big We Don't Know.
 
Re: GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

Originally posted by mc5w:
I am cleaming the bulb pins with #220 silicon carbide abrasive paper and then coating them with Ilsco Deox (R). This seems to improve reliability.
Click to expand...
Your just messing with us now right? :D

You don't really think that is necessary do you? :D
 
Re: GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

By the way, the really bad lampholders were made by an apparently Chinese company named Zing Ear. The wire traps in these lampholder would let go of #18 solid copper wire almost zero applied force. Most of the original lampholders were made in the U.S.A. by the Edwin Gaynor company and the prime problem was the sulfuric acid from the catalytic converters which is rather hard on outdoor copper wiring.

I have found that silicon carbide paper for cleaning copper wire, aluminum wire, brass pins and so forth is cheap insurance. I have seen more in the way of copper wiring burn up than aluminum.

In January of 1993 I waas out with my boss at a truck terminal that Consolidated Freightways had taken over. I spent quite a bit of time using the silicon carbide paper to clean aluminum and copper oxide out of the lampholders of the dock lights with most of the dock door wide open. This was a lot less expensive than replacing the dock lights which cost $500 each at the time.

Considering that I quite successfully hooked up a 60 KW plastics machine with aluminum I have quite a bit of confidence in the technique. Garnet paper also works with a little bit more elbow grease if it is the case that stray semiconductive silicon carbide particles could contaminate insulating surfaces. Silicon carbide or garnet paper plus elbow grease plus electrical grease makes Stabiloy(R) aluminum conductor work like a champ!

The really tricky part is that compact stranded aluminum and copper wire has a bunch of concave surfaces on the wire strands. If you do not clean that concave surface you will not get interstrand conduction and a thoroughly good connection. National Electrical Code 110.mumblesomething requires a thoroughly good connection but does not define it. See my tech note over at http://home.earthlink.net/~mc5w and click on something about copper and aluminum wiring connections.

Every time the price of copper gets manipulated I have to take a hit on 15 amp to 30 amp branch circuits but for 40 to 200 amps I can take money out of the copper robbers' pockets and stick it into MY pocket.

I am up way toooooo late!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ April 17, 2005, 04:17 AM: Message edited by: mc5w ]
 
Re: GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

Well MC I can't fault a guy for wanting to do a quality job. ;)

This is definitely a 'to each their own' type issue and if your the boss or if your boss is happy with limited production it's all good. :cool:
 
Re: GE Bulbs 1/4 inch too long

I have seen some Regent fluorescent fixtures at Lowes for about $20. Given their low quality, wouldn't it be easier to trash the fixture and get a new (better?) one? :confused:

Don't get me wrong, I am all for conserving what it there allready, but time is money. This doesn't seem like it's worth the effort.

I agree, the best solution is to use incandescent fixture and put compact fluros in them.
 
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