lite bulbs failing prematurely

[stew]

Just a quick troubleshooting question. Have a customer complaining of lite buls burning out all the time on several fixtures. Loose neutral or can you give me any other helpfull hints. Hope this isnt a dumb question but my background is in commercial/indutrisl and motors and control so I dont get the opportunity to troubleshoot much in the way of resi.

[ April 26, 2004, 09:39 PM: Message edited by: stew ]

 

[bphgravity]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

Ensure voltage rating of lamps are equal to or exceed tested voltage at premises.

Ensure wattage rating of lamps do not exceed socket rating.

Check for voltage drop when heavy loads turn on.

Check for vibration issues and or heat disipation issues.

Check for proper luminaire maintenance and function.

Buy stock in lamp manufacturers.

 

[bennie]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

I just bought two decorator wall skonces for a room addition, I'm having completed.

The fixture has a florescent tubular plug in lamp. The ballast is a type 1 outdoor,drawing.3 amps. 18 Watts, 2700K color.

This has the light output of a 60 watt incandescent lamp.

Sell your incandescent lamp stock.

 

[wolfman56]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

I had the same thing in an office. This is what I found.
The light fixtures were old enough that all the ballasts and lamps were weak. With over 400 florescent tubes, (100 fixtures) this is what was happening.
Each week, some would burn out and be replaced, and every now and then a ballast would go bad. This gave the illusion that there must be something wrong with the power source because lamps seemed to be constantly burning out. With over 400 fluorescent lamps, several could go bad each week for over 3 years! By the time the 400th lamp would go bad, the first ones will be old enough to go out at any time. This has created a cycle where during any given week something was burning out. The same problem was apparent with the ballasts, though in a smaller way.

 

[stew]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

This problem is in a residence about 20 years old or so.

 

[bennie]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

Stew: Change the fixtures, get some high temperature anti-seize compound from an auto parts store. Put a little, of the compound, on the screw shell. Check the center contact for proper extension.

Most short life problems will go away. The glass to metal seal often gets compromised by twisting with too much torque.

Good luck

Bennie

[ April 27, 2004, 07:35 AM: Message edited by: bennie ]

 

[bphgravity]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

I have changed nearly all my incandescent lamps over to compact fluorescent, and what a difference! I like the color rendering much better, and the cool operation is most certainly noticeable. Not to mention the cost savings and life expectancy involved.

 

[hurk27]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

By bphgravity: I have changed nearly all my incandescent lamps over to compact fluorescent,

Me too!
I like the lower electric bills and the A/C running less. not to mention the fact that it's been over a year since I have had to change any bulbs.

 

[tonyi]

Re: lite bulbs failing prematurely

Are these ceiling fixtures on a 1st floor where there's a 2nd floor? There's some pretty minimally framed stuff out there that will have the 1st floor ceilings moving quite a bit as people move around on the 2nd floor...