True or False

[Chamuit]

Just an FYI.

Snopes: CFL Bulb Fire Risk

Not personally a big fan of CFLs.

 

[Sam Moore]

Never thought much of them since I jumped on the band wagon and replaced every bulb in my house and saw no return!...Power consumption has remained about the same.

 

[weressl]

........
Well after going through several brands, I found that the Sylvania, Phillips, and GE brands, don't seem to fail in this way, they just go out, I no longer use the off brands, and even though I have had a few bad bulbs, ..........

Are any of the brand names built anywehre, but China? The same factory that produces the brands, takes the same bulb and off-brand markets it. That is how they able to mass produce and lower the price even more. I had Sylvania and GE failed in this fashion, one just a couple of days ago. Flicker and crackling sound. I did replace it out before the smoke came. It was a table lamp, open, pointing up. The interesing thing is that this has been in service far less than the published life. It is a guest bedroom , only 4-5 years at best and used couple of days, several times a year.

This and an older post had established couple of things:

• this type of failure is acceptable to UL,
• there has been no independently confirmed fire ever been recorded due to CFL failure, (I do not consider the CPSC report confirmed and verified data, recall often occurs before the investigation conclusively finished, re: Toyota break incidents.)
• the reported life of the bulbs seem to be less than claimed by the makers/suppliers.

 

[jsmalone1]

I have had good experiences with the CFLs. Anything could overheat, incandescent light bulbs have started countless fires, for instance. I have replaced lights with CFLs, that we typically leave on for long periods and have experienced much lower bills and dependability. I have CFLs at our lake house that are on all night, every night and have last several years, while using only a fraction of the wattage previously used. LEDs are the big thing now.------------------------ I also believe snopes.com has been revealed to be very biased, politically and factually.

 

[petersonra]

I have had two CFLs that failed with smoke. One of them had a very discernable small hole in the glass.

Both were on a ceiling fan in my kitchen that has not been used in a very long time except for the lights.

Both were name brands.

I write the date of install with a Sharpie on the base of the bulb when I put it in. The average failure of all the CFL bulbs I have replaced is well under a year. However, i also have some that I know have been in service for almost ten years now that get daily use.

 

[SG-1]

My first CFL was an " Earth Light " brand, long before politicians went crazy over them. It was an outdoor model with the globe covering the glass bulb. I used it for a night light in my hallway, so it burned for 10 hours per day for about 10 years before it stopped working. No bad smell when it died. The globe had turned from clear to yellow though.

 

[rltomkinson]

email is false

email is false

According to snopes.com, the email is false:

http://http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cflbulb.asp

 

[Eric R 1973]

i have some bulbs like that they're rated 390ma which would be 308 ohms if it shorted it should've tripped the overcurrent protection when the resistance dropped i dont believe the story it's FALSE

 

[broadgage]

i have some bulbs like that they're rated 390ma which would be 308 ohms if it shorted it should've tripped the overcurrent protection when the resistance dropped i dont believe the story it's FALSE

390ma is the normal running circuit, under fault conditions a greater current could be used, but not enough to open the circuit breaker.
A few amps would be hundreds of watts and could easily start a fire but not open a 15/20 amp breaker.
Even the normal power use would be enough to start a fire if was concentrated at one point due to a fault, and not spread over the whole lamp.

The better types of CFL incorporate a fuse, a thermal fuse, and are made from non flammable materials. At end of life they get hot enough to scorch the plastic around the tube ends, but should not start a fire.
The cheaper imported lamps lack any such safety features and can be a fire risk.

 

[jsmalone1]

In 2012 incandesent Bulbs will be illegal
1.CFL BULB SHOULD not be sold unless they can be used in all apps
they should all be dimmable and should have thermal protection.The fact that they have been approved for general perpose use when the fact remanes that the consumer has been led to belive that they work just like incandecent bulbs is nuts .
Most people do not know that they can not be used with dimmers unless they buy the dimmable type wich cost 3 time more and not many people read the box beond the price and wattage.
the same problem with LED's that are up and coming
These bulbs have come a long way in 20 years
But there should be no way that they can catch "FIRE":-?:-?:-?:-?
http://www.threedonia.com/archives/10595

I respect your points but disagree--people have tried to dim fluorescent fixtures for years. Incandescent light bulbs have caused countless fires and deaths. Do we have to "stupid proof" everything? If people can't figure this out then focus on the schools not the lamps.