When I still used CFL’s I had one in a lamp. All of sudden I head a pop, the light went out and a horrible smell filled the room. The glass had broken off the base and the base was in the process of melting into a pile of sludge.
I bagged up the lamp and shade and disposed of it, along with every other CFL I had at the time.
Now in economic arson sizes.
I’ll say one thing for the CFLs, they are an outstanding way to introduce more mercury into the landfills. A big thank you shout out to the dumbass environazis!
This lone “data point” has had multiple personal experiences with fried/scorched CFLs that fail scarily. No fires, but they wouldn’t surprise me a bit. Fluorescents’ actual failure rate (among dozens in my home) is extraordinarily high compared to the promised lamp life.
They really stink.
Not true for us. Personally, we replace our CFLs because of failure at a rate about the same as we did when they were real bulbs.
I've stockpiled incandescents. Putting a CFL, that takes a minute or two to fire up, in places like closets or bathrooms is silly. And, putting them in places where a bulb can can get broken is nuts.
When are the rules for disposing of used up CFL’s going to be coming out?
I expect a fee for their disposal because of the toxic mercury they hold.
Also——Who here on FR wants to use such a bulb OVER their cooking areas????
Yea had that one explode on me. Thankfully, it only broke the plastic, not the glass part with mercury. Otherwise, I would have had a Hazmat situation on my hands. Later “analysis” of the thing showed that the most likely culprit of the boom was electrolytic capacitor in the base,which actually exploded.
I’ve had three of these things burst into flames in my house. Two went out before flames could spread. One was scorching the ceiling before I beat the flames out. We had to leave the house because the fumes were searing to our lungs and eyes.
They don’t last any longer than incandescent bulbs, either.
Have we tested the actual current draw of CFLs and computed the ACTUAL power they use? Or have we bought the envirocabal’s crock about efficiency just like some have bought the AGW crock? I won’t USE CFLs, and have stocked up on real light bulbs, but on several occasions have noticed how HOT a CFL is when I happen to get near one. IT TAKES POWER to create that much HEAT..........which makes me question just how much less power the CFLs might ACTUALLY use. When LED bulbs get down to a sensible price I’ll use THEM, but no CFLs.
At least the CFLs have really helped the economy in China.
Incandescent bulbs Can and do start fires as well. Many barns have burned down from fires started by bare 100 watt incandescent bulbs.
Also, “explosion proof” enclosures for incandescent bulbs are required in certain industrial locations.
Some of the problems come from the bulbs getting damaged, then failing and starting fires, but not all.
The ballast in standard fluorescent fixtures can cause fires as well.
The biggest fire danger with the CF bulbs are installing them in dimmer equipped circuits, this greatly increases the danger of fire unless special “dimmer compatable” CFLs are used.
folks you want safe fluorescent lighting that works in all temps? Go get the good old reliable transformer type ballast fixtures. The heat gets displaced. CFL's and even some newer tube fluorescent are using electronic starters. They are junk. They also fail in temps below about 30 or so.
Now for the million dollar question needing answering. Who made the fortune off of them and got this insane law against incandescents passed to start with?
I’ve had a couple burn a hole clear through the base.
Proud to live in a CFL free home. Always.
I don’t give a rip how long they last.
I don’t like the type of light they put out.
They are ugly.
They are a pain in the but to clean up when you break them.
I have over 1,000 of the 100watt bulbs and I am getting more tomorrow.
Got hundreds of the 75, 3 way, 150 watt each.
I will never run out of them.
Two of mine have done that.