"Are you all really that stupid?"
Posted on 12/23/2010 2:09:46 PM PST by NRG1973
One less environment polluting structure on Mother Gaia.
Ka-ching!
Yeah, but it generated a lot of heat - for a while. It also helped get rid of excess housing stock!
I’ve had at least two sputter and spark before burning out LONG BEFORE the life stated on the package.
Congress mandates people buy light bulbs with mercury in them. Some intrepid Congressman better introduce an incontestable bill to freeze the salary of Congress near the poverty level.
We’d save ourselves a lot of pain and money if we didn’t have to use these things.
Forget the fire, What about the MERCURY!!!
OMG!
Speaking of heat, I have replaced hundreds of the factory, wrapped, safety style flourescent bulbs that have burned out and nearly caused fires. The ends got so hot that they were discolored and brittle from the heat. Also, they burned out some ballasts and tombstones(the holders at each end of the bulb.)
"Are you all really that stupid?"
“A CFL on the ceiling burst, said Gerych, and gas inside the CFL bulb helped start the fire. He added exploding CFLs are rare.”
And how would he know that it’s “rare”?
AND dumped super-toxic mercury into the air as the bulb exploded, starting the fire!
I am stocking up on regular old fashioned light bulbs.
Stock up on the incandescent bulbs at the dollar store, 4 for a buck, while they are still available.
Home Depot about a month ago had them sixteen for four dollars and change. I bought what I think I’ll need for the rest of my years.
Can those be stored anywhere? (like an attic that gets really hot and really cold)
I once combined a screw-in light sensor switch with a CFL bulb porch light. I had to replace the bulb in a couple of weeks. Then I noticed the problem. The sensor switch turned the CFL bulb on, when the sun was setting. Then the light from the bulb caused the sensor to turn the bulb off again. And so on — for about 20 minutes, until it got dark enough to end the cycle. The switching on and off reduced the life of the CFL bulb from an advertised 8,000 hours to about 150 hours.
I’ve got CFL’s throughout my house, but I didn’t do it because it’s better for the environment (it’s not) or because Big Brother told me to. I did it to save money on my utility bill. Buy the right ones (I buy GE only) and they seem to last quite a long time, have a nice color and use a lot less electricity. I have never had one spark or blow up.
Whether you choose CFL’s or not should be up to you, not the government.
Let's get rid of good cheap light bulbs and replace them with toxic mercury-filled exploding bulbs to put in our landfills. I doubt if that many people are going to drive 40 miles to the nearest designated curly-cue deposit center and waste all that gasoline.
If they start up with the garbage nazis like they have in Britain, then I see a lot of these bulbs ending up in neighbor's garbage or on the side of the road where they can leak into the streams.
Every time an enviro-nut gets their way, the world becomes, poorer, less free, less safe, and sometimes MORE polluted.
Yes, but you may have to hide them from the “green police” when they come searching door-to-door.
***I’ve had at least two sputter and spark before burning out LONG BEFORE the life stated on the package.***
Same here. They go flicker, flicker POP! One lasted about thirty days. They do NOT last near as long as advertized.
I have used compact fluorescent light bulbs for years with no problem.
I’ll bet an incandescent bulb never exploded and caused a fire. It may have been in contact with a flammable object, or may have been filled with gasoline, (remember in the prison movies?) but they never exploded on their own.
I got mine. These CFL bulbs are a real joke. Some cannot be used in enclosed fixtures and I have a few that must match the decor. Some when turned on are dim and takes a while to get up to wattage. And while they do they are not the proper kelvin. And my biggest complaint is how to discard. Damn the rotten communists and environmentalist. Ruined America.
A CFL on the ceiling burst, said Gerych, and gas inside the CFL bulb helped start the fire.Huh?
A fluorescent lamp tube is filled with a gas containing low pressure mercury vapor and argon, xenon, neon, or krypton.Wikipedia article
Argon, xenon, neon, and krypton are all inert gases. They aren't flammable.
Compact Fluorescent Recalls and Consumer Advisories
Compact Fluorescent "end of life" incident
Great picture and great caption!
There have been problems with plastics in the cfl’s over heating/melting.
They can explode pretty well when given a strong enough power surge, but even then they aren't apt to fail in such a way as to produce an ignition hazard that wouldn't be present from normal operation. In fairness to the CFL in this story, it's entirely possible that a power surge precipitated the ignition.
The bulbs are made in China, no telling what is REALLY in them.
That was one of my first thoughts as well. The investigator did not know what he was talking about because the gas is not flammable. The truth of the matter is that the power supply in the CFL bulbs can burn up and cause a fire. I have seen one that burned up. It is only lucky that it did not start a big fire. There are pictures on the internet of these things burning up. The old bulbs were much safer. There is no question about that.
Made in China. May Repubs repeal, repeal. . .(not holding my breath, mind you. . .
Your first two links are 7 and 8 years old respectively. Certainly not current info.
We’re planning to trick the green fascists by using these in visible places (outside, patio, motion detector....).
We’ll have to keep our blinds shut since we’re at ground level on a busy street, and don’t want anyone reporting us -— that there’s a warm glow inside. Even though we mostly live near conservatives, there is a busy-body comrade or two.
We’ve got almost enough stockpiled to last the rest of our lives. At the rate it’s going though, who knows if we’ll be able to even afford the electricity.
Wow, a story out of Hornell makes news on FreeRepublic!
I was wondering how long before someone noticed that the bulbs are filled with inert gas.
My recollection (admittedly, from many years ago) is that fluorescent tubes must be filled with an inert gas, along with the mercury vapor, in order to operate at all.
I like mine also...not adding heat in the hot southern summers is a biiiiiig plus. Save the cost of a quality bulb or two each hot month from not running the ac extra to counter it, and some of ours are up to several years and counting.
Me too! I hate the light produced by the CFL’s - it gives me a headache.
Exploding CFL’s are NOT rare.
Have been reading about this problem on the internet for over 5 years.
I wonder if an exploding bulb is as rare as the 10 deaths in 10 years of drop side cribs? I am willing to bet that it is a much higher incidence of this happening than 1 a year.
What’s the carbon footprint of a house fire?
Answer the knock on your door, your smart meter has issued a warrant
I found some Sylvania bulbs with a claimed life of 1500 hrs that are made in St. Marys, PA earlier this week in a local graocery store.
I just retired one of the very first installed in this house, about a decade ago. (And the poorest light quality.) Ran 24/7 except during power outages.
Two others died in that decade -- don't know about the life because I haven't been recording "on" times. But I've replaced a LOT more incandescents in that same period.
Yes, one emitted a bit of smoke when it died (burning electronics does tend to stink -- I'll never forget when my TV caught fire). Don't usually leave them on when we're away, but I will take a much closer look at containing fixtures now.
uh oh....
Color temperature is important, as my wife learned when we replaced the fluorescents in the kitchen. Last time she bought high color-temp ("bright white") and that created a less-than-ideal light -- a bit bluish. This time we bought low color-temp lamps and got MUCH better light.
Whether you choose CFL’s or not should be up to you, not the government.
Agreed 100%!
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