Constantly changing bulbs in kitchen

[thestrangebrew1]

I feel like my kitchen bulbs go out 2-3x/yr and I'm constantly changing them out. Any ideas? I completely suck with electricity and pretty scared to death messing with it, but I'm tired of these bulbs burning out on me. There are also 2 different mounts (ballasts?) in my kitchen that take different bulbs. Both are recessed. One takes these kinds:

and another takes these:

What gives? I absolutely hate the first setup and want to change that out too. How hard is it to change the mount?

 

[mizzou]

kitchen is one of the most used rooms of the house! 😛

I dont think grime/smoke could cause it, most of these new bulbs are very efficient and don't heat up much.

 

[dbcooper1]

Get a voltmeter and check your line voltage at a kitchen outlet to make sure it's not too high and burning out bulbs prematurely although there's not much you can do about it. That or a bad socket are the most likely causes. Those both look like CFL; might consider going with LED lights too. I've been changing mine out as needed; start with most used or hard to get to. They're a bit pricey, but pay off eventually, especially if you live in an area where annual cooling is a bigger expense than heating.

 

[SOFTengCOMPelec]

In my experience, I've had a similar problem, with one of two causes. But your situation could be completely different.

(1)...Very cheap, probably poor quality brand, CFLs can burn out after a rather short time. I can't remember exactly. But I had about 2, or more in different sockets, and instead of lasting years, they burn out (with a burning smell) after a few months, or so.
So I now try to stick to good brands, even if they cost more. They last so many years these days, that in the long term, the price difference does not really matter.
I'm going to move over to LED ones, when my existing ones burn out, anyway.

(2)...If the bulb socket is badly worn and/or poor quality and/or very dirty inside, the intermittent contact (in the socket), tends to over heat (or something), the bulb(s), and they don't last very long. In one or two places, where I live, I could NOT use CFLs in them, because the worn?? sockets would burn out CFLs very quickly (like in weeks).
The worn out socket(s) were somewhat obvious. Because the bulb(s) were very loose.

I think/hope the socket(s) were changed, when I had other work done (not by me), where I live. Because they work fine now.

 

[DrPizza]

1 or 2 story house? (Kitchen on the first floor, I presume.)
I ask because: there could be insulation around the can that the light is in, not allowing it to dissipate the heat that's generated, causing excessive temperatures and shorter life for your lights.

 

[Greenman]

If those bulbs are going into recessed ceiling cans you can change them to LED. The retro fit kits are cheap ($12 at costco) and very easy to install.

 

[crashtech]

We're all about the new gen of LEDs for the BR30 fixtures in our kitchen and hallways. They cost more, but are purported to have a ridiculously long lifetime, such that, if true, we'll never have to change them again. That alone is worth the price to me, but the energy savings are a nice bonus.

When they went on sale at Costco, we bought enough to do the whole house, and are changing them in as the old ones burn out.

 

[Viper GTS]

My parents were losing incandescent bulbs in some sockets every couple weeks in their house. When we converted them to LED they were skeptical given the price but 18 months later they have yet to lose one (out of 30 or so installed).

Now that I'm not on a phone to expand this:

They had similarly terrible luck with CFL. They were particularly skeptical of the LED due to their experience with CFL burning out in <1 year. This is a 50 year old house that probably barely met wiring code when it was built and has not been updated since. So with both incandescent and CFL under-delivering on life I guess they were probably justified in their skepticism. Regardless, the LED have proven to be far more reliably than both options they had used previously.

I've had a similar experience with LED in my house, I went 100% LED two years ago and have yet to have a single failure. My house has much newer wiring and fixtures (mid 80s) but that makes 0 out of 50-60 total installed by me across both houses.

With prices down where they are now there's just no reason not to. IKEA had all LEDs 50% off their already low pricing a few weeks back and I couldn't come up with a single bulb I needed to convert. Shame.

Viper GTS

 

[schmuckley]

IME,the flourescents last longer than incandescent.

 

[NutBucket]

CFLs last longer. However, cycling them on and off severely impacts their life. LED and incandescent aren't as sensitive.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll be running to HD in the next few days to get some bulbs. Might make the switch to LEDs as they burn out. I'll take a look at the kits for the recessed lighting mounts too. When I pull the bulb out, I feel like I'm going to break the bulb and mount in the process.

 

[natto fire]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll be running to HD in the next few days to get some bulbs. Might make the switch to LEDs as they burn out. I'll take a look at the kits for the recessed lighting mounts too. When I pull the bulb out, I feel like I'm going to break the bulb and mount in the process.

The PAR 24 and 30 style bulbs (second picture) already have LED replacements which screw right into the medium base. They are pricey for the good ones with proper heatsinking, which is a must for can lights. The "G" socket of your first picture might be a bit more involved to convert to LED, as it consists of bypassing the ballast.