if my fluorescent light works intermittently, does that mean the bulb is about to go?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

it's weird, it'll work fine for days, and then i'll go out to use it and it doesn't work. very faint at the edges (it's the long tubes).
next day, it works fine, and again for days.

does this mean that it's on its last legs?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Ballast going bad?
FTL ftw!
OP below

 

[IronWing]

Brown outs?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Ballast going bad?
FTL ftw!
OP below

ballast is part of the bulb right?
so i gotta change out the whole bulb.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Flourescent lighting is a rip off imo. Sure they save electricity but they go out like every other bulb (I wont even mention the mecury thing). And what you describe sounds like what happened to me just before it died - one week after purchase. :|

 

[novasatori]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
Flourescent lighting is a rip off imo. Sure they save electricity but they go out like every other bulb (I wont even mention the mecury thing). And what you describe sounds to like what happened to me just before it died - one week after purchase. :|

sounds like you have bad power, its over heating, or you just plain got unlucky

my fluorescent lamps definitely last longer than incandescent, I've got em on all my fish tanks and they have been going for 12 hours a day 365 days a year for 3 years without burning out

i can't tell you the last time I had to change a CFL bulb cause it burned out, in fact I don't think I have had to yet.

 

[Gothgar]

my florescent bulbs last forever

Dont think one has ever gone bad on me

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: novasatori

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
Flourescent lighting is a rip off imo. Sure they save electricity but they go out like every other bulb (I wont even mention the mecury thing). And what you describe sounds to like what happened to me just before it died - one week after purchase. :|

sounds like you have bad power or its over heating

my fluorescent lamps definitely last longer than incandescent, I've got em on all my fish tanks and they have been going for 12 hours a day 365 days a year for 3 years without burning out

i can't tell you the last time I had to change a CFL bulb cause it burned out, in fact I don't think I have had to yet.

I was shocked at how cheap this bulb was. Maybe I just got a bad one. Also, I was unimpressed with its performace while it was alive and decided to go back to incandescent after a full refund. If you are happy with FL, stick with it. I do use them outdoors, but indoors made it feel like I was outdoors and viewing more shadows gave me a headache. But again, this might have been the whole 'bad bulb' experience. I dunno.

:light:

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
Flourescent lighting is a rip off imo. Sure they save electricity but they go out like every other bulb (I wont even mention the mecury thing). And what you describe sounds to like what happened to me just before it died - one week after purchase. :|

Or else you've got crap bulbs.
I bought some no-name CFLs from 1000bulbs.com about a year ago. 8 out of 12 of them are now dead - they just emitted a bright flash on startup, and then wouldn't light anymore.
I'm trying my luck with 23W Neolites now. They're nice in that their overall length is only 1/8" more than that of a standard incandescent light, they have good color rendering, and use only 1mg of mercury. If you like the color temperature of incandescents, their 2700K version is closest, and colors still look good under the light CRI=82).
(And as for the mercury thing, burning coal releases mercury into the air. More power for incandescent = more coal burned = more mercury in the air.)

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Ballast going bad?
FTL ftw!
OP below

ballast is part of the bulb right?
so i gotta change out the whole bulb.

It depends. How old is the fixture?
Old ones had some kind of starter thingy at the ends.
The next step ahead was magnetic and rapid-start ballasts.
The new thing now are electronic ballasts. They can allow for instant startup, and can also start tubes in colder weather than a rapid-start ballast, which will generally start to crap out at around 50°F.
If you're handy with wiring, you might be able to retrofit the existing fixture with one of those electronic ballasts; the ones linked there work only with T8 fluorescent tubes (usually 32W @ 4ft), not the wider T12's (40W @ 4ft).

I did some refits back at my parents' house awhile ago:
- Basement: Replaced a bunch of magnetic ballasts with electronic ones. Result: Instant startup, and use of 32W tubes instead of 40W.
- Garage: The three-light fixtures in the ceiling used a combination of rapid-start ballasts, one to power two tubes, and a second to power the remaining one. In each fixture, I replaced both with a single 3-tube electronic ballast. They now also use 32W tubes, but they'll also start up in the winter; previously, you'd do well to carry a flashlight into the garage during the wintertime, because the rapid-starts could rarely manage to power up more than a single tube, if even that. The new ballasts are rated to start up tubes down to at least 0°F.

 

[xrax]

they make t12 electronic ballasts to replace the magnetic ones. they are a lot lighter.
They have them at home depot/lowes. you will need a pair of wire cutters and wire strippers and wire nuts to connect the new ballasts after you cut the old ones out.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
(And as for the mercury thing, burning coal releases mercury into the air. More power for incandescent = more coal burned = more mercury in the air.)

My brother works at a coal plant. They go through great lengths to be sure that stuff does not go into the air. Very strict regulations on that kind of thing. Very little actually ends up in the atmosphere.

 

[oogabooga]

as others have said - could be bulbs could be ballast.

I too haven't had to replace a CFL light yet (except the one I broke while moving, but I don't think that counts).

I generally have had a lot of luck with flourescent lights. Replaced the one in the garage once after several years of use. They've been pretty reliable for me.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't really like the light of CFLs. It looks "sterile" and harsh to me. I have the in quite a few fixtures, but I prefer the warm glow of my 40w incandescents.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO

Originally posted by: Jeff7
(And as for the mercury thing, burning coal releases mercury into the air. More power for incandescent = more coal burned = more mercury in the air.)

My brother works at a coal plant. They go through great lengths to be sure that stuff does not go into the air. Very strict regulations on that kind of thing. Very little actually ends up in the atmosphere.

Ah, cool. Did not know that.

Google-found link.

The Clean Air Mercury Rule was built on EPA?s Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to significantly reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants -- the largest remaining sources of mercury emissions in the country. The goal of these rules regarding mercury was to reduce utility emissions of mercury from 48 tons a year to 15 tons, a reduction of nearly 70 percent.

Some does still seem to get out, but a reduction is definitely good.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

i'm not talking about CFL's.
i'm talking about these

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
i'm not talking about CFL's.
i'm talking about these

You have filled your House with Tanning Lamps. Sweet

 

[Eli]

It's either the bulb or the starter, if its an older fixture. Could be the ballast too, but I would eliminate those two possibilities first.

 

[Rubycon]

How old is it? If it has a class P electromagnetic ballast and it's getting too warm the thermal protector will engage and extinguish the lamp. However you should NOT see the ends glowing slightly although with 277 volt systems it can happen if you have flying neutrals with potential on them.

Preheat systems will do this if the bulb contacts are corroded or the bulb is just getting weak.

There is nothing wrong with fluorescent lighting particularly where color rendering is of secondary concern. Their lumen maintenance is good compared to other forms of lighting. You can get high CRI sacrifice of efficacy is acceptable.

 

[BlackTigers]

we have flourescent lights everywhere because my mom went on some batshit energy savings thing and decided that we needed 25 new flourescent bulbs everywhere....FUN FUN.

I hate them at night. At least with incandescent, if I flip on a light, it doesn't feel like daylight. but the flourescent ones kill going from light to dark. too white =/

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How old is it? If it has a class P electromagnetic ballast and it's getting too warm the thermal protector will engage and extinguish the lamp. However you should NOT see the ends glowing slightly although with 277 volt systems it can happen if you have flying neutrals with potential on them.

Preheat systems will do this if the bulb contacts are corroded or the bulb is just getting weak.

There is nothing wrong with fluorescent lighting particularly where color rendering is of secondary concern. Their lumen maintenance is good compared to other forms of lighting. You can get high CRI if sacrifice of efficacy is acceptable.

Uh oh, dis shit just got real.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How old is it? If it has a class P electromagnetic ballast and it's getting too warm the thermal protector will engage and extinguish the lamp. However you should NOT see the ends glowing slightly although with 277 volt systems it can happen if you have flying neutrals with potential on them.

Preheat systems will do this if the bulb contacts are corroded or the bulb is just getting weak.

There is nothing wrong with fluorescent lighting particularly where color rendering is of secondary concern. Their lumen maintenance is good compared to other forms of lighting. You can get high CRI if sacrifice of efficacy is acceptable.

Uh oh, dis shit just got real.

If I found out she holds a degree in everything it wouldnt suprise me one bit.

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

The Clean Air Mercury Rule was built on EPA?s Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to significantly reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants -- the largest remaining sources of mercury emissions in the country. The goal of these rules regarding mercury was to reduce utility emissions of mercury from 48 tons a year to 15 tons, a reduction of nearly 70 percent.

Some does still seem to get out, but a reduction is definitely good.

15 tons >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ~25mg in a 4' tube




Hmm.. Just googled a bit, apparently 12mg is the norm for a four footer now.
So that 15 tons is good for 1.2 BILLION four foot tubes.

I guess if every man, woman, and child in the US breaks four 4' tubes a year, it would be the same.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Rubycon
How old is it? If it has a class P electromagnetic ballast and it's getting too warm the thermal protector will engage and extinguish the lamp. However you should NOT see the ends glowing slightly although with 277 volt systems it can happen if you have flying neutrals with potential on them.

Preheat systems will do this if the bulb contacts are corroded or the bulb is just getting weak.

There is nothing wrong with fluorescent lighting particularly where color rendering is of secondary concern. Their lumen maintenance is good compared to other forms of lighting. You can get high CRI if sacrifice of efficacy is acceptable.

Uh oh, dis shit just got real.

If I found out she holds a degree in everything it wouldnt suprise me one bit.

It would surprise me quite a bit. But only because I didn't know we were giving degrees in any subject much less all of them to computers with really extensive databases and an amazing user interface.

 

[BigJ]

Define that. Do you have T12 or T8 bulbs? Or even T5 bulbs? Are these old bulbs, or are they brand new?

As far as other inquiries, florescents vary greatly. Color temperature (the XXXXXk value on the bulb) will determine what kind of light you get out of the bulb. The closer it is to zero, the yellower they will be. The higher they are, the bluer they will be. Generally, I like 5000k bulbs for general lighting, with 4100K (Cool White generally) for reading and tasks.

The ballast is definitely not part of the bulb in typical tube fluorescents. The bulbs will typically be independent of the ballast. In most common CFLs, the bulb will have the ballast built into it.

As far as Rubycon is concerned, I don't know of any residential lighting that has 277v going to it. CRI is an issue with cheaper fluorescent tubes, but not if you spend the money, and they are just as efficient as normal fluorescent tubes.. The more expensive fluorescents will have a 90 CRI or better, which most people will never be able to distinguish from incandescents and halogens. That said, in most environments where homeowners are concerned (such as basements or shops) CRI is of no importance. In residential lighting, I have never heard of thermal-protection kicking in.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat

Originally posted by: novasatori

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
Flourescent lighting is a rip off imo. Sure they save electricity but they go out like every other bulb (I wont even mention the mecury thing). And what you describe sounds to like what happened to me just before it died - one week after purchase. :|

sounds like you have bad power or its over heating

my fluorescent lamps definitely last longer than incandescent, I've got em on all my fish tanks and they have been going for 12 hours a day 365 days a year for 3 years without burning out

i can't tell you the last time I had to change a CFL bulb cause it burned out, in fact I don't think I have had to yet.

I was shocked at how cheap this bulb was. Maybe I just got a bad one. Also, I was unimpressed with its performace while it was alive and decided to go back to incandescent after a full refund. If you are happy with FL, stick with it. I do use them outdoors, but indoors made it feel like I was outdoors and viewing more shadows gave me a headache. But again, this might have been the whole 'bad bulb' experience. I dunno.

:light:

sounds like way-old FL tech. (meaning...3 years old)

today's FL bulbs now have the warm light that you get from traditional incandesants, + super-long life. Well, I haven't had one burn out.

Hell, I take the fuckers with me when I move!

I used to hate the dull bluish "morgue glow" that you'd get from Fl light--the heavy shadow effect that you mention. That is loooooooong gone these days.