Word of caution

[me]

If you read about the new bulbs being a fire hazard and seen the picture of the one that burnt and thought it was untrue or just the cheap ones think again.  I was sitting here last night and the lamp I use started flickering like a fluorescent bulb does sometimes and I didn't think anything about it at first but it was getting annoying.  I started to get up to see if it had maybe worked loose for some reason and it started glowing kind of an orange red color and smoking at the base.  The cord isn't easy to reach because it's behind the file cabinet which the lamp is hanging over and hubby, who came in to see what was happening,  was afraid to turn it off or get near it because we thought it might explode from the way it looked.  It was also beginning to smell rather bad, like burning plastic which didn't thrill us either.  Anyway it finally just went out so we unplugged the lamp, it's a wall lamp, and he took the bulb out.  It was scorched at the base where the glass goes into it and had a lump in the glass.  I'm just glad we were home to get it out of there.  The lamp is fine and we have a regular bulb in it now.  We never did but now I know for sure we won't leave any of the lights with those bulbs in them on and leave home.  For the record this wasn't one of the cheap bulbs they were talking about in the email I received about 6 months or so ago. 

[Palehorse]

I never did like those light bulbs. . . A house that is empty a few doors down from me, and still has the electric hooked up, has those kind of bulbs in the outside lighting. . . Hope they don't set the joint on fire! 

[me]

What's really the pitts is that the bulb wasn't that old.  Where my mom lives they just went around and replaced everyone's light bulbs with those kind of bulbs and I know some of them leave lights on 24/7 in their apts.  plus the lights in the halls and entry ways.  I don't dare say anything to mom about it though 'cause she is a worrier anyway, but she doesn't leave lights on at night or when she's gone.  I don't know if I should call the complex manager or not to let them know what happened and to stay on the alert. 

[Palehorse]

What's really the pitts is that the bulb wasn't that old.  Where my mom lives they just went around and replaced everyone's light bulbs with those kind of bulbs and I know some of them leave lights on 24/7 in their apts.  plus the lights in the halls and entry ways.  I don't dare say anything to mom about it though 'cause she is a worrier anyway, but she doesn't leave lights on at night or when she's gone.  I don't know if I should call the complex manager or not to let them know what happened and to stay on the alert.

I'd let them know just in case. . .

[me]

I'd let them know just in case. . .

Ya, I think I might just give Marie a call tomorrow and let her know what happened.  The reason the complex started furnishing the bulbs and changing them for people is because they didn't want the older people messing with them because of the breakage factor but they might have created a whole other problem. 

[Palehorse]

Ya, I think I might just give Marie a call tomorrow and let her know what happened.  The reason the complex started furnishing the bulbs and changing them for people is because they didn't want the older people messing with them because of the breakage factor but they might have created a whole other problem.

I bet the energy savings was the real reason . . .

[followsthewolf]

 

[me]

I bet the energy savings was the real reason . . .

The tenants pay their own light bills.   

[Bo D]

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

[Palehorse]

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

Well duh!    As many ballasts as I have been around when they burned out, one would think I'd have made the connection. . . 

Thank you Olias...

[me]

That's what was in the email I received and ignored.  Like I said our bulb didn't look like the one in the pic but it did get hot enough to do this.

  If that's the way they burn out it isn't good.  The bulb was only about 6 months old and there is nothing wrong with the lamp that might have caused it to do that.

[Bo D]

It might help if you read the article instead of just looking at the picture ....

"CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) don't burn out the way incandescent light bulbs do. Instead, as they near the ends of their lives, they grow dimmer. While some CFL bulbs merely stop emitting light when they finally quit working, others kick the bucket with a dramatic "pop"! sound and then vent a distinct odor. A few even release a bit of smoke at their termination. Sometimes the bases of the bulbs turn black. This seemingly cataclysmic reaction has to do with the breakdown of the bulb's ballast, which is contained in the part of the bulb that is screwed into the socket. As the bulb ages and degrades, so does its ballast. Yet as scary as odors, smoke, and even blackening of the base of the bulb might be, these lamps are fireproof and are meant to fail safely at the end of their lives.

John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager at Underwriters Laboratories (UL), said about how CFLs expire: "People expect to see the bright flash and to hear the popping like a traditional incandescent bulb, but the burn out of a CFL is different. The light dims over time and might produce a more dramatic pop, emit a distinct odor, and maybe even release some smoke."

National Geographic's Green Guide says of CFLs: "Bulbs burn out when the ballast overheats and an electronic component, the Voltage Dependent Resistor (VDR), opens up like a fuse in your home's fuse box, shutting off the circuit and generating heat and possibly a small amount of smoke. This might sound dangerous, but the VDR is a cut-off switch that prevents any hazards. The melted plastic you're seeing where the glass coil connects to the ballast is simply a sign that the heat is escaping as intended in the design of the bulb."

[me]

That is a pic of the bulb that burned out on us and it was in a lamp.  The amount of smoke was not small and it smelled really bad and burned our throats and noses.  The bulb was only about 6 months old and there is nothing wrong with the lamp it was in.  We have enclosed ceiling lights in a couple of our rooms and I am wondering what might have happened if the bulb had been in one of them and the heat couldn't have escaped.  IMO these bulbs are not safe by any stretch of the imagination. 

[Bo D]

That is a pic of the bulb that burned out on us and it was in a lamp.  The amount of smoke was not small and it smelled really bad and burned our throats and noses.  The bulb was only about 6 months old and there is nothing wrong with the lamp it was in.  We have enclosed ceiling lights in a couple of our rooms and I am wondering what might have happened if the bulb had been in one of them and the heat couldn't have escaped.  IMO these bulbs are not safe by any stretch of the imagination.

They are if you take time to READ the package.

CFLs ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR:

Closets
Electronic Timers or Photocells
Dimmers - unless designed for dimmers
Recessed or enclosed fixtures - unless designed for recessed or enclosed fixtures
Sub-Freezing temperatures - with demanding usage
Spot-light usage - for long distance or directed beams of light

[me]

They are if you take time to READ the package.

CFLs ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR:

Closets
Electronic Timers or Photocells
Dimmers - unless designed for dimmers
Recessed or enclosed fixtures - unless designed for recessed or enclosed fixtures
Sub-Freezing temperatures - with demanding usage
Spot-light usage - for long distance or directed beams of light

This bulb was in a lamp with a lamp shade not an enclosed fixture. 
No where on the
box does it mention recessed or enclosed fixtures.
And another thought on this is that if a person with
asthma were to be exposed to this it could be a very bad thing. I hope you witness the same thing and then you
will understand my concern about these bulbs.