• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

Changing over to new LED light bulbs

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
All I am saying is that if you have to change a light bulb in a room with 12' ceilings then you should never admit to standing on top of your wife's grand piano.

:whistling:



Oh, I should point out that its best to change light bulbs during a time when your wife is out of the house.

That will give you enough time to run upstairs, get the furniture polish, and polish the top of said piano so that the "non-marking soles" of your hiking boots can no longer be seen on the top of the obtrusive and immovable piano.​
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Skurka, you never cease to amaze me.

I went through this about 2 weeks ago. The fluorescent lights in our kitchen started to fail. After climbing up the 8' ladder I determined that it was the ballast that had crapped out on two of the four lights. Now, beings how these lights were in place when we bought the house 17-years ago, I thought it was time for an upgrade. I replaced all four of the fluorescents with 3-bulb fixtures and LED lights. That's 12 LED's at approx $25 each. The upside to this is that at a 28-year expected life, I may never have to change a kitchen light bulb ever again. We live in hope!!!! :biggrin:

I'm slowly changing all our light bulbs from incandescent to CFLs to LEDs. My wife's next husband will appreciate my efforts. :yum::yum:

Sorry Bob, we don't have a grand piano in the kitchen but she was pissed off that I was walking on her counter tops.
 

jwstewar

Active member
We just went through and replaced all of the incandescents in the kitchen a year or two ago with CFLs. Damn things are already starting to fail.:hammer: So far I've lost four of seven. Have replaced three of them and haven't been to Menards yet to pick up the fourth. Worst part is, we put 35 of those damn CFLs in the basement when we finished it at $8 each. There are now four of them out as well. At $25 each, it won't be getting all LEDs any time soon, but I guess I need to start picking a few up to get the lights back on.

So much for the long life of the CFLs. They aren't cheap (compared to the old bulbs), slow to come on, don't last as long, they are an environmental hazard, aren't made in the US. So how the hell are these things good for the US?

Verdict is still out on the LEDs, but cost and Chinese made are still their biggest negatives. Don't know about longevity.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I find the PROMISE of long life for the CFL bulbs is a LIE.

Honestly the original bulbs that they came out with have lasted me for 15 years, but the new ones that I have put in over the past 5 years tend to have a life span of a couple years.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
I have to admit that all but 2 of the standard can lights are still burning fine from when I built in 1992. Granted they are all on dimmer switches and are rarely on 'nuclear glow'. Still, with having raised 5 kids here and having been left on overnight uncountable times, their lifespan is impressive. I bought them from the blind association.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I have to admit that all but 2 of the standard can lights are still burning fine from when I built in 1992. Granted they are all on dimmer switches and are rarely on 'nuclear glow'. Still, with having raised 5 kids here and having been left on overnight uncountable times, their lifespan is impressive. I bought them from the blind association.

I used to buy those when we lived in Dallas. If I remember correctly they had an extra heavy duty filament and you're right, they did last.

I too am disappointed with the life of the now available CFLs. It seems that they only last 2 or 3 years. I'm sure that the older ones used to last a lot longer. :unsure::unsure:

The LEDs that are on the market now for $25 each used to be around 40 dollars a pop only a couple of years ago. The 12 that I just installed in the kitchen produce 60w of light for 5w of consumed energy. That means the whole kitchen is illuminated by the equivalent of a 60w incandescent. That can't be bad. I do find how the figure the 28 years life expectancy of these bulbs to be very misleading. If you read the fine print you'll see that the 28-year figure is based on the lights being on for 3-1/2 hours a day. Heck, if they cut that figure down to 2 hours a day they could advertise them as 50 year bulbs. :hammer::hammer:

Anyway, I'm going to continue to deplete my CFL stock and replace them with LEDs as they burn out. It may take a little while as I had built up quite a little stock of CFLs and incandescents.
 

OhioTC18

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Be careful what LED lights you buy.

CPSC and Halco recalled 9,500 LED bulbs, the recall indicates that the LED bulbs can overheat and fall posing an impact and burn hazard. The recall can be viewed at: CPSC Recall
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Be careful what LED lights you buy.

CPSC and Halco recalled 9,500 LED bulbs, the recall indicates that the LED bulbs can overheat and fall posing an impact and burn hazard. The recall can be viewed at: CPSC Recall

That sounds ominous but I don't have any of those type. Yet again, 9500 bulbs isn't a humungous number when you consider the number of bulbs being used in the whole country.
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
My high use bulbs are all cfl. I just replaced one that is on 24/7 after 7 years with a spare I bought at the same time. I got those through our old electric co-op. I stocked up on cases of regular incandescent bulbs in 3 wattages while they were still made in the USA before they banned them. I don't trust Chinese and Mexican electric stuff at all. After trying 4 supply houses I had to buy a foreign made pressure switch for my well pump.:hammer:
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
CFL's are not the miricle they claimed to be. first, they are produced overseas because no one in the USA can bet the EPA regs to manufacture them here.
Second, the do not work well with dimmers.
Third, It doesn't matter if they last 10 years or 5 or 3 as they give off less whit lighte with age. Old folks see white as yellow as it is, so I don't want the help.
I thought I was going blind in the kitchen. Couldn't see a damm thing but when one of the CFL's blew, I replaced it. The difference compared to the old CFL bulbs was amazing.

LED's are obscenely expensive. I doubt I have 24 years to of life myself, so the economies don't make any sense.

In my SHTF locker, are over 1,000 bulbs, mostly American made. Paid for at closeout sales after the ban caused store to unload them. I bellieve them as vital for survival as the TP and the 10,000 rounds of ammo.
When the SHTF, the American dollar will be worth less than theTP. This stuff will be great currency.:whistling:
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Remind me to come over to your house to take a dump.

I guess that my TP supply will last about 3 months but that should be OK since we'll run out food about that time and shouldn't need any more TP after that.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
Remind me to come over to your house to take a dump.

I guess that my TP supply will last about 3 months but that should be OK since we'll run out food about that time and shouldn't need any more TP after that.
The going rate will start at 5 Lbs of fresh beef per roll of TP. 400 sheet count, industrial grade.:yum:

I have about ten 45 count cases.

Perhaps I should lay in some more before the 2014 elections:whistling:
 
Top