Damit, What Does It Take To Get A Good Light Bulb?

[JSngry]

Used to be that a good light bulb would last and last and last. Now it seems like they burn out if you so much as look at them funny (and I do...). What gives?

The three leading brands suck. Phillips, the best of the batch, offers what what once would have been considered average life span. Plus, thier bulbs are not as widely carried as other brands in the usual outlets like grocery stores and harware emporiums. GE, well, let's just say they bring good things to life and then leave 'em there for somebody else to take home. Yuck. Sylvania? Might as well use candles and kerosene lanterns. The light may be dimmer, but it'll last longer.

I know that there's genuine "long life" bulbs that really do provide a long and illuminatory life, but geez - all major brand light bulbs used to do that. Plus, these good bulbs are only available at specialty lighting stores (in this neck of the woods, anyway), and that means a "special trip" just to buy some freakin' light bulbs. Please, my time is too expensive, and I'm not your little boy.

Anybody else fed up with the decline of the consumer light bulb in America? I tell you, I've just about had it up to here with this crap. Can't cost that much more to make a decent consumer-level light bulb. It just can't. Into the socket is not the only way that these sorry muthophukkin cheapass lightbulbs are participating in the screwing of the American consumer.

Thank you for your time.

Edited April 28, 2005 by JSngry

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Hmmm - I have seen this too in the past 5 or so years. I wondered if it was something wrong with my fixtures or wiring or something. So it's just that the damn bulbs are crappier?

Mike

[JSngry]

Has to be.

[Free For All]

Even the bulb above my head (that goes on when I get a good idea) has burned out.

Or maybe it's just me.

[jazzypaul]

I don't know what's up with you cats. I go to the local Family Dollar, pay $2 for 6 of 'em, and they seem to last a pretty long time. I've been at my current place for the past two years, and I've replaced 3 light bulbs the entire time.

[maren]

I don't know what's up with you cats. I go to the local Family Dollar, pay $2 for 6 of 'em, and they seem to last a pretty long time. I've been at my current place for the past two years, and I've replaced 3 light bulbs the entire time.

JP -- this story of yours is making me view the whole "faith" and "miracles" thing in an entirely... ahem... NEW LIGHT!!!

Please, no offense intended... that's a Zen type of laugh at all of us!

[Jim R]

We used to own a home that was built in 1937, and some of the bulbs in that house were WAY old (maybe original in some cases, like above the basement stairs). I never thought about this much until I saw that. We had a bulb above our freakin' kitchen sink (one of the most used bulbs in the house) that had to have been at least 30 or 40 years old. The damn painters broke it when we were preparing that house for sale.

I've had pretty decent luck so far at our current (lemme know if there's a good pun there) home, and it occurs to me that we have quite a few fixtures set up with dimmer switches. I think I heard that they can add to the life of a bulb (could be wrong on that). The ones that are burning out left and right are the cheapass 13 watt compact fluorescent bulbs in our outdoor fixtures. I'm gonna go broke replacing those things.

Now, what about slack-filled packaging? There's the #1 problem facing America, right there!

[Jazzmoose]

I've had pretty decent luck so far at our current (lemme know if there's a good pun there) home...

Watt?

[marcello]

Used to be that a good light bulb would last and last and last. Now it seems like they burn out if you so much as look at them funny (and I do...). What gives?

I know a little about this, being a builder.

Long lasting light bulbs CAN be made, and were always made in the past. It isn't that expensive, all in all.

I once had a client who had emigrated from Yugoslavia, that called me to her home because the "wiring must be wrong" in her house because some of the bulbs went out in less than a year. She was amazed that Americian companies couldn't make a bulb that last because her old family home in Yugoslavia had the same bulbs in it for her entire life! They came from a Tugsten factory in Romania ( I had to ask ). It has to do with the thinkness of the filament. That's it! Companies have been shaving the filament thinner and thinner every year. It isn't your imagination.

If there is a good bulb I'd like to know. My company goes through boxes by the GROSS in our Model Homes because the lights are on for many hours a day. And you might be surprised to know that we have to TRAIN people to replace blown out bulbs in the lamps!

Here is something I came across but have not tried, yet:

Sunlan stocks industrial bulbs, which save time and money because of their low cost and long life. The Light bulb lady knows bulbs and can help you select the correct bulb for your needs.

Sunlan Lighting, Inc.

3901 N. Mississippi Ave.

Portland, OR 97227

503-281-0453

[Brad]

You guys need to get out more

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Yeah, but when we try to go out, the burglar-deterring automatic light-switcher-onner is kind of lacking when the bulb blows as it switches on.......

Tom, thanks for the inside scoop. I guess this filament shaving scheme connects up nicely with that recent thread about "gaslighting".

Mike

[Randy Twizzle]

How about light bulb music from 1915

[chris olivarez]

Lights are off and everybody's home. Oh the evil of it all.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

[BERIGAN]

A Thomas Edision house I visited many years ago in Florida has some lightbulbs still burning from when he was alive!!!

[mikeweil]

Some expert told me it had to do with voltage fluctuations, which cause considerable stress on the filaments. Of course their gauge is another factor - thicker filaments will withstand wider fluctuations.

How about energy saving bulbs? They are growing more and more popular over here, and thus are being a lot cheaper than when they were introduced. They last several years and save much more on electricity cost than the higher investment.

This here has a life span of 10.000 hours.

(link)

[Brownian Motion]

These companies are probably colluding to keep light bulbs crappy. It's illegal to fix prices but I don't think it's illegail to fix standards.

Anyway, light bulbs are going the way of buggy whips. The future is almost upon us, and it is LEDs.

[Christiern]

I have also noticed the reduced durability of standard light bulbs. I used to pay close to $20 for energy saving bulbs, but have recently discovered Gteenlite, I buy them at my local Rite-Aid store for only $1.49.

BTW, they also have them in dimmable and 3-way versions, as well as in standard bulb shape, They stay cool, give good light, consume little electricity, and last a long time. What more could a light fan ask for?

[Alexander]

Light Globes!!!!

[catesta]

Shit, I thought I was the only one having a problem with light bulbs not holding up their end of the deal.

[Jazzmoose]

This here has a life span of 10.000 hours.

(link)

Sure it does. We tried those, and they didn't last for shit. Maybe we do have weird wiring...

[GA Russell]

I went to the store the other day and found a big display of GE "Long Life 1+ year" bulbs. I picked up a couple of 4-packs, but forgot to notice the price.

The whole thing reminded me of this thread.

[Quincy]

Meanwhile I've been moving over to the compact florescent bulbs. Lower energy drain & longer life and the bulbs are getting cheaper compared to a few years ago. It's even brought back an antique lamp into play. We were advised not use anything over 25 watts in it. Well, 25 watts on a standard bulb doesn't do much so we set it aside. But a florescent that draws <25 watts can give off as much light as a 75 watt bulb. Nice to have the lamp back in business.