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| Subject - Blowing Bulbs | |
| David Hyatt |
Doing Service work I have a lot of customers complain about bulbs blowing or not lasting to long. Sometimes I find it is with older people. They either use too large bulbs for their fixture or they have a multiple bulb fixture and two burn out then when the last one goes they think they all went at one time, not noticing the others burnt out over time. My question is what are some of the reasons light bulbs blow rapidly? What have you found? Bad sockets, loose wiring, power surges, ect.....? 
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| cs409 | cheap bulbs. sometimes neutral on multi branch circuit.....cheap bulbs... on off on off on off on off.. LOL... one thing i do run into is this,,,the socket doesnt except the bulb well so there isnt a real good connection on the hot.. so! a real biggie is front porch or rear light bulbs dont last long(cheap bulb) so after installing ruff/tuff/vibrations service bulbs that usually does the trick...garage door openers the same.... ceiling fan lights also.........and as you stated, the 2 bulb unit and when the light goes out, they are in the dark because they didnt see the first on go! also find the 130v bulbs last longer,,,or they just call the next guy on the list thinking i didnt know so why call me again LOL. say what u want, i also find the bulbs that give the shortest life in all the above, is the higher wattage bulbs. same size physically but much more heat so go figure! just my thoughts......good luck |
| JimmyDee | I find it interesting that the primary problem is with older people. I was thinking I got a short life on one of my florescent bulbs I use in my outside can lights under my front porch. I actually installed it in 9-01. Although not the 5 years the package said it would last, it lasted almost 3 years and that is being on from dark until 10:45 each night. The point I'm trying to make is that it seems like I installed these lights last year and was thinking, that was certainly a short life for the bulb when it lasted 3 years. Just maybe, as we age, time goes so fast that our bulb life seems shorter.  Jim |
| cs409 | why 10:45 each night? just wondering ok LOL |
| Scott Vickrey | I was thinking the same thing Jim. |
| JimmyDee | I'm most always in bed by that time because I got up at 5:00am for work. (first class started at 6:55am  ) 10:30 seemed too early and 11:00 seemed to late. Soooo when you are sleeping, why would you need to have the lights on?  Jim |
| cs409 | makes gooood sense.......not to mention its your light and u will use it as you please LOL..... |
| Electricman | KIDS......I had a service call on a new dwelling that our company had wired with just the first floor bulbs blowing out. They had young boys in the house jumpin off bunk beds and such sounded like they where coming through the ceiling, my recomdation was no more jumpin or buy rough service bulbs. We had another house blowin bulbs but the cause was the utility had 150 volts on one leg coming into the dwelling. |
| David Hyatt | Well, I checked the fixtures on the call of blowing bulbs. Determined a bad run of bulbs. She called back today and four more in the same fixtures blew again, including ones I changed. These are two bathroom vanity lights in two different baths. I lost my digital meter on a job last week so I checked power with (wiggy) SQ-D meter. Maybe high voltage is the problem. Any suggestions on what to try next. I will have to pick up a new digital meter tomorrow. |
| cs409 | first,,,,if you have any of the bulbs, install a couple of them in your home and see how long they last!!! check for high voltage,,,,make sure all is tight....good luck.... |
| Electricman | These vanity lights? Same manufacture? I wonder ?
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| JimmyDee | Make sure the neutral lug in the panel is not loose and even if you have a good reading on the voltage, a toaster or other high draw item may cause the voltage to rise if on the other phase. Hate to say it but now is the time for a recording volt meter to be installed. $$$$$$$ If your new VOM is a good one, it might have a min-max record function and that would work as well. Jim |
| cs409 | thats a good point JimmyDee,,,,,i need to update a meter, so any recommendations for a priced right, good recording meter? i also do more res/light com. maintance/refresher type work... one other thing,,,the breaker this circuit is on that is blowing the bulbs, pull and check it out. |
| JimmyDee | Looks like the Fluke 170 will do that and more. http://www.fluke.com/products/features.asp?SID=9&AGID=6&PID=29983Click Here to see it. Jim |
| JimmyDee | Looks like the Fluke 170 will do that and more. 187 and 189 will do it also. Looks like maybe the old stand-by 80 serise will do it also. ??? http://www.fluke.com/products/features.asp?SID=9&AGID=6&PID=29983 Jim |
| rmdraggett | One item of interest that I have found related to bulb life is the bulbs rated voltage. Most bulbs, incandescent lamps, that are purchased at the grocery or hardware store are rated by both wattage and voltage. Hence 60watt/120volts. Many areas run higher voltages such as mine at 120 to 129 vvolts. This I determined with a recording volt meter and have checked it at many different locations around our city. I now install 130 volt rated bulbs and have no problems. However, as noted in prior post you should check return wiring to neutral buss and neutral connections as a loose return or neutral may cause intermittent arcing and subsequent higher voltages during that period of arcing. |
| cooker4160 | Same problem differant solution. After pulling out hair for 3 trips on a new house with the vanity light in the master bath room bkowing bulbs every other day, I took the fixture down and looked at the connection made in the factory with the pig tail for me to hook to. It is a 4 lamp fixture. Found maybe 2 or 3 strands from each conductor was all that was left in the connector. Cut them off put on a wire nut and reinstalled fixture. No more problems. Some of you may be thinking that my customer just got tired of calling and went somewhere else. But Mom wouldn't do that. I am her favorite son. The only son but still the favorite. |
| lctrc789 | I have always found that voltage seems to be about 122 or 123 or even 125 and light bulbs are for the most part 120 volts rated. I buy commercial service bulbs, (i.e.) 130 volts bulbs and they seem to last longer then cheaper 120 volts light bulbs. Another thing I ell folks is to install 130 volts rough service bulbs outside porch lights and fans, because of doors slamming, fans moving etc. I have a couple of churches that i do service work for and the ceilings are very high here, to change most of these bulbs you need scaffolds or a light pole that can change bulbs with. I use 140 volt light bulbs with a rating of the next higher wattage, these bulbs are not closed by a dome or glass type fixture that holds heat. many of these bulbs have lasted for several years. Another problem i find is the type of light fixture, the type that holds the heat from the bulb in, they seem to blow light bulbs worse than any of the open type fixtures. Hope this has helped some what. |
| lctrc789 | I have always found that voltage seems to be about 122 or 123 or even 125 and light bulbs are for the most part 120 volts rated. I buy commercial service bulbs, (i.e.) 130 volts bulbs and they seem to last longer then cheaper 120 volts light bulbs. Another thing I tell folks is to install 130 volts rough service bulbs outside porch lights and fans, because of doors slamming, fans moving etc. I have a couple of churches that I do service work for and the ceilings are very high here, to change most of these bulbs you need scaffolds or a light pole that can change bulbs with. I use 140 volt light bulbs with a rating of the next higher wattage, these bulbs are not closed by a dome or glass type fixture that holds heat. many of these bulbs have lasted for several years. Another problem I find is the type of light fixture, the type that holds the heat from the bulb in, they seem to blow light bulbs worse than any of the open type fixtures. Hope this has helped some what. |
| shocky | i have better luck with 130v rated bulbs.remember, you get what you pay for. |
| RS377 | just to throw a comment in about old people, they need the lights on for everything. Couple that with the fact that as electricians we're constantly put in low light situations, so we're used to it. |
| JimmyDee | quote: Ah yes, my eyes grow dim. Jim |
| WELLSEROUSKI | OK-boys/girls..my experience has been with new homes. Now usually the builder buys R-40 120-volt bulbs( 100-watt ).I've installed them all in one day just to see this problem as a guide line. Some don't work right out of the box...some don't work the next day..(voltage is 118-121).The most frequent complaint given by the home owners is that bulbs burn out fast......and they ask me about it. I tell them if I were selling light bulbs , the more the better. Who knows what those people are doing. Now I tell my builder that if the bulbs work when I install them then that's the end of my responsibility.Just a note: - take a meter with you when you buy bulbs and check each one for condinuity. I've been burnded many times. It's gotten to the point where the builder doesn't want to even turn on the lights until final walk-thru with the owners. It's like cars..They make them to break down to sell parts. 
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| WELLSEROUSKI | OK-boys/girls..my experience has been with new homes. Now usually the builder buys R-40 120-volt bulbs( 100-watt ).I've installed them all in one day just to see this problem as a guide line. Some don't work right out of the box...some don't work the next day..(voltage is 118-121).The most frequent complaint given by the home owners is that bulbs burn out fast......and they ask me about it. I tell them if I were selling light bulbs , the more the better. Who knows what those people are doing. Now I tell my builder that if the bulbs work when I install them then that's the end of my responsibility.Just a note: - take a meter with you when you buy bulbs and check each one for condinuity. I've been burnded many times. It's gotten to the point where the builder doesn't want to even turn on the lights until final walk-thru with the owners. It's like cars..They make them to break down to sell parts.
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| bigbillnky | RS377 is on target. A few thoughts come to mind on this subject. Older people do indeed use lights more often, so the bulb will probably see alot of time on. Also, they are conservative and turn the lights OFF when not needed. This also shortens bulb life. Metal that is heated and cooled repeatedly form stress fractures, and the filament of a bulb is metal. Rated voltage and supplied voltage, along with vibration, also contribute to shortened life as others have also stated. |