CFL failure when using with incandescent ???

[1 FMF]

had bought a CFL - compact fluorescent light,
for my kitchen and it failed in less than a year. I emailed customer service and got a response saying they're mailing me a replacement, but mentioned that if the CFL is used with incandescent bulbs then that is the reason for early failure of the CFL. How can that be?
How or why would using an incandescent bulb on the same circuit after the light switch hurt a CFL?

 

[cosynthetics]

Almost sounds like [censored] to me. I have many CFLs on the same circuit as inc's. I have one 4 bulb ceiling fan that I have 3 CFLs and 1 incandescent in. No problems at all.

 

[XS650]

Maybe if they were the special dimmable CRLs on a dimmer circuit with incandescents.

Or if you put then in a fixture with incandescents and they got overheated.

Otherwise, sounds like an urban legend.

 

[1 FMF]

when i sent the email back, i also asked if they could elaborate how/why an incandescent would cause failure of a CFL.


was going to mention the idea sounds like doodee in my response, isn't everything in the house on the same circuit technically? When a big appliance kicks on in the basement, lights upstairs occasionally dim for a moment. But i wanted a new light so I refrained.

 

[cosynthetics]

Not on the same circuit because they are all fed from the main feed. Only everything on that breaker is affected by each other.

 

[1 FMF]

are you sure about that?
the breaker would have to also be a big diode then.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: 1 FMF
are you sure about that?
the breaker would have to also be a big diode then.


Yes and no. Technically they are all on the same big feed, but the stuf on a given circuit is on either 12 or 14 gauge wire, while the main feed is several times fatter wire.

Interaction between circuits is very small compared to interaction between loads on the same circuit.

 

[tom slick]

an incandescent is a purely resistive load, it should have no effect on the lifespan of a CFL from an electronics standpoint.

on the other hand, incandescents are great heaters. if one was used in the same fixture as a CFL it would overheat the electronics in the CFL.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: 1 FMF
had bought a CFL - compact fluorescent light,
for my kitchen and it failed in less than a year. I emailed customer service and got a response saying they're mailing me a replacement, but mentioned that if the CFL is used with incandescent bulbs then that is the reason for early failure of the CFL. How can that be?
How or why would using an incandescent bulb on the same circuit after the light switch hurt a CFL?


That's a total hogwash! I would get that tech rep's name and contact info and call his/her supervisor to complain.

I've been dealing with CFL (I do all sorts of electronic works and repairs during afterhours) and also used CFLs in the same powerline as incandescent light bulbs and never heard such bizarre claims (quickly becoming another urban legend?!?)

As much as what the package wants you to believe, in reality, CFL lightbulbs can go bad in 30hrs, or can lasts an upwards of 6000+ hrs. It all depends on workmanship and the quality of components used within.

Q.

 

[deven]

When I read CFL, I thought you were talking about the Canadian Football League......hahaha

 

[huffmuds9320]

Some compact fluorescents say on the packaging not for totally enclosed recessed fixtures. Most likely its the heat that can mess up the ballast. Frequent on/off cycles can reduce the bulb life too.

If you used a cfl and a incandescent in the same fixture together in a enclosed fixture then maybe it will burn out faster. That is because the incandescent produces a lot of heat. They probably thought that was the case.

I had a compact fluorescent in my bathroom which is enclosed fixture as well as frequently turned off/on. It lasted about a year before it failed.

 

[mechtech2]

Maybe he meant in the same fixture, depending on how it is wired.
But off hand, it doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Shannow]

We received a note at work to not use CFLs with some older switches (some electro babble about switching currents and arcing and stuff).

Can't see paralleled incandescents and CFLs doing anything to the bulb.

Quest has a great point.

Reliability curves oft follow the "bathtub curve". Lots fail early, followed by a flat random failure, then things reach end of life and failures ramp up.

I'd guess that you are at the front end, and because you've complained, they are sending you a bulb...and a lame excuse.

 

[kc8adu]

what brand?
i noticed the warranty terms on most cfl are worthless as they exclude a simple return to store exchange.the postage exceeds the cost of the bulb.
putting a cfl in an enclosed fixture with a light emitting resistor will shorten the life of the cfl drasticly.
most of the cfl's on the market are made so cheaply that anything can push them over the edge.
i have had the best service out of ge and sylvania brands.
lights of america(china)have been total junk.
a neighbor had 2 loa shoplights blow up and drip burning plastic on his car.
several loa cfl's i tried blew up within hours letting out nasty smoke.

 

[brianl703]

I have a CFL for my porch light. It's on a timer that turns it on at sunset and off at sunrise. (It's the Intermatic one that uses a battery and can switch DC loads). The old one lasted 2 years 4 months before it died (it smelled like the ballast burned up). I believe it was a GE. I can't remember what brand I replaced it with.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
We received a note at work to not use CFLs with some older switches (some electro babble about switching currents and arcing and stuff).

Can't see paralleled incandescents and CFLs doing anything to the bulb.



That's an interesting throught. Old cheap switches can and do arc, particularly if they are switched slowly.

I expect that most CFLs are designed cheaply so don't handle power linw [censored] very well. A bunch of incandescents being switche don on a circuit with an old arcing switch could be rought on cheap CFLs.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I started using them on the outside of my garage last fall in fixtures that had an open bottom. They weren't exposed to the elements and there should not have been excessive heat build up, but 2 failed in the same fixture in very short order. The latest one has lasted 3 months and is still going. If this hasn't been mentioned, every single brand is having their CFL bulbs made in "you know where".

 

[oilyriser]

It's normal for CF's to fail mysteriously if used with or even stored with incandescent bulbs. The electromagnetic attacks usually happen at night, after the owners are asleep and the bulbs are switched off. Wrapping the Cf's in aluminum foil will protect them from overly aggressive or resentful incandescent bulbs.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: oilyriser
It's normal for CF's to fail mysteriously if used with or even stored with incandescent bulbs. The electromagnetic attacks usually happen at night, after the owners are asleep and the bulbs are switched off. Wrapping the Cf's in aluminum foil will protect them from overly aggressive or resentful incandescent bulbs.


Good idea, but not the most efficient way. You can accomplish the same thing with less foil if you wrap the contact end of the incandescents with aluminum foil. That shorts them out so they can't build up a CFL killer level of EMP.

 

[1 FMF]

i need the aluminum foil for other things

http://zapatopi.net/afdb/


it's a commercial electric light, from home depot.