Garage Door Opener Light Bubs
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I use CF's as well. 3yrs and going strong
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Compact fluorescents. No filament to break. A couple of mine have been in the door openers for 2+ years.
And they work great in trouble lamps, too. No heat to burn you.
Same here. About 4 years on it and the door is opened/closed 5-6 times daily.
Bill
Compact fluorescents. No filament to break. A couple of mine have been in the door openers for 2+ years.
And they work great in trouble lamps, too. No heat to burn you.
Same here. About 4 years on it and the door is opened/closed 5-6 times daily.
Bill
From the research I've done, I may not be able to use CFLs. I have Sears/Chamberlain openers and I guess the sockets are two deep for CFLs. I may stop at NAPA and pick up some the trouble bulbs. Sounds like this may be the ticket, especially here in WI.
They are called Rough Service lamps the filament is thicker but they give out less light and more heat.They are rated for 5000hrs because they are 130v and being used @ 120V. A standard 120v 75w gives out 1220 Lumens(light output) ,the rough service 562 a big difference. The compact flouresent is a good idea but it takes a few minutes to reach full output and cold temperatures can be a problem. My GDO takes 2 60w max lamps because of the heat, changing to CFL's would eliminate this problem. Just keep in mind that lumens are a big factor in purchasing lamps. I am glad you posted this because both of my bulbs are out as of the other day and I plan on using 2-100w CFLs. If they are too bright 75's will do.
Was at Fleet Farm looking at bulbs today. The Rough Service 100 watt bulbs give off less light than 75 watt standard bulbs. I went with standard bulbs for now as I do not want to sacrifice that much light output. I may change my mind if I have to change these out to often. The way I mounted this opener should greatly reduce the typical vibration.
Agree on the CF comments in cold climates. The CF's put out little light when below zero, and are dim for a fair amount of time below freezing. Something to consider anyways, thought it appears you made your choice.
What sort of lamps are being used? There's standard, garage door, and rough service. If standard was good enough for garage doors then there wouldn't be a garage door light. Rough service is fine but is probably overkill. A garage door light only needs to be vibration resistant, not shock resistant.
China rough service bulbs are often rated at 130v, give off lots of heat, and aren't very tough. They take more hits than a standard bulb but not much. Big brand name rough service bulbs seem expensive but aren't when you see how many cheapie rough service bulbs they outlast. The GE Rough Service bulbs I get take about 6 really hard hits to take them down. They usually burn out before they get broken. The cheapies could only take about 2. I had to stock cheapie rough service bulbs. The good ones last for a year or two.
I don't like CCFL in cold or rarely used areas. CCFL and incandescent cost the same when off. My pump room and outdoor lights are incandescent. I suspect that cold operation will substantially reduce CCFL lifetime. An incandescent filament running at 5000*F doesn't see much difference between -40*F and +100*F.
China rough service bulbs are often rated at 130v, give off lots of heat, and aren't very tough. They take more hits than a standard bulb but not much. Big brand name rough service bulbs seem expensive but aren't when you see how many cheapie rough service bulbs they outlast. The GE Rough Service bulbs I get take about 6 really hard hits to take them down. They usually burn out before they get broken. The cheapies could only take about 2. I had to stock cheapie rough service bulbs. The good ones last for a year or two.
I don't like CCFL in cold or rarely used areas. CCFL and incandescent cost the same when off. My pump room and outdoor lights are incandescent. I suspect that cold operation will substantially reduce CCFL lifetime. An incandescent filament running at 5000*F doesn't see much difference between -40*F and +100*F.
Wow, I think I changed my garage door opener bulb twice in about 13 years. I hate the opener though. I have to push the remote several times to get the door to fully open or close. I've adjusted it several times and now learned to deal with it. At least the bulbs last!
Kestas
Staff member
Are CFLs appropriate for this application? I ask because I am led to understand that CFLs don't do so well in short ON applications... that the warm-up cycle is tough on the unit. Or is this just a myth?
The made in China CFLs lately have been failing more times than not in lamp applications. I have had a cfl in my garage door opener for the last * years ,I wrote the date on it with a felt pen.
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Are CFLs appropriate for this application? I ask because I am led to understand that CFLs don't do so well in short ON applications... that the warm-up cycle is tough on the unit. Or is this just a myth?
That was true of earlier fluorescent bulbs but not of modern CFLs. I have a set in an outdoor motion lamp that have been working great. Plus you can go up as high as you want in lumens and typically stay below the wattage limit for heat generation. When my garage opener lights give up the ghost, they're getting replaced with '100W' (23W consumed) CFLs.
Are CFLs appropriate for this application? I ask because I am led to understand that CFLs don't do so well in short ON applications... that the warm-up cycle is tough on the unit. Or is this just a myth?
That was true of earlier fluorescent bulbs but not of modern CFLs. I have a set in an outdoor motion lamp that have been working great. Plus you can go up as high as you want in lumens and typically stay below the wattage limit for heat generation. When my garage opener lights give up the ghost, they're getting replaced with '100W' (23W consumed) CFLs.
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