Bad Compact Fluorescent Lamp

A moment of your consumer safety time here.

We are all being urged by the Goracles and almost everyone else to replace our incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent bulbs to use less wattage and save the planet.

NAZZOFAST, GUIDO!

Here's a little issue that I had with one of them in my house:

and...

and finally...

As you can see, the plastic base on the bulb which contains the ballast is within a RCH of letting the smoke out. I don't want to let the smoke out again, I lost a house to fire once in my life and that was enough.

For the record, this is a Commercial Electric lamp, SKU # 791-548, Model ES-27, 120V 60hz, 27watt 0.450 ampere. IT IS UL-LISTED under E 149698 61Y6, and bears an FCC approval # NIR-10108. Just above the screw base of the bulb is another number, probably a lot number, 0701.

The interesting thing about this bulb, which has probably been in service for almost two years as my shaving lamp (installed in a metal and glass fixture that protrudes through my large vanity mirror in the master bathroom) is that it was still operating at an apparently normal light output.

Now I will check ALL the CFL bulbs in my house for similar breakdown.

You're right, this can't happen to an incandescent.

Now, according to this article, all these FUBARs are perfectly normal. So is my home in a pile of ashes, if you're a weird SOB.

Comments

[Glenn B]

If I had the room, I'd stock up on incandescents, then sell em all on ebay once Home Depot ran out. I could be the first light bulb millionaire in decades!

[og]

I have voltage fluctuations in my power due to the wisdom of Northwest Indiana Public Service Company. CF bulbs don't like voltage fluctuations. Nazzo economical when they die every couple weeks.