OT - Here today gone tomorrow

TheOldHokie

Well-known Member
Location
Myersville, MD
A couple years ago I needed a replacement ceiling fixture for our utility room and I bought a low cost one at the local Lowes. When I got it home I discovered it had a GU24 pin base socket and came with a GU24 CFL bulb (see picture). Yesterday the bulb burned out and I didn't have a GU24 replacement so I went back to Lowes to get one. Surprise - no CFL bulbs in the place.

What I did find at Lowes was a GU24 to E26 adapter that turned my GU24 fixture into a traditional screw in lamp holder and a big pack of LED screw base bulbs. So to paraphrase The Buggles it seems "LED has killed the CFL lamp". That is more than OK with me - I had already dumped screw in incandescents and CFL's in favor of LED lamps and the GU24 lamp holders are a PITA ;-)

TOH

99669_5d76ed80a91ed6207b9210a371a44b119ba51bd3_original.jpg
 
So to paraphrase The Buggles it seems "LED has killed the CFL lamp".
That's funny! :D

I've gone the same route in our house starting with those pesky garage door opener lights that always burn out at the most inconvenient time. LED for the win!
 
(quoted from post at 12:29:32 02/07/19)
So to paraphrase The Buggles it seems "LED has killed the CFL lamp".
That's funny! :D

I've gone the same route in our house starting with those pesky garage door opener lights that always burn out at the most inconvenient time. LED for the win!
suppose LEDs will improve, but with many examples here at my place, the CFLs are outlasting the LEDs by many, many months. :(
 
(quoted from post at 12:29:32 02/07/19)
So to paraphrase The Buggles it seems "LED has killed the CFL lamp".
That's funny! :D

I've gone the same route in our house starting with those pesky garage door opener lights that always burn out at the most inconvenient time. LED for the win!

For a long time TOOH had been a holdout around here. She hated CFL's insisting she didn't like the color and balked at the price of LED's. I finally tricked here with some soft white LED bulbs. She thought they were incandescent until I showed her the box and the receipt - $10.98 for a box of eight ;-)

TOH
 
LED bulbs are great for garage door openers where fragile incandescent filaments won't survive the constant vibration when opening and closing.

I have also found LED far more rugged in old trouble lights. I put them in all closet or small enclosed spaces so if accidently left on they generate far less heat and don't create near the fire hazzard
 

My son put a LED light in his garage door opener the opener would not work right with a LED... He googled it and found the fix I don't remember what the fix was other than the LED fudged with the signal...
 
I have replaced all the bulbs in my house with LEDs. Unfortunately the LED failure rate has been higher than any incandescent or CFL bulbs I've ever used. I've had a bunch of LED bulbs last less than a year before they start strobing or flickering. Multiple brands of LEDs too, even some of the USA made Sylvania bulbs have failed.
 
Here's my question; How many of you got the reference to the Buggles without having to look it up? I got it instantly.
 
Good topic TOH.
I was a holdout. Refused to buy the CFLs.
Wrote to my congressman about repealing
the mandate they passed to require them.
Hated the sickly light and slow starts.
Since the LEDs came out I'm totally
onboard. Love those.
Only have a few incandescents left here.
As rvirgil said LEDs work great in trouble
lights too. They'll take a beating.
Leds are almost down to the price of
incandescents now too. Or rather, incans
are nearly UP to leds.
Imagine the energy savings across the
country.
Take a look at the chart below.
The first led I ever bought was a 5? 7?
watt equivalent for a night light in the
kitchen. Uses like 3/4 watt.
It has been on continuously for 4 or 5
years now.
The new garage will get 4' leds when I get
to that point.
Scroll down a bit
 
If you are using them with a dimmer switch
you need to update to the led compatable
dimmer switch.
A real good customer of mine is a wealthy
doctor. Has a Big house with about 50
recessed lights everywhere.
Last fall he had me convert Every light to
new led and every switch to led compatable
dimmers. Many of them are 3 way, a few 4
way. All had to be white rocker type with
new cover plates.
It took me over 2 days and cost him a
bundle.
Lutron brand is supposedly the best
dimmable led campatable switch.
 
(quoted from post at 13:13:10 02/07/19) Here's my question; How many of you got the reference to the Buggles without having to look it up? I got it instantly.

Yep, I "got it", then GOOGLED to be sure.

Didn't remember the song dated all the way back to '79, though, very prophetic for its day!
 
The house we're in now has a boatload of recessed light fixtures. When we were fixing it up to move in I replaced all the bulbs with R40 CFLs because of the cost. Once they warm up they are fine, but sometimes you want light [b:ca369fb151][i:ca369fb151]right now[/i:ca369fb151][/b:ca369fb151]. I'm slowly replacing the main offenders with LEDs, which pleases the wife tremendously. :lol:
 
(quoted from post at 14:13:10 02/07/19) Here's my question; How many of you got the reference to the Buggles without having to look it up? I got it instantly.

You guys are good. One of my go to bar trivia questions is "What was the first video aired on MTV and what was the artist's name". A lot of people know/guess [i:cdad8c1a6a]Video Killed the Radio Star[/i:cdad8c1a6a] was the video but most are unable to name The Buggles.

TOH
 
Only incandescent bulb left in my house is the one in the oven. Everything else is LED, 3000K, 9W, 11W over the table where I work. Both porch lights and all the living room lights are programmable. I can turn them on or off with voice command or my phone. I have only had to replace one so far. That would be the one my girl friend (bless her heart) put in the oven when its bulb burned out.
 
(quoted from post at 15:41:37 02/07/19) Only incandescent bulb left in my house is the one in the oven. Everything else is LED, 3000K, 9W, 11W over the table where I work. Both porch lights and all the living room lights are programmable. I can turn them on or off with voice command or my phone. I have only had to replace one so far. That would be the one my girl friend (bless her heart) put in the oven when its bulb burned out.
y large problem with them has been outdoor use, where corrosion works really fast to destroy the base. Cut then apart, connect wires and the electronic inverter/converter and LED work fine. Just bad metal & sealing of shell.
 
Yep, I put six new dim-able LEDs in the kitchen along with a new 'master' switch and two 'slaves'... 4-way, I guess it is called.. One switch is On/Off... two switch is Three way.. and three switch is four way...??? Is that Common Core Math?!?!
 
CFLs never made sense to me. The light was crummy and the argument of lower environmental impact seemed dubious. I never saw one, but I would have liked to have seen a complete life-cycle cost from production - through use - to disposal of a CFL. I have a stash of made in the USA Sylvania incandescents when it seemed like all that was going to be available in the future were CFLs (early part of this decade). I like LEDs, though, and I think they have a much smaller environmental foot-print than the toxic, Chinese made CFL.

When I was a kid, we had two TV stations, at best. And I had no town friends with cable. It wasn't until my late teens and college years that I discovered the MTV revolution. Thank God for the internet, or I would still be hopelessly behind. :)

Colin, MN
 
I found that replacing the t8 or t12 florescent bulbs with led t8 tube bulbs in the shop or barn to be a great move. If you rewire the 4 foot fixture and eliminate the ballast and use the bulbs designed for such you have a very efficient setup that can produce more light, come on quickly even when cold, and use much less electricity.
 
I can afford the energy! I just want bulbs that keep me off the ladder!!! :(
So far, LEDs are not the answer outdoors!
 
(quoted from post at 21:37:03 02/07/19) I can afford the energy! I just want bulbs that keep me off the ladder!!! :(
So far, LEDs are not the answer outdoors!

your experience with LEDs does not mimic mine, but it does mimic my experience w/CFLs. most of the CFLs i installed had shorter lifespans than incandescents, and most of the LEDs have had longer lifespans, including exposed exterior spotslights. there is no comparison to the quality of light between the two; LEDs are far superior.
 
I haven't had any failures with outdoor LEDs. I haven't had any failures of LED bulbs on dimmer switches either. All of my LED bulb failures have been in standard, non-dimmable fixtures. Hopefully the quality control will improve with LEDs since they are advertised as able to last for years. That hasn't been the case with me so far, at least with some of my bulbs. I do like them better than CFLs which had spotty reliability. I especially like the power savings of LED bulbs.
 
Wife & I replaced all the incandescent & halogen bulbs in our church sanctuary w/LEDs last year, around 150 bulbs. I figured (modestly) that every time the lights are turned on we save over 4000 watts, & so far we have not had to replace even one!
 

from what i've seen, the price point on LEDs is still too high to justify my switching over from CFLs, and i am still seeing a LOT of people talking about reliability issues with LEDs (short lifespan.) in the rare places i really want instant, full brightness, i have incandescents. i'll definitely be changing over, but not until the price comes down and the quality comes up.
 
(quoted from post at 13:39:07 02/08/19)
from what i've seen, the price point on LEDs is still too high to justify my switching over from CFLs, and i am still seeing a LOT of people talking about reliability issues with LEDs (short lifespan.) in the rare places i really want instant, full brightness, i have incandescents. i'll definitely be changing over, but not until the price comes down and the quality comes up.

Experiences seem to be all over the place. Personally I have been using 60W EQ LED's inside for at least 3 maybe 4 years and have not had a single failure. Now the older units were some early Cree bulbs @ $6 each but even at that price they have been more cost effective than the cheap a$$ incandescents TOOH was dragging home. The last 6 pack I installed was a much cheaper GE bulb that has also been failure free.

I have also replaced a half dozen BR30 indoor floods and a couple (BR90??) outdoor floods with LED units and they are going strong at a year plus. Incandescents in the outside locations seldom made it much over a year and like Jesse I hate wrestling with that 36' ladder.

Still too early to tell with the hi-bay LED's in the shop but the 8 foot T12 HO cold starts were noisy as heck and giving me about a year before they started to dim so I am hopeful the much quieter LED's will go longer.

Price for LED is clearly plummeting. Lowes is selling a 16 pack of GE Basic (non-dimmable) 60W equivalent LED's for $21. While I was there on Wednesday I also bought an 8 pack of BR30's for $13.99. If the 60W bulbs last a year they are a better investment based on the bulb price alone than the "economy" incandescent crap the wife was buying. Those things had the life span of a June bug :evil:

TOH
 
Maybe I will find better bulbs, I have been thru 10 of these with very poor results. Insides fine, but packaging needs better corrosion resistant materials.
bkSyvvn.jpg

ZoaYyJR.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 16:00:13 02/08/19) Maybe I will find better bulbs, I have been thru 10 of these with very poor results. Insides fine, but packaging needs better corrosion resistant materials.
bkSyvvn.jpg

Maybe too much cow pee in the air :wink:

TOH
 
(quoted from post at 14:38:01 02/08/19)
(quoted from post at 13:39:07 02/08/19)
from what i've seen, the price point on LEDs is still too high to justify my switching over from CFLs, and i am still seeing a LOT of people talking about reliability issues with LEDs (short lifespan.) in the rare places i really want instant, full brightness, i have incandescents. i'll definitely be changing over, but not until the price comes down and the quality comes up.

Experiences seem to be all over the place. Personally I have been using 60W EQ LED's inside for at least 3 maybe 4 years and have not had a single failure. Now the older units were some early Cree bulbs @ $6 each but even at that price they have been more cost effective than the cheap a$$ incandescents TOOH was dragging home. The last 6 pack I installed was a much cheaper GE bulb that has also been failure free.

I have also replaced a half dozen BR30 indoor floods and a couple (BR90??) outdoor floods with LED units and they are going strong at a year plus. Incandescents in the outside locations seldom made it much over a year and like Jesse I hate wrestling with that 36' ladder.

Still too early to tell with the hi-bay LED's in the shop but the 8 foot T12 HO cold starts were noisy as heck and giving me about a year before they started to dim so I am hopeful the much quieter LED's will go longer.

Price for LED is clearly plummeting. Lowes is selling a 16 pack of GE Basic (non-dimmable) 60W equivalent LED's for $21. While I was there on Wednesday I also bought an 8 pack of BR30's for $13.99. If the 60W bulbs last a year they are a better investment based on the bulb price alone than the "economy" incandescent crap the wife was buying. Those things had the life span of a June bug :evil:

TOH

the only incandescents i'll buy are the 40 watt clear globes in the bathrooms - which are all 13 years old now, and still working. for other incandescents, should i feel the need, i've got a box full of assorted al gore killers that my dad had bought who knows how long ago.

the last CFLs i bought were at wallyworld. i got 3 4-packs of 60W equiv, 900 lumens, 14 actual watts, for eighty-eight cents a box. at 22 cents a bulb, i'm kicking myself for not buying 20 boxes. haven't had to replace any of them yet, i think they're 4 years old now.

i have just recently started to lose the 100 W equiv CFLs in my basement, which are also 13 years old. i don't have an outside shop, the basement is where it all gets done - so those bulbs have gotten quite the workout.

i have a few more unused CFLs on hand, and i won't toss them, but i may swap out a few incandescents at this price, especially as 3 of them are my outside door lights and as such are the most likely to be left on accidentally.
 
(quoted from post at 16:09:36 02/08/19)

i have a few more unused CFLs on hand, and i won't toss them, but i may swap out a few incandescents [b:85d2a1928b]*for LEDs*[/b:85d2a1928b] at this price, especially as 3 of them are my outside door lights and as such are the most likely to be left on accidentally.

fixt.
 
Jmor,
Maybe you could use some electrical anti
oxident stuff on the base before you
screwed them in.
It's required when using Al wire. Might
work on bulbs too.
I'm thinking a tube would be enough to do
a bunch of bulbs.
Worth a try?
 
(quoted from post at 16:17:39 02/08/19) Jmor,
Maybe you could use some electrical anti
oxident stuff on the base before you
screwed them in.
It's required when using Al wire. Might
work on bulbs too.
I'm thinking a tube would be enough to do
a bunch of bulbs.
Worth a try?
ooks cheap enough for a trial.
 
(quoted from post at 13:38:01 02/08/19)
(quoted from post at 13:39:07 02/08/19)
from what i've seen, the price point on LEDs is still too high to justify my switching over from CFLs, and i am still seeing a LOT of people talking about reliability issues with LEDs (short lifespan.) in the rare places i really want instant, full brightness, i have incandescents. i'll definitely be changing over, but not until the price comes down and the quality comes up.

Experiences seem to be all over the place. Personally I have been using 60W EQ LED's inside for at least 3 maybe 4 years and have not had a single failure. Now the older units were some early Cree bulbs @ $6 each but even at that price they have been more cost effective than the cheap a$$ incandescents TOOH was dragging home. The last 6 pack I installed was a much cheaper GE bulb that has also been failure free.

I have also replaced a half dozen BR30 indoor floods and a couple (BR90??) outdoor floods with LED units and they are going strong at a year plus. Incandescents in the outside locations seldom made it much over a year and like Jesse I hate wrestling with that 36' ladder.

Still too early to tell with the hi-bay LED's in the shop but the 8 foot T12 HO cold starts were noisy as heck and giving me about a year before they started to dim so I am hopeful the much quieter LED's will go longer.

Price for LED is clearly plummeting. Lowes is selling a 16 pack of GE Basic (non-dimmable) 60W equivalent LED's for $21. While I was there on Wednesday I also bought an 8 pack of BR30's for $13.99. If the 60W bulbs last a year they are a better investment based on the bulb price alone than the "economy" incandescent crap the wife was buying. Those things had the life span of a June bug :evil:

TOH

What did you replace the 8 foot T12 with, new lamps or fixtures. I have a garage and shop full of them.

Kevin in MN
 
Agreed. I can't see why someone would want CFL's ( mercury ), when LED's are available. They have the same heat tolerance due to
the ballast... One of our elevators uses that gu24 base and I have to special order lamps for it. They are LED of course.

All my house lighting is LED. the month I switched I saved nearly 30$ in electricity.
 
(reply to post at 09:23:00 02/07/19)
orry to interrupt but I am interested in purchasing the jig for setting points on the 2N 8N 9N front mount distributor. Can you help me with that. Thank you... tractormap
 

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