Octopus Overlords

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_light ... htm#dimmer" target="_blank

Can I use a compact fluorescent light bulb with a dimmer switch?
To use a compact fluorescent bulb on a dimmer switch, you must buy a bulb that's specifically made to work with dimmers (check the package). GE makes a dimming compact fluorescent light bulb (called the Energy Smart Dimming Spirals®) that is specially designed for use with dimming switches. We don't recommend using regular compact fluorescent bulbs with dimming switches, since this can shorten bulb life. (Using a regular compact fluorescent bulb with a dimmer will also nullify the bulb's warranty.)

The Preacher wrote:Has anyone found CFL floodlights that can be used on a dimmer?

Google came up with this at Ace Hardware so they are out there.

When this thread was active, I didn't have any CFL bulbs. Now about half of my bulbs are CFL. On a whim, I followed a link earlier in the thread to see where I'm supposed to dispose of old ones. Apparently, if one of my lightbulbs burns out, I'm supposed to take it on a 150 mile round trip across the state. Hell, it is 42 miles just to drop of newspaper.

...and people wonder why recycling isn't more common.

Blackhawk wrote:Apparently, if one of my lightbulbs burns out, I'm supposed to take it on a 150 mile round trip across the state.

Does your community sponsor any kind of toxic roundup? Fire departments often put them on. If so, hang on to whatever you've got until there's an event and let somebody else handle the transport who was going there anyway.

Newspapers, I have solved forevermore by getting most of my news online. Brilliant!

silverjon wrote:Newspapers, I have solved forevermore by getting most of my news online. Brilliant!

How about local news?

Both the local daily papers are on the internet.

I'll admit that I grab hard copies of the free alt weeklies (which are also available online), but that's still a lot less recycling than a daily newspaper.

Blackhawk wrote:When this thread was active, I didn't have any CFL bulbs. Now about half of my bulbs are CFL. On a whim, I followed a link earlier in the thread to see where I'm supposed to dispose of old ones. Apparently, if one of my lightbulbs burns out, I'm supposed to take it on a 150 mile round trip across the state. Hell, it is 42 miles just to drop of newspaper.

...and people wonder why recycling isn't more common.

I believe Lowe's or Home Depot were supposed to start accepting old CFLs for (free?) recycling as long as they weren't broke.

Ahh, it is Home Depot. Might not help if you don't have one close but hopefully closer than 150 miles...

The Preacher wrote:Thank you, Spacelord, for linking to this thread! I've been considering bumping this thread and you've given me the reason to.

Has anyone found CFL floodlights that can be used on a dimmer? I want to put them in my basement where we have recessed lighting, but it's also our entertainment space so I'd like to be able to turn them down.

I'm slowly making my way to a CFL house but this is a major impediment.

Yes. I think I picked them up at an ACE or TruValue hardware store (can't remember which). They don't dim quite as smoothly, but they work well enough. I can look up the brand if you're curious.

Guy Incognito wrote:
I believe Lowe's or Home Depot were supposed to start accepting old CFLs for (free?) recycling as long as they weren't broke.

Ahh, it is Home Depot. Might not help if you don't have one close but hopefully closer than 150 miles...

Nearest Home Depot via their store finder: 76.54 miles, round trip 153.08 miles (roughly $40 in gas.)



That's just rural Indiana for you.

Bring them with you to the OOGT next month, and I'll take care of them.

ChrisGwinn wrote:

The Preacher wrote:Thank you, Spacelord, for linking to this thread! I've been considering bumping this thread and you've given me the reason to.

Has anyone found CFL floodlights that can be used on a dimmer? I want to put them in my basement where we have recessed lighting, but it's also our entertainment space so I'd like to be able to turn them down.

I'm slowly making my way to a CFL house but this is a major impediment.

Yes. I think I picked them up at an ACE or TruValue hardware store (can't remember which). They don't dim quite as smoothly, but they work well enough. I can look up the brand if you're curious.

We bought one at our local Ace and I agree with your review. It seems more like they sort of dim as you dial down the dimmer but also have three main setting areas on ours. Sort of like a moderately dimming three-way bulb.

Enough wrote:

ChrisGwinn wrote:

The Preacher wrote:Thank you, Spacelord, for linking to this thread! I've been considering bumping this thread and you've given me the reason to.

Has anyone found CFL floodlights that can be used on a dimmer? I want to put them in my basement where we have recessed lighting, but it's also our entertainment space so I'd like to be able to turn them down.

I'm slowly making my way to a CFL house but this is a major impediment.

Yes. I think I picked them up at an ACE or TruValue hardware store (can't remember which). They don't dim quite as smoothly, but they work well enough. I can look up the brand if you're curious.

We bought one at our local Ace and I agree with your review. It seems more like they sort of dim as you dial down the dimmer but also have three main setting areas on ours. Sort of like a moderately dimming three-way bulb.

Awesome, thanks. Can you guys comment on the light quality? Is it a warm light or a harsher white light? The non-dimming test specimen I purchased must have been called Quite White because they were damn harsh.

Well, I've tried with little luck finding some that work well. Unfortunately, I never followed the sage advice of True Value or Ace. Yeah, what good is advice when you ignore, eh? OK, are those still the best out there? Good color, decent dimming, etc.? There's a notable dearth of options on Amazon.

I broke down and tried some of the mercury based lights and they actually burnt out quicker than the normal cheap flourescents. At $12 (or more) a pop, I don't see me buying more of them.

LordMortis wrote:I broke down and tried some of the mercury based lights and they actually burnt out quicker than the normal cheap flourescents. At $12 (or more) a pop, I don't see me buying more of them.

Well you'd better stock up on incandescents, then. Most are banned in the US as of 2014. Maybe LED bulbs will be practical by then.

I'm not wild about the corkscrew fluorescents, either, but the price has come down to where they make good economic sense. I bought a bunch of 3-packs on sale for $6. Between their longer life and lower energy consumption, they're worth $2 apiece. $12 must be some kind of specialty bulb -- I paid $6 for a yellow bug light version.

The only fixtures that're still running an old-fashioned light bulb are the one at the base of the cellar stairs, which I periodically smack into with my forehead, and the yard light. After breaking two CFs there I went back to a cheap 60w bulb. And those CFs aren't bright enough outdoors in the winter.

Actually, incandescent bulbs may be able to make a comeback and I believe you mean 2012.

Wiki says the phase-out begins in 2012 and ends in 2014.

I do hope they can rehabilitate the incandescent, though.

I replaced half of my incandescent bulbs in March of 2008, and the other half in June of 2008. That's at least 43 bulbs...with zero failures to date.

Yeah, the porch lights take forever to ramp up to full brightness in the wintertime, but it beats having to replace them three times a year.

Ibby wrote:I replaced half of my incandescent bulbs in March of 2008, and the other half in June of 2008. That's at least 43 bulbs...with zero failures to date.

Yeah, the porch lights take forever to ramp up to full brightness in the wintertime, but it beats having to replace them three times a year.

I have a few bulbs that I suspect have fixture issues. Repeated burnouts in a year, other than that, they've been good to me.

The one in the garage is useless though. It's always cold out there, and we never need the bulb for more than 5 minutes.

The Preacher wrote:Well, I've tried with little luck finding some that work well. Unfortunately, I never followed the sage advice of True Value or Ace. Yeah, what good is advice when you ignore, eh? OK, are those still the best out there? Good color, decent dimming, etc.? There's a notable dearth of options on Amazon.

I haven't had to buy new ones since I last posted, so it's hard to say.

Over the past month or so, I've been replacing some of my old 4-light ceiling fans with snazzier looking 3-light fans, and now have a few spare CFL bulbs laying around. Guess I'll have to find a semi-permanent place to store them (knock on wood).

The organizers of our town's farmer's market have set up a light bulb swap. Bring in unused incandescent bulbs, walk away with free 60W CFLs. I'm going to round up all the remaining incandesents and make the swap this Saturday. First I'll make a trip to the hardware store, where they give away free incandescent bulbs with every $10+ purchase.

I guess CFLs must have finally reached economies of scale if they can afford to give them away.

I've had multiple CFL's fail, and two nearly caught fire. But hey, it's for the environment! Toxic metals and all!

qp wrote:I've had multiple CFL's fail, and two nearly caught fire. But hey, it's for the environment! Toxic metals and all!

You're doing it wrong.

( )

Zaxxon wrote:

qp wrote:I've had multiple CFL's fail, and two nearly caught fire. But hey, it's for the environment! Toxic metals and all!

You're doing it wrong.

( )

How many qp's does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Zaxxon wrote:

qp wrote:I've had multiple CFL's fail, and two nearly caught fire. But hey, it's for the environment! Toxic metals and all!

You're doing it wrong.

( )

I had a light fixture blow when I put a CFL in, but it was a very very old light fixture (converted from gas?) and my guess is that it was an ongoing short that wasn't noticeable with an incandescent bulb.

In my new house we have CFL's in the kitchen, outside, and in the bathrooms. The one one the patio already wend out and we rarely turned the patio lights on. I got the house builder to replace it for me, home warranties for the win

Our house has a lot of lamps because the previous owners, in their infinite wisdom, decided overhead light fixtures were optional.

Unfortunately nearly every lamp we own won't accept CFLs. They just don't work with them.

Because I'm not going to replace nearly every lamp in my home just so I can pay $6 for a lightbulb, my current philosophy is "Fuck you, environment."

YellowKing wrote: Because I'm not going to replace nearly every lamp in my home just so I can pay $6 for a lightbulb, my current philosophy is "Fuck you, environment."

Your grandchildren thank you for a barren continent.


How is it the CFLs don't work in the lamps? Shape?

Alternatively, you could install some overhead lighting as a home improvement rather than buying new lamps.

LawBeefaroni wrote: How is it the CFLs don't work in the lamps? Shape?

Many of the lamp shades attach directly to the bulb, or can't fit over the larger size bulb. We had a few with that problem.

IKEA sells lampshades with a ring that fits over the socket, which the bulb then holds in place, instead of having the clips that fit directly over the glass of an incandescent bulb.

New shades are cheaper than new lamps. It's something to consider, plus you get to redecorate a little (or maybe I should say your wife does). Depends on the condition of your old lampshades, I guess. My mom had ones that were all this 70s plastic sheeting, scorched and tattered and filthy. New fabric lampshades... so much of an improvement.

YellowKing wrote: Because I'm not going to replace nearly every lamp in my home just so I can pay $6 for a lightbulb, my current philosophy is "Fuck you, environment."

Anybody that's paying $6 for a CFL hasn't shopped in the slightest. $2/per is trivially had, and that's still very pricey.

Here in New England, home of the $0.18 kilowatt*hour, CFLs verge on being a no-brainer. Doesn't hurt that we're night owls, and are horrible at turning off unused lights. I did the math; $20/month looks reasonable both based on how the bill dropped, and just counting up the light bulbs that are left on frequently. That's break-even for our critical power eating bulbs in under two months.

How is it the CFLs don't work in the lamps? Shape?

Not just that - they just won't work. I can take a CFL bulb, put it in a socket and watch it light up so I know the bulb is good, then turn right around and put it in half my lamps and it won't light up. Something to do with older lamps and the socket or something, I guess.

I was just joking a bit in my previous thread - we actually did change all the porch lights and fixtures we could to CFLs.

grumpy wrote:

YellowKing wrote: Because I'm not going to replace nearly every lamp in my home just so I can pay $6 for a lightbulb, my current philosophy is "Fuck you, environment."

Anybody that's paying $6 for a CFL hasn't shopped in the slightest. $2/per is trivially had, and that's still very pricey.

Last time I bought any they were 50 cents apiece in 3-packs (on sale, and using a coupon). This Saturday I'm swapping the last of our incandescents for free CFLs at the farmers market. Given their long life, I don't expect to buy another light bulb for years. The sole exception is the blue 25w bulb we use as a porch light because it sheds enough light to see without spoiling your night vision. I don't think there's a fluorescent equivalent to that.

I have never met a lamp or fixture that wouldn't run a CFL, unless you have halogen lamps or those little decorative candle bulbs with the bayonet fitting. Most of our lamps are well over 20 years old.

Maybe it's the brand we're using or something. I didn't believe it either but I tested it repeatedly using different bulbs (same brand though).

YellowKing wrote: Not just that - they just won't work. I can take a CFL bulb, put it in a socket and watch it light up so I know the bulb is good, then turn right around and put it in half my lamps and it won't light up. Something to do with older lamps and the socket or something, I guess.

A few fixtures in here did that, but it was a pretty simple thing -- the little flap of metal at the bottom of the socket needed to be pulled out a bit more, because the wider base wouldn't let it screw in quite as deeply as an incandescent. I've also see some weird behaviors around sophisticated switches, like electronic dimmers and X10 stuff, but that's all weirder than "does not work".

Ooh good find, I'll try that.

grumpy wrote:the little flap of metal at the bottom of the socket needed to be pulled out a bit more

I recommend unplugging the lamp before you attempt this.

Ironrod wrote:

grumpy wrote:the little flap of metal at the bottom of the socket needed to be pulled out a bit more

I recommend unplugging the lamp before you attempt this.

Yeah, that. The metal tab in question is 120V if the lamp is on. If it's wired to the wall, like my stuff was, you can often get away with turning off the switch, rather than the breaker. A multimeter, or one of those non-contact AC detector things is great if you're doing dumb things to your electrical equipment.

grumpy wrote:

Ironrod wrote:

grumpy wrote:the little flap of metal at the bottom of the socket needed to be pulled out a bit more

I recommend unplugging the lamp before you attempt this.

Yeah, that. The metal tab in question is 120V if the lamp is on. If it's wired to the wall, like my stuff was, you can often get away with turning off the switch, rather than the breaker. A multimeter, or one of those non-contact AC detector things is great if you're doing dumb things to your electrical equipment.

If nothing else get your wife to hold your hand while you do it. I find they always get a charge from it.