[ale] OT: Disposal of standard fluorescent lamps?

[Ron Frazier]

I went all CFL about a year ago in my house for all screw in bulbs. Room 
lights are circular FL, and a couple of rooms have 4 ft. tubes. I think 
the old 4 ft. tubes are not terribly efficient because of the old 
ballast. Just haven't gotten around to replacing them. I removed the two 
or three dimmers that were in the house. It's somewhat frustrating 
without them, but not too bad. In some fixtures, I left a couple of 
sockets empty so everything wasn't so bright. Using the dimmer on the 
CFL will destroy the electronics as far as I know. By the way, the same 
thing applies to using them with a photo sensor or motion detector, 
unless they're specifically rated for CFL. Generally, to work properly, 
the photo sensor or motion detector would have to activate the lamp with 
a relay rather than a solid state switch as far as I know.

FYI, if you break one of these things, and follow the recommended 
cleanup, it's pretty ugly, to the point of throwing away clothing which 
gets the phosphor on it. Google for CFL cleanup or something and look 
for reputable sites. I had a link somewhere once, but don't know where 
it is now.

Sincerely,

Ron

On 03/28/2011 03:53 PM, Greg Freemyer wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 1:51 PM, Jim Kinney<jim.kinney at gmail.com>  wrote:
>    
>> This is good to know! I'm finding the "10 year life span" to be totally crap
>> marketing and have a small collection of CFL's and few 4' tubes that need a
>> funeral.
>>
>> BTW: CFL's are in general not designed for "base up" operation unless
>> specified.
>>
>>      
> Nor do they work with a dimmer unless specified.  And even then, they
> are not near as good with a dimmer as traditional incandescent lights.
>
> fyi: the state of Georgia may pass a law that it is legal to
> manufacture and sell incandescent in GA as long as they don't cross
> the state line.  (ie. Fed Law only kicks in when products ship between
> states.)
>
> I know the proposed law passed the state senate a few weeks ago.  I
> have been interested enough to follow it in the house.
>
> My mine desire is to be able to have incandescent lights in places I
> use a dimmer.  After all, dimmer's save electricity too unless you
> keep them at max. most of the time.
>
> Greg
>
>    

-- 

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Ron Frazier

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