Compact Fluorescent Bulb Failure Hazard

[omega50]

Woke up to a strong burning electrical smell in the house this morning, No smoke but smelled like burnt windings-so I check furnace and every appliance-heater etc and could not identify the source.
Was driving me crazy.
Finally look up at the kitchen ceiling light and seems slightly less bright- only CFL light in the house-one bulb of 3 burnt out and as soon as I removed the globe it was immediately evident that this was the source.

I removed the burnt out bulb and was shocked that a bulb could produce this odor. No incandescent ever has produced anything like this.

I never knew-But now I do

[Selkirk]

Had the same thing happen a year or two ago. The newer CFL's don't have this problem as much, but it can still happen.

Now that LED's have come down in price so much, I just buy them instead. They don't have this problem, they use even less electricity (by a long shot), and they last a whole lot longer than CFL's .

Mac

[ak-71]

There might be (or not) a problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_pNaFVHZEQ. I am checking all bulbs tomorrow

[Grizzly Adams]

No incandescent ever has produced anything like this.

Reliable, cheap technology replaced by expensive Greenie dream, that is neither cheap or reliable. More energy to create and not environmentally friendly either.

Grizz

[CaberTosser]

I guess those bulbs are creating work for the fire dept, about two weeks back a neighbor had called A out smoke coming from her ceiling fixture and 3 big fire engines arrived, which is a tight squeeze in a cul-de-sac that's only 6 lots deep. Thankfully there was no fire for her, just a smoked out compact fluorescent. I was chatting with a client this past week where his Mom's house did experience an attic fire, likely from one of those bulbs.

[CritterCommander]

Friends house more or less burnt to the ground, official cause was a failed CFL. Fire department guys said that was the 6th house this year to go down in the area for the same cause. CFL was in the garage and they had left it on overnight.

[Mackinaw]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

Had the same thing happen a year or two ago. The newer CFL's don't have this problem as much, but it can still happen.

Now that LED's have come down in price so much, I just buy them instead. They don't have this problem, they use even less electricity (by a long shot), and they last a whole lot longer than CFL's .

Mac

Have switched all my buildings to LEDs.. a cost at first but big savings over all.

Mack

[TimeOff]

Be very careful handling damaged CFL bulbs. They release mercury fumes if broken. Hence, they are to be discarded at an Eco-Station not you're Garbage. I believe these lights were pushed through to market because of the energy efficiency, but Gov't turned a blind eye to the harmful effects of them. Led's much safer, getting cheaper by the month.

[Dick284]

Here's some dos and don't s for CFL's

Don't use em in the cold.
Don't use em in enclosed fixtures, unless they are marked so, or the fixture says so.
Make sure they are marked BBU (burn base up) if they are used with the screw in part pointing up.

Most people don't understand this.

[Puma]

Originally Posted by Dick284

Here's some dos and don't s for CFL's

Don't use em in the cold.
Don't use em in enclosed fixtures, unless they are marked so, or the fixture says so.
Make sure they are marked BBU (burn base up) if they are used with the screw in part pointing up.

Most people don't understand this.

And most important, CSA mark certified.

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Puma

And most important, CSA mark certified.

If people aren't checking for applicable accreditation marks on anything they are buying, perhaps there's a bigger issue at play.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Puma

And most important, CSA mark certified.

I wasn't aware any retailer or wholesaler was allowed to sell any electrical fixture without a CSA stamp in Canada.

Scary ..... I have honestly never actually looked before buying a bulb - I assumed they all were approved and certified.

[Matt L.]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

No incandescent ever has produced anything like this.

Reliable, cheap technology replaced by expensive Greenie dream, that is neither cheap or reliable. More energy to create and not environmentally friendly either.

Grizz

Not sure I'd use the term reliable for incandescent bulbs. I have Hadley Ghana few last less than a week in my apt.

[taz1977]

Originally Posted by ak-71

There might be (or not) a problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_pNaFVHZEQ. I am checking all bulbs tomorrow

im removing all of them from my house today

[CaberTosser]

I've had a few of the older ones where discoloration of the plastic bodies into a light tan from their original white occurred, as this thread has brought that to mind I think I'll run around and review what's in my fixtures. I've put the LED's in my highest use light fixtures but I do have CFL's in the lesser used ones.

[omega50]

I replaced the fixture about 4 years ago and the bulbs came with the fixture



So these 2 other bulbs will go, but I am curious exactly what this A15 recommendation encompasses?
Assuming this is smaller than a standard incandescent

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Dick284

If people aren't checking for applicable accreditation marks on anything they are buying, perhaps there's a bigger issue at play.

Are you serious?

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by omega50

No smoke but smelled like burnt windings-so I check furnace and every appliance-heater etc and could not identify the source.

That smell is usually a transformer failure, very easy to identify.

Originally Posted by MacLeod

H They don't have this problem, they use even less electricity (by a long shot), and they last a whole lot longer than CFL's .

LEDs require DC power, each bulb has a transformer and that transformer can fail in exactly the same way.

[stuckincity]

Originally Posted by omega50

Compact Fluorescent Bulb Failure Hazard

Whatever ya do, don't buy the "Globe" brand because they have a bad habit of exploding for no particular reason.

Back when I worked for a living in Building Operations we got a bulletin to that effect from OH&S and replaced every single one of that brand in the whole building I worked in.
None ever popped in anyones' faces, but the company was taking no chances.

Since then I wouldn't even buy Globe incandescents.

[Sundancefisher]

burn light

Not sure if this is real however the mercury is scary

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

burn light

Not sure if this is real however the mercury is scary

It's not, there is some combustible material added, probably gunpowder.

The Mercury is a concern but it's something that is not specific to CFLs, all fluorescent lights require Mercury. We've been dealing with this problem for decades already. In fact there is so little Mercury in one of these bulbs (< 5mg) that as long as you don't eat the thing you'll be fine. Sweep it up and take it to the Eco Station in a zip lock.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by midgetwaiter

That smell is usually a transformer failure, very easy to identify.



LEDs require DC power, each bulb has a transformer and that transformer can fail in exactly the same way.

Some may have transformers, but certainly not all.

First you don't need a transformer to produce DC current, the transformer is for reducing the voltage and is not necessary for that with the lower current draws of LED lights. Zener Diode/SCR circuits are becoming increasingly common in low current AC to DC power supplies

I took a 2200 luman 35 watt LED fixture apart a few days ago to see if I could figure out a way to flush mount it. Limited head space application.

It contained a circuit board, an LED strip but no transformer.


I'm wondering why they would not have heat protection in the CFL bulbs.
Seems odd to me considering there are so many options for in circuit heat protection.

Every coffee maker, toaster and many mixers, blenders and such have them.
A simple heat fuse would be all that is needed and I've seen them as small as a grain of rice. And that's from a 350 watt mixer motor.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Mackinaw

Have switched all my buildings to LEDs.. a cost at first but big savings over all.

Same here. Kids were always leaving the lights on. I've replaced the bulbs in almost all of my fixtures in the house (except for the trough lights in the basement bedrooms and the chandelier in the dining room).

I've used LED bulbs in the RV as well, but I've found that some aren't very tolerant to voltage fluctuations. Have had two (different brands) literally de-solder the SMD LED's as they burnt up. As a consequence, I don't let them run unattended.

Odd that they don't have a thermal fuse, like Keg mentioned.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

First you don't need a transformer to produce DC current, the transformer is for reducing the voltage and is not necessary for that with the lower current draws of LED lights. Zener Diode/SCR circuits are becoming increasingly common in low current AC to DC power supplies

I suspect the distinction is lost on most people but by all means by comment should be amended to say:

All LED bulbs require a power supply to convert AC to DC which may use a transformer or a bridge rectifier to do so.