Curly neon lightbulb meltdown, lucky I was here to see it happen.

[Hubert Flottz]

I watched in complete horror, as my expensive little new fangled curly GE 40 watt neon bulb went into supernova, in a lamp with a three way switch. The bulb kept getting dim and then bright again several times and I thought the power was failing, but the PC on the same wall circuit, never once fluttered or flickered. I looked under the lamp shade and the base of the bulb was glowing and I could see liquid bubbling and boiling in the base of the bulb. Then the room filled with the strong awful smoky smell of something electrical on fire, like the nasty chemical smell of electrical wiring and insulation burning. I grabbed the lamp lamp cord at that point and jerked it out of the wall. By then the bulb was very hot to the touch and after about five minutes I was able to unscrew it from the lamp.

After the bulb had cooled down I looked it over and it had almost burned black on the base of the bulb, the flat plate attached to the top of the base of the bulb was cracked away from the bottom of the base and the glass tube was burned almost black at the bottom and the entire length of the glass tube was burned a grayish color. I placed an incandescent bulb into the lamp and plugged it back in and it's worked perfectly ever since.

There was a caution on the bulb saying not to use it in a fixture with a "Dimmer" and it also said not to use it in an enclosed fixture. I'm afraid my house would have burned down if I hadn't been there and seen that bulb go crazy. I've looked on the net and not seen where anyone else reported having a problem with the bulbs.

Needless to say I'm gun shy about these damned things now and I still have several in use around the house. I'm using them only in open fixtures now(without globes) and no more of these bulbs, in fixtures with dimmers, or with three way switches.

The Supernova GE Bulb tried to turn my house into a black hole!

I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time!

[hobbit709]

1. When everything else fails

THEN READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.

[CabalPowered]

2. I think you mean compact flourscent and not neon?

There are some CFLs that can be used in dimmers and 3 ways. You will pay a bit more for them though. I would not recommend any bulb produced by Commercial Electric. They are commonly carried by Home Depot and Lowes and are junk.

[Hubert Flottz]

6. Not good bulbs but nice fireworks!

Almost as good as burning a zilch.

[Betsy Ross]

14. I haven't heard anyone talk about a zilch in years! n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

27. I don't think that Zilches were UL approved but they were nise!

Made some nice sounds along with the sights!

Edit...speaking of mind expanding stuff, I think Bush has tried to make a Zilch out of Iraq.

[Drifter]

3. Snork ... Supernova ...

that's a good one.

Indeed, I did not know about the 3way switches and dimmers.
Luckily, none of the my fixtures in my house that fit this description take normal size bulbs.

I will however keep this in mind.

Cheers
Drifter

[Canuckistanian]

4. You can buy special bulbs now

Bulbs that CAN be used in dimmers.

Also, watch out for those Fan Speed control switches. They're not good for regular CF bulbs, either.

[krispos42]

5. Um, yeah, you don't want to use those in 3-ways...

There is an extra contact for a second filament in the socket. Your fluorescent bulb doesn't have a second pathway for the juice, so it was shorting right throught the base of the bulb.

FYI they do make 3-way fluorescent bulbs. I bought one for like $9 last year, and they work just fine in a 3-way socket.

[Hubert Flottz]

7. The up side was, I got to test my newest heart stints and they did

great! I didn't have the "Big One"! I might get a large bag of those Deep Space Diapers, next time I lamp up though! Houston, I almost had a big problem, in my BVDs!

[krispos42]

17. Good! :-)

[Goblinmonger]

18. I loved that show

when I was growing up

[slowry]

8. Get this mug, so you have a constant reminder:

:)

[Hubert Flottz]

9. That should come with a package of those damned bulbs!

The Big Bang Bulbs! I think that thing was puttin' off some serious Gamma Rays there for a while!

[TommyO]

12. Gamma rays? YIKES, have you noticed any changes

in your skin color? Green specifically?

There are three way and CFLs that can be used with dimmers, but they're definitely more expensive than your garden variety CFLs, and pretty darned hard to find in stock anywhere.

[zbdent]

22. affinity for purple pants?

Changing your name less times than McCain changes his position on torture?

(Bruce Banner, Robert Bruce Banner, David Banner, ...)

[noamnety]

10. I used to have a ceiling fan with light bulbs

I just had the plain old fashioned bulbs in it, but sometimes they would overheat. It was the craziest thing to be in the room when they went - they would silently melt or break or something right at the joint between the glass and the metal screw-in part. But because they were so hot and light and torpedoey shaped, they wouldn't explode or drop to the ground.

They drifted in slow motion like a slightly deflated helium balloon and landed gently on the floor. It was a huge pain trying to get the metal part out of the socket afterwards - I learned you can use a raw potato to get it out.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. I have a ceiling fan that tears up bulbs too.

I finally quit using it as a lamp. So then, I put this expensive little three way lamp on the wall beside my PC and NOW...you know the rest of the story.

[Leopolds Ghost]

47. Use a needle nose pliers when that happens.

You can jam the pliers against the insides of the metal socket, or pry the
edge and turn. Just make sure you turn the fixture off first.

(How do detached bulbs float to the ground? I never heard of that.
I know they have a vaccuum in them but that doesn't make much sense...)

[spanone]

13. The 'warnings' on my new curleys say nothing about 3-way switches. No to dimmers.

I still took the little bastards of out the 3 ways. Safer than sorry.

[walldude]

25. Check the lamp warnings not the bulb

I posted down below, I have had the same problem with 3 way lamps. You have to use a 3 way bulb, most of the lamps have a warning on them somewhere.

[Tesha]

42. Three-way switches are generally no problem, except...

Three-way switches are generally no problem, except that
the switching sequence is a bit odd:

o "Click" -- it's on.
o "Click" -- it's still on.
o "Click" -- it's off.
o "Click" -- it's still off.

It's the same if you stick a "one way" ordinary
incandescent lamp in the "three-way" socket.

True variable dimmers, though, require special compact
fluorescent lamps that are designed to work okay on
dimmers.

Tesha

[Blue Diadem]

15. Oh my..I always wondered what would happen with those bulbs in a 3 way

We have switched to CF bulbs in all our fixtures except our few three-way lamps. I recently found out that they do make CF bulbs in 3 way.

Glad your situation wasn't more serious..but I bet it gave you quite a scare.

[annabanana]

48. I have a 3-way curlie in a torchiere... no problems yet. . n/t

[LizW]

16. Me too!

I had the same thing happen with one of those curly fluorescent bulbs. It was not in a three-way lamp, either. It started that bright-dim, bright-dim thing. I turned it off and back on, thinking it would blow like incandescent bulbs do. But, no, it came back on and in just a few seconds, started that bubbly, sizzly, hissing sound. I did not wait for the burning smell, I just turned the lamp off and unplugged it, and threw the bulb away.

I have serious reservations about compact fluorescents. Some of them work fine, and last a long time. But I have had several that did not last any longer than regular incandescent bulbs.

[Hubert Flottz]

19. I have used them since they came out but I'm kind of scared of them

after that. I posted so people would know about them. I have had some that didn't last very long too. Most of the ones I've bought were GE brand. The one that burnt up was a GE. I just thought that they worked like a regular bulb, but I was wrong.

[NEOhiodemocrat]

20. Thanks for the information

I just put one of those in my three way lamp next to my favorite chair. It also says not to use in dimmer switches but nothing about three way lights. I will have to buy one especially for a three way lamp now, as it would scare me to death if that happened while I was sitting there knitting. I wanted to start trying that type of bulb out and this is the one I use the most, guess it will move across the room to a regular lamp right away.

[Hubert Flottz]

21. You are welcome and...

Welcome to DU.

[spinbaby]

23. We had that happen once

It was bad wiring in the lamp. Check your lamp before using another bulb of any kind in it.

[walldude]

24. It was probably the lamp more than the bulb that caused it

I have had the same problem in the past. Also with a three way lamp. After nearly burning down my house by putting a 100 watt bulb in the 3 way lamp I noticed a little red sticker on the bottom of the lamp warning not to use anything but 3 way bulbs or it could start a fire. Like you I learned this the hard way:

I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time! I will ALWAYS, read the damned instructions completely, next time!

[shortcake]

26. The session is going on and

there is a lot of dealin with the devil. All electrical circuits in the state will be messed up for a while.

[Critters2]

28. You're not supposed to use 'em in enclosed lights?

Good to know. I was going to put some in my enclosed bathroom light this evening. I guess I need to go get some incandescents. I've been trying to replace all my lights with cfls. I may need to rethink that.

[Hubert Flottz]

29. I'm like you I was all set to use them all over the house but I've...

decided to rethink. Can't use them in my bathroom, dining room, ceiling fans, or three way lamps and I'm not about to upgrade all those light fixtures, on top of paying for the new bulbs.

[Critters2]

30. I've got 'em in my ceiling fan. Have had for several months.

No problems so far. Why wouldn't they work in ceiling fans?

[Hubert Flottz]

31. My ceiling fans have glass globes that cover the bulbs.

So do my bathroom and Dining room fixtures. I have a dimmer in the dining room too, so it would be an eight bulbed double whammy there.

[Critters2]

32. My ceiling fan fixture has fluted decorations around the bulbs, but their not enclosed.

Maybe that's the difference.

[conscious evolution]

40. That is the dif.

Open globes allow heat to escape.
Closed globes around a light bulb allow heat to build up.

Not only is the heat buildup bad for the bulb,it can cause the insulation on the fixture wiring to fail.

Never put in a bulb with a higher wattage than the fixture is rated for.Almost all fixtures have a sticker with MAX wattage bulb allowed.

As an electrician I replaced overheated fixtures all the time.

[Critters2]

33. Makes me wonder what'll happen in Australia, where they're planning on

outlawing incandescents.

[Hubert Flottz]

34. I'd say, lots of fires if they don't upgrade their light fixtures and read

the directions first.

[Duppers]

46. Yep, they are! (energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs work in all my lamps)

Australia to Ban Old-Style Light Bulbs
Feb 20, 6:26 PM (ET)
By ROHAN SULLIVAN
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The Australian government on Tuesday announced plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs and replace them with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs across the country.

Legislation to gradually restrict the sale of the old-style bulbs could reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tons by 2012 and cut household power bills by up to 66 percent, said Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Australia produced almost 565 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2004, official figures show.

Prime Minister John Howard said the plan would help all Australians play a part in cutting harmful gas emissions: "Here's something practical that everybody will participate in."

In incandescent light bulbs, perfected for mass use by Thomas A. Edison in the late 19th century, electricity flows through a filament to create light. Much of the energy, however, is wasted in the form of heat.

Australia is not the only place looking to replace them with fluorescent lighting, which is more efficient and longer lasting.

Last month, a California assemblyman announced he would propose a bill to ban the use of incandescent bulbs in his state. And a New Jersey lawmaker has called for the state to switch to fluorescent lighting in government buildings within three years.

Cuba's Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago, sending youth brigades into homes and switching out regular bulbs for energy-saving ones to help battle electrical blackouts around the island.

The idea was later embraced by Castro's friend and ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who announced his own program to save energy and in recent months has given away millions of fluorescent bulbs in neighborhoods nationwide.

Under the Australian plan, bulbs that do not comply with energy efficiency targets would be gradually banned from sale. Exemptions may apply for special needs such as medical lighting and oven lights.

Fluorescent bulbs are currently more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but use only about 20 percent of the power to produce the same amount of light and last longer, making them more competitive over time, advocates argue.

Environmentalists welcomed the light bulb plan, but noted than the vast bulk of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions come from industry, such as coal-fired power stations.

They urged the government to set national targets for emission reductions and renewable energy.

"It is a good, positive step. But it is a very small step. It needs to be followed through with a lot of different measures," Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Josh Meadows told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Howard has become a global warming convert, conceding in recent months for the first time that human activity is having an effect on rising temperatures.

But he has steadfastly refused to bring Australia into line with most of the world and ratify the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas reductions, arguing that doing so could damage Australia's coal-dependent economy.

[crispini]

35. Ooo. I'd check that lamp, though, cause I've been using one in a three way for awhile now

with no problem. that said, I will now be REMOVING it from the three way!

[peacefreak]

36. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm about to head upstairs to remove the bulb from my lamp. You may have saved some people from some serious heartache.

[Hubert Flottz]

38. I hope I did save some people some heartache.

I never had a clue there was a risk involved with these bulbs until I saw that bulb tear up the other day. I looked for information about the bulbs burning up and found nothing on the internet about it. Maybe GE and the other companies that make these things want to keep it quiet. Maybe someone should warn Arnold before he passes a law in his state outlawing the old type bulbs.

[HamdenRice]

37. Another thing to worry about with these bulbs -- mercury!

I was listening to NPR last weekend, and they did a kind of correction to any earlier story (which I had not heard) recommending compact flourescents.

Anyway, some listener wrote in and said that they were not good for the environment because they contain mercury. So the reporter did a little further research and the conclusion was not good.

Did you know you are not supposed to throw them away when they are finished because they have mercury in them? You are supposed to dispose of them as "hazardous waste" so the mercury does not pollute landfills.

They are trying to work out a deal where the retailers take them back for recycling after they burn out, kind of like deposit bottles.

Anyway, I have lots of them in the house and am going to stop using them. The OP makes me worry that if they burn out that way, they release mercury into your home. I've already had one or two break in my house.

Doesn't really sound like a very good deal environmentally.

[flyarm]

39. please next time do not touch cord with hand!!! use a broom stick

or use something wooden...you could get electrocuted...

a friend of the family's husband was electrocuted that way and died!!

use a wooden broom stick or baseball bat or something wooden that will not be a consuit for the electricity!!


glad you werent hurt and your hose didn't get damage!!

fly

[Hubert Flottz]

41. I used a yellow # 2 pencil to flick the plug out of the wall.

I started to grab the cord with my hand and thought better of it. The pencil is laying right there by the PC, so I grabbed it. I've wondered why the burning bulb never kicked the breaker that day?

[walldude]

50. Careful with that pencil, there's lead in there

and they conduct electricity. I know, I had to McGyver a soldering gun once, I used 2 pencils and an electrical cord, worked good too, but you can only do it once. The wood burns.

[Tesha]

43. Do you do ths every time you unplug a plug?

Do you cover up the exposed outlet so the electricity
doesn't leak out and get you?

Tesha

[Hubert Flottz]

44. Nope...

But I did think of the pencil that day, because that lectric thing was acting all crazy. And I smelled wires melting.

I might be crazy, but I don't want any free shock therapy.

I've used arc welders for years and I've seen how easily electricity melts steel. Many times!

Lectric Scary! :scared:

[seabeyond]

45. we have dimmers thruout house. i think hubby has put lite in the dimmers

tis his job to read the instruction not mine, lol lol. i will check it out. thanks

[dysfunctional press]

49. neon?

do you mean the mini-flourescents?

neon lights are a totally different animal.