audioguru Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hi Guys,A local light bulb importer is re-calling millions of Chinese-made compact-flourescent light bulbs. Apparently, many are failing and although are properly made with fire-extingueshing plastic, they melt all over the place! Ouch if you're under one!Adding to the problem is that the manufacturer used a counterfeit approval number so his product was never tested by the approval agency!Shucks. I bought the same make a while ago but missed the "bad" dates by only 1 week. The importer is replacing them with two for each one returned. I need more anyway, I'll just have to buy them.I had a European-made compact flourescent light bulb fail and fill the room with smoke. It lasted double its warranty period so its manufacturer wouldn't replace it. (He, he, I didn't tell them it was above my hot stove for many years.)Have you noticed how hot those bulbs get? The elco's (haven't used that name for years) inside dry-up from the heat and the circuit goes BOOM!I see why it is so difficult to dim the thingys. I think they "fire" each half-cycle so PWM of the mains like an ordinary dimmer would reduce the high voltage needed. I don't understand how the dimmable bulbs maintain the high voltage when dimmed. Maybe they just step-up the voltage high enough that they still fire, and the PWM from the dimmer just adjusts their duty-cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kasamiko Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 We're using lots of it in our home.. :oand for US$1 you get 4 pcs. of it..really cheap..rhonn ;) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted November 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hi Rhonn,Wow, you buy compact flourescent bulbs for only a quarter of a $US?That's the price I pay for the old hot short-life incandescent bulbs.The cheapest I've seen are 4 for $10US. I went to buy them but they were sold-out.You could hack the Mosfets and other good stuff inside them before they get cooked too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kasamiko Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hi Rhonn,Wow, you buy compact flourescent bulbs for only a quarter of a $US?That's the price I pay for the old hot short-life incandescent bulbs.The cheapest I've seen are 4 for $10US. I went to buy them but they were sold-out.You could hack the Mosfets and other good stuff inside them before they get cooked too much.I got 2 mosfet, a couple of high voltage caps, 6 diodes some small toroids etc..It's worth a bargain!!rhonn ;) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ante Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Audioguru, Rhonn,Do you have any : http://www.ikea.ca/ms/en_CA/ikny_splash.html shops near you? They sell the cheapest compact fluorescent bulbs where I live. I have had two of them for a very long time, more than 6 years and they are still in good health. One of them is in the kitchen and it is on for many hours every day. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted November 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Hi Ante,Sure we have Ikea stores here. Graduating students like their modern designs and inexpensive furniture.Cheaper stores use the "bait and switch" selling technique. They advertise something at a very low price. They only have a few, or hide them so that shoppers buy other things at full list price.I'm always on the lookout for clearances, rebates and coupons. I visit many liquidation stores that have good stuff at good prices, like the switching regulators I bought recently for only $2US.I went to see the changes on new cars. I didn't want to buy one, mine was fine. They were so hungry for my business that they took my old car and "gave" me a new one. The same thing happened with my Personal Digital Video Recorder. I called near the end of the month and the salesman was so hungry to meet his monthly quota that he "gave" it to me. Then he asked me if I needed a cell phone. Ha, I joked that I needed one with a camera. He said, "No extra charge"! Then he asked me about the extremely fast broadband internet they have now................... ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ante Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Audioguru,I sure pays to have a good look around before you by something. I have been looking for a GPS for my car for the last couple of weeks now and it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted November 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Hi Ante,I agree with you that prices vary a lot.Today I went to see the changes on new cars. Again, the salesman was very hungry for my business (it is near the end of the month).Guess what! ......................... ;D 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 I will not buy cheapo light bulb without a good brand name...... So I prefer to pay double more to get somethings under the name of philips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguru Posted November 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Aren't they all the same now and made in the same factory?This box to Philips, that box to Ikea, the box over there to GE, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 there are thousands of factories in china..... some of them are qualified manufacturers of those large brand names, where they will have a better qualifty control + ISO certificate.some don't have anythings.... mostly these only supply to china local stores.....somhow these un-qualified products may leak out to other countries....... thus.... I prefer a brand name one in a proper local stores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kasamiko Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 I will not buy cheapo light bulb without a good brand name...... So I prefer to pay double more to get somethings under the name of philipsIt is not an assurance that if you buy the NAME Philips you really got Philips under it.. ;DGot a lot of Philips with China inside!! Worst you buy it at the price of original Philips and found out later it is fake..!!rhonn ;) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yevgenip Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Made in China........I see that too often. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ante Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Rhonn,You are perfectly right, don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kasamiko Posted November 27, 2004 Report Share Posted November 27, 2004 Rhonn,You are perfectly right, don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ante Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 All I can say is it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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