Hi all,

In our house, we have several ceiling fans installed each using an in-built light fixture. Each ceiling fan uses two E27 fittings with a max. rating of 40W, in an enclosed glass fixture. They came with some "E-star" 15W CFLs, which have been nothing but trouble.

Most of them get so hot that the CFL's plastic casing turns a crispy brown and warps/melts. A few of them have also just died too, even though they are less than a year old. The electricians installed a fresh batch of them, but they've been failing in the same manner as the first lot.

I gave up on them and initially tried Halogen bulbs, which ended up causing damage to the light fittings from the heat. I've now tried several ViriBright 5W LED bulbs (from Jaycar), which seem to be working very well and put out very little heat.

Apparently though, the electricians said that these LED bulbs were unsafe for these fittings. I seem to remember reading that manufacturers advised against using CFLs in enclosed fittings, so the LEDs seem safer than the melty CFLs.

Just wondering what everyone's opinions are on this? Would lower power (5W) or higher quality CFLs fall victim to the same problems as the current 15W E-stars?

Thanks,

Chris

I bought a 6W Par38 LED this I ended up taking back as failed to last 30 minutes, yet the CFL's in the nobbled insect light usually last around 8000+ hours(On a timer so I know).

I have a new not used Par38 23W,esaver, that, reading between the lines, apparently needs air space in the socket and they are recommending a greater than IP54 fitting.

The only esaver one I have in a well glass, is on a pump 500 metres away, it only runs when the pump is running and is old.

I have 3 esavers in fans in the new house, I will check one.

Have been using two 15W CFLs (bayonet cap) in the built in light for a fan for several years. The light body is metal and the covering is glass. It is oyster shaped and about 250mm across. To improve ventilation, I opened up the vents on the top of the metal body as much as possible as they are out of sight on the top, and created a gap between the glass and the metal body with a couple of thicknesses of double sided tape. Bugs get in but have to put up with that.

The fitting does get warm especially in summer, but there is no sign of heat stress on the CFLs. Of course in summer the fan is often working, improving the ventilation. Have had to replace one CFL, which had seen previous use in another fitting; the other was new.

So my feeling is to improve the ventilation as much as is possible.

There is a vast difference in the quality of brands and models of all types of lamps and experimentation is usually the only answer.

After the lamp factory in Newcastle that made lamps for Philips, Crompton, Thorn, Osram, Sylvania and generic brands closed down the lifespan of incandescent globes and fluorescent tubes went down on average in my opinion. Take this word from a bloke who has spent 24 years changing lamps as part of most of his employment. To date I still sometimes pull out a fluoro tube from a rapid-start fitting that has been in service for up to 40 years. Such tubes and the fittings that run them are not terribly energy efficient but I think it is better to chew a bit more electricity than constantly pouring literally thousands of litres of mercury into rubbish tips annually.

This is where LED technology comes into play. It's still evolving and improving however the technology is mature enough for it to be considered a viable alternative to all forms of discharge lighting, including fluorescent lamps. LED modules contain no mercury and only have the smallest smidgen of lead solder to hold the elements to the PC board, being surface mounted devices.

I have LED lamps throughout my home, including the fridge. There are no longer any fluorescent or incandescent lamps. My oven has a heat resistant halogen lamp but is rarely used. Most of the LED lamps were purchased at Big W - the shape of the globe allows some of the light from the LED module to be thrown up as well as to the side and down and are rated at 4 watts, ample light for bedrooms, bathroom, hall and laundry. I have three of the same in a chandelier in the loungeroom and a 10 watt LED globe in the kitchen. After more than a year none have had to be replaced and none have lost their output.

My desk lamp (the type with the two telescoping radio antennas as the stem) was purchased with a 20 watt halogen lamp fitted. I junked that lamp and replaced it with a 1.4 watt LED equivalent and it not only saves me energy but is the same brightness as the 20 watt lamp it replaces. I got a packet of two of these at Masters.

The oyster light fittings that come with ceiling fans are not ventilated very well. Yes, there are slots on top but this isn't enough. There's no way for air to get in the bottom to allow convection to dissipate the heat and yes, CFLs will get rather hot inside these and they will discolour faster as a result and ultimately fall apart. Because the lamps are oriented horizontally, there is not much that can be done to improve the light output from these fittings regardless of the lamp used in them. The only way around that is to dispense with the light on the bottom of the fan and relocate the fan and a separate light fitting on the ceiling so the sweep of the blades doesn't cause a flickering effect when the light is also in use.

Those horrible ceiling fan lights give no light at all, no matter what lamps you use. Leave the covers off, looks crap but gives more light. Unfortunately these things are usually mounted smack bang in the middle of the room where you would normally mount a decent light fitting.
LED's are the way to go now. Have just retro fitted an entire community health building on the north coast, where live, with LED. The inside lights are 200dia x 15mm thick, 10w 24v LED, these come with a power pack. They replace a twin 18w CFL down light style fitting that runs red hot, (36w total) x 70 fittings. Now they complain it is too bright.
Outside security lights I fitted 38 LED fittings in an oyster style shell IP56. These replace a twin 18w CFL using series ballast configuration, again heat was the major failure problem.
Next fit out is to replace 45 12v Dichroic heat burners with 12v LED's. These will fit straight in as the old transformers are the iron core type.
When I go back out there next month I will take some photos.
I beat you Brad, 46 years as a Domestic, Commercial and Industrial Sparky.
Oils ain't oils and lights are not just lights. When doing commercial fluoro lighting many years ago I made a mark for my business in mood lighting in shopping centres. Why does meat look nice and red in a butcher's window, we used warm white fluoros, why does a dress shop selling summer clothes (greens and blues) look so vibrant, we used daylight tubes etc etc.
Also don't throw those used curly CFL's out, inside is a high voltage capacitor for radio use usually between 10μF and 20μF 450v.
LED's are coming down dramatically in price and up in efficiency and styles.
I have LED's in my house, my car and my motorcycle.
Peter

"Those horrible ceiling fan lights give no light at all"

Agree, run my study light without the cover, however a bedroom light for aesthetic reasons has the cover on. Have lined the metal bodies of both with reflective aluminium tape - not a great difference but does help.

The house I am in has those ceiling fan lights and agree they are hopeless.

Do not know what bulbs are in them and I do not run them often due to the dim light.

Generally use reading lights, stand lights etc with a medly of halogen or incandescent bulbs.

I'll wait till they all burn out before I shall invest in LED bulbs.

Only bought one fluro bulb years ago and it generated so much RFI I tossed it.

One other comment, an electrician installed a new fluro light in the garage and a conversation arose on it having a solid state starter,

The brute generates unbelievable RFI, I do'nt know how they were allowed into the country.

Thanks for the help everyone! I agree that the ceiling fan lights are generally useless. I have multiple lamps using 40W and 100W incandescent bulbs set up in my room, as I work on vintage televisions in there and need decent light. I'm trying to hoard as many incandescents as I can, as they're my preference to all else. It's just a shame I can't use them in the ceiling fitting.

Once the hoard runs out, I guess I'll have to see what I can find overseas. Once that runs out, I'll finally fully upgrade to LEDs, or whatever else comes out by that time.

I absolutely hate using CFLs, and only (grudingly) use them in fittings where you can't see the bulb. Otherwise, I consider them incredibly ugly things and I dislike the extended warm-up period most of them have.

Chris

I recall the first CFLs that came out in the late 1980s. Only Philips made them at the time and they had iron core ballasts, starters and an outer glass envelope. They weighed about 3kg and cost about $45.00 for a 12 watt lamp.

They were big, heavy, ugly and cost a lot of money like anything new does. The one I installed in my parents bathroom went for about twenty years before it died. Those made today will never last that long. Though the devices will be pretty much obsolete in five years and LEDs become cheaper and output better light.

The brute generates unbelievable RFI, I do'nt know how they were allowed into the country.

Because nobody in authority gives a damn about RFI anymore -- unless it directly affects them or is a safety issue.

Chris
Maybe you need to do this.

The brute generates unbelievable RFI, I do'nt know how they were allowed into the country.

Because nobody in authority gives a damn about RFI anymore -- unless it directly affects them or is a safety issue.

Very true, it has already been commented on the number of lights and plugpacks etc which generate RFI.

"nobody...gives a damn about RFI anymore"

Just bought a new F & P washing machine which produces RFI on AM radio all over the house. The one it replaced, another F& P, 12 yr old, only produced RFI in the immediate vicinity of the machine.

So things seem to be getting worse.

The one it replaced, another F& P, 12 yr old, only produced RFI in the immediate vicinity of the machine.

So, perhaps there ought to be a second rating system to complement the energy stars. I suggest lighting bolts. The more bolts the greater the RFI it generates.

I have two of those Philips SL-18 CFLs Brad, though mine are from the 1990s I think. Both still work, though one has been used so much that the light output has decreased from what I assume is gradual burn-in on the phosphor? These are about the only CFLs I will use, mainly as they're such interesting and reliable units.

Funnily enough, I prefer the SL-18 and SL-25 CFLs to the newer CFLs.

Chris