[ale] OT: Disposal of standard fluorescent lamps?

[Geoffrey Myers]

Ron Frazier wrote:
> 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.

I've not heard about this issue with the photo sensor, but I've got an 
outside spot light set (two bulbs) controlled by a photo sensor and it 
works just fine with the two CFLs I've got in there.  I've got two other 
spot light sets on my house that auto dim, so I can't use the CFLs with 
those.

> 
> 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
>>
>>    
> 


-- 
Until later, Geoffrey

"I predict future happiness for America if they can prevent
the government from wasting the labors of the people under
the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson