halogen lamp on x10

[bcboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I have (not through my own actions) recently come to own one of those
very cheap six-foot tall halogen torchiere lamps. It put out a ton of
light, but it failed after about two months. I'm wondering if it's
related to x10, or if this is typical of these lamps. The contacts with
the bulb are oxidizing. When I removed the bulb a little pellet of
oxidized metal fell from between the bulb and the spring-loaded
contact. A bit of sanding restored the connection.

I owned one of these about 12 years ago, and it failed in the same way.
In both cases I had the light on an external switch (an x10 lamp module
in the recent case). I'm wondering if turning the light on suddenly
could be causing this. If it's turned on at the base (instead of x10),
it fades up because the "on" switch is also a dimmer.

Anyone else using an lamp module with one of these?

I have some halogen flood lights that take the same kind of bulbs and
are also on x10. They work fine. No troubles. I don't know what the
difference is. Perhaps the strength of the spring.