Re: CFLs flicker when Wall Swtich WS467 is OFF

["Jim Hewitt" <jim.hewitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:GZCdnZnXO6wlP0banZ2dnUVZ_veinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx
>
> Clearly, premature failure is going to eat into your saving, particularly
> if
> you can't get reasonable warranty replacements.  My suggestion is to mark
> all the bulbs going into the can fixtures with a Sharpie so you can tell
> how
> long they last.
> ...
>  I have
> noticed that most of my new light fixtures have much more room around the
> lamp sockets to accommodate the much-larger-than-tungsten CFL lamp bases.
> The failures I had were in older style reflector lamps that accommodated
> large CFL bulbs, but didn't provide a whole lot of space around the
> electronics "bay" of the CFL bulb.

I did mark them all!  We'll just have to hpe for reasonable warranty
replacements (do they ALL require you to send in the bad bulb?  That lmost
defeats the entire purpose since I could almost buy a new one for the same
price.  Oh, good marketing ploy!)
And my recessed lighting cans are just that - complete, empty cans with a
socket in the middle at the top.  So they will have lots of room around the
electronics part of the bulb.  I only now realized this when talking to a
friend who told me that he couldn't get his CFL flood lights to fit into his
precisely because there is no such room.  So maybe I'll be OK here.

> I have kept all my packaging and receipts, but have not sent or returned
> any
> bulbs in a long time since I wanted to keep the bulbs for failure analysis
> and eventual recycling.

Yeah, I keep stuff like that, too.  Too much the engineer -"now why did that
fail the way it did???"


> > But if my X-10 is going to get swamped over time, them I have lost.  Do
> > you
> > also see this with the N:Vision CFLSs?

> My main gripes with N:Vision consist mostly of the flashing of the lights
> after they've been turned out by X-10.
> ...
> The N:Vision bulbs represent a substantial leap in usability and
> reliability, particularly in an X-10 environment and I am thankful that a
> fellow CHA'er pointed them out to me.  But they're still a long way from
> being the functional equivalent of an incandescent bulb.  I suspect
> because
> of the basic design, they'll never reach parity with tungsten bulbs in
> areas
> like watts per cubic inch of lightbulb, steady light output throughout the
> entire life cycle, resistance to high temperatures and ecological safety.

Yeah, the more I study this, the more I agree with you.  It will likely not
be possible to make a fully plug-compatible replaclement CFL for a tungsten.
We just gotta figure out what featuers are imptorant and find the ones that
meet those requirements.

I'll try to call N:Vision and give them the feedback.

> They'll probably eliminate the need for having a neutral at each switch
> box
> on the same day I complete my house rewiring to provide neutrals to each
> switch. )-:

Oh, isn't that the truth!

Jim