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Post by lightbulb1 on Apr 3, 2018 19:01:39 GMT -5
never tried to dim them...
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Post by picturefreak on Apr 3, 2018 19:46:15 GMT -5
Apologies to those who don't repair electronics, the "dim bulb tester" is used for debugging and has nothing to do with subdued lighting.
Indeed there are CFL / LEDs that can be safely dimmed, though the cheaper, non dimmable variants of each may go up in flames if you attempt to dim them with "phase control" traditional dimmers.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on Apr 4, 2018 16:50:51 GMT -5
I have seen some LEDs that are marked not to be used with a dimmer, but the package is marked that you can. I think the Chinese mfr. marked the package to increase sales (unless it was a simple error), but the UL required the marking. I wonder if the UL knows about that tactic (if it is one)?
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Post by picturefreak on Apr 4, 2018 18:58:22 GMT -5
If the package has been breached, it could have also been theft  |
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Apr 5, 2018 18:23:05 GMT -5
i still use regular incandescent bulbs 100 60 75 40 25 15 7.5 watts around the house no problems at all...
Either that, or you live somewhere so far north that you really need plenty of waste heat to keep from freezing.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Apr 5, 2018 18:27:31 GMT -5
Had a fixture in my guest bathroom that uses three 60-W candelabra bulbs. Spent a few bucks and relamped it with 7-W LED candelabra bulbs. But the kicker is I can't get my housemates to use the light because they think it's so bright that it must use a lot of electricity!
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Post by picturefreak on Apr 5, 2018 19:49:53 GMT -5
This is true, unless you really need the excess heat generated by incandescents, replacing incandescent bulbs with a cheap LED or CFL will pay itself back in electricity costs before that incandescent (or the next incandescent that would replace it) burns out.
It's sad when you need to talk to people who don't understand science - like people who don't understand things like bright LEDs actually use less energy, and that haphazardly dumping refuse can cause environmental problems...
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Post by picturefreak on Apr 5, 2018 19:51:14 GMT -5
(that is, if you don't get an expensive or garbage LED or CFL that burns out well before their average lifetime.)
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on Apr 7, 2018 18:28:55 GMT -5
What is a dim bulb tester?
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Post by picturefreak on Apr 7, 2018 19:18:49 GMT -5
It's a very simple but elegant way to prevent an electronic device that could be shorted out from causing a fire or causing more damage. The most common use is to save money on fuses.
Basically a properly sized incandescent bulb is stuck in series with the device under test (DUT). With the lamp in series, it is limited to a function of the wattage of the bulb (I never computed it but it's probably less than half). If the DUT is shorted... most of the power gets dissipated in the light bulb if sized correctly with the expected normal power usage of the device.
This has saved me MANY fuses while debugging shorted devices. When the bulb burns brightly, you know the DUT is still shorted or has a lower resistance compared to the bulb. When the bulb stops burning (solidly) brightly you have found/fixed the problem!
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Post by flyboyut on Apr 8, 2018 10:33:02 GMT -5
You folks can have all them new fangled bulbs. I'm glad the wife and I went out and stocked up on the good ol incandescent bulbs we use before they got to be hard to find. We will probably never have to buy any bulbs again as long as we live.
What caused us to do it was the sudden rise in those horrible CFL things and we were told that the old bulbs were being phased out.
Now least you think I'm old fashioned ------ I still have a few usable kerosene lamps that are available if he power goes out.
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Post by picturefreak on Apr 8, 2018 10:55:25 GMT -5
If you haven't tried the LEDs they are worth a try, I think they are up to snuff to replace an incandescent. The huge problem I have with CFL is its warmup time (LEDs do not have this problem), though for many places I don't mind the problem because of the power/thermal saving. It just irks me when I use a heater during the summer while having the AC on.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on Apr 10, 2018 20:56:44 GMT -5
The 99¢ store bulbs are just as good for reading as long as you buy the right color temp. bulbs. The first ones they sold were 5K, which is too daylight and hard on the eyes, but the 3K bulbs are just fine.
I've seen the dim bulb tester many times over the years, but didn't know it had a name like that.
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Post by lightbulb1 on Apr 17, 2018 18:53:24 GMT -5
i still use my regular incandescent bulbs regardless
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2018 0:23:15 GMT -5
I have a mix
Incandescent for things like the bathrooms where the light is only on for less than an hour a day and they can be dimmed way way down for late night bathroom breaks that don't blind me or wake the wife.
PS: before someone freaks out, these bathroom bulbs last us around 10 years before they burn out ....so there not really switched on enough to matter in cost or wasted heat.
CFL's for lights that don't dim and are on for hours every night, like kitchen/hallway lights and that one living room lamp that's on all the time.
Led's for semi-diming like my desk lamp, no real need for deep dimming there.
And yes i do like CFL's they last a long time and when i stocked up Costco they had them for $1.00 for a four pack so i bought enough to last me a while. I even like the yellow like light they put out.
also contrary to what everyone says CFL's do last a long time when you turn them on ONCE every night and off 5-7 hours later, i get 2-3 years out of a bulb.
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