Light bulb fire hazard

[Bay_Kat]

Got this in an email this morning, I've been using these bulbs for about a year and haven't had any problems, but this makes you think.

Above is a picture of a CFL light bulb from my bathroom. I turned it on the other day and then smelled smoke after a few minutes. Four inch flames were spewing out of the side of the ballast like a blow torch! I immediately turned off the lights. But I'm sure it would have caused a fire if I was not right there. Imagine if the kids had left the lights on as usual when they were not in the room.

I took the bulb to the Fire Department today to report the incident. The Fireman wasn't at all surprised and said that it was not an uncommon occurrence. Apparently, sometimes when the bulb burns out there is a chance that the ballast can start a fire. He told me that the Fire Marshall had issued reports about the dangers of these bulbs.

Upon doing some Internet research, it seems that bulbs made by "Globe" in China seem to have the lion's share of problems. Lots of fires have been blamed on misuse of CFL bulbs, like using them in recessed lighting, pot lights, dimmers or in track lighting. Mine was not in any of those. It was a normal light socket.

I bought these at Wal-Mart. I will be removing all the Globe bulbs from my house. I have not decided yet if we are going back to incandescent bulbs at this point.

 

[aps45819]

They're all made in China.
Congress has decreed that all our light bulbs will be made in China.
Can't manufacture them here because they contain mercury.
All we can do is throw them in our land fills to contaminate our water supply

 

[ArkRescue]

Hmm so I go check the several brands of bulbs I have and see that they are ALL "Made in China" - pretty scary if that's the case for them all? Do they really COST that much to manufacture to justify the high price?

 

[GWguy]

Hmm so I go check the several brands of bulbs I have and see that they are ALL "Made in China" - pretty scary if that's the case for them all? Do they really COST that much to manufacture to justify the high price?

APS said it; it is made with toxic materials. Between the mandates for manufacturing and the labor cost in the USA, the willingness of China to take those tasks at a substantially reduced manpower cost, yes, it's that much cheaper in China.

That's why nearly everything here today is made in China and why we are being poisoned by their products.

 

[BadGirl]

Hmm so I go check the several brands of bulbs I have and see that they are ALL "Made in China" - pretty scary if that's the case for them all? Do they really COST that much to manufacture to justify the high price?

I don't think it's the cost, but the material. Nobody can make them in the US because of our laws.

Are any of these bulbs have the UL certification??

 

[Bay_Kat]

I don't think it's the cost, but the material. Nobody can make them in the US because of our laws.

Are any of these bulbs have the UL certification??

I have a pack, GE, they are UL listed according to the package.

 

[GWguy]

Are any of these bulbs have the UL certification??

Everyone I have has a UL symbol. Doesn't mean much anymore.
Underwriters Laboratories - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UL does not approve products. Rather it evaluates products, components, materials and systems for compliance to specific requirements, and permits acceptable products to carry a UL certification mark, as long as they remain compliant with the standards.

UL offers several categories of certification. Products under its listing service are said to be “UL Listed,” identified by the distinctive UL mark. In some cases, a component may be “UL Recognized,” meaning UL has found it acceptable for use in a complete UL Listed product. Other products may be “UL Classified” for specific hazards or properties. UL maintains a directory of more than 3 million products through a publicly available, online database.

 

[kwillia]

OMG! I swear I thought it was just a fluke! I had that happen in my computer room last year when I flicked on the light switch. I didn't have a "torch" but most certainly a full burnout. Why the hell are we all being told to turn to these bulbs for the sake of going "green"?

 

[Mongo53]

They do consume less electricity and it is enough to make a difference.

Good point as too whether it justifies the additional hazards.

Keep in mind, if you ever break the glass of a lit conventional bulb, its quite a fire hazard and the most common way for the glass to break, is a lamp is tipped over the bulb contacts the carpet, wallpaper, blinds, etc and could easily set those on fire. My childhood home had a big burn mark in the carpet, where we knocked over a lit conventional bulb lamp and broke the bulb.

Yea, I had to guess, I'd agree the ballast going up like a torch on these CFL bulbs is probably a worse fire hazard, just making the point you should treat any light bulb as a potential fire hazard. Don't get fooled into complacency because one type of bulb will on rare occasions make a larger fire hazard, and then ignore the ever present, even if it lesser in severity, fire hazard that all bulbs present.

Keep in mind, electric and hybrid cars, have additional hazards over conventional cars, whether its shock and fire hazards from accidents or the hundreds of pounds of highly toxic chemicals in the batteries or even the environmental impact of producing and disposing of those hazardous chemicals. The Canadian plant that produces the chemicals for the Toyota Priusis Batteries can be seen from space it is such a huge dead blighted spot on the earth.

 

[mAlice]

The Canadian plant that produces the chemicals for the Toyota Priusis Batteries can be seen from space it is such a huge dead blighted spot on the earth.

I find this amusing.

 

[ArkRescue]

Yeah, can be amusing, but also scary when you think about how little our lives mean to those who are making money and living high without a care as to the effect these products have on their own children, let alone the Country or the world.

Not that I'm saying we need to be "extra" cautious - just that instead of focusing on the mighty $$ as THE #1 goal, we need to ALSO consider our own health in the process. That in itself can be another whole can of worms I know sadly .....

I find this amusing.

 

[MMDad]

just that instead of focusing on the mighty $$ as THE #1 goal,

$$$ isn't the goal - at least that's what they claim. They're saving the planet from those evil incandescent bulbs that cost less and are non-toxic.

Same with the hybrid batteries. Very nasty stuff. But as long as people can get that status symbol who cares? Look at how many hybrids you see with just a driver. A minivan with 7 people is three times as efficient as a hybrid with one person.

It's about money to some people, but only if they are among the chosen few. That's an inconvenient truth, isn't it?

 

[ArkRescue]

Regardless of the way items are promoted, the ultimate goal is make money, period. It's always in their interest to SAY whatever it takes to appeal to the masses to get it sold.

So they can SAY it's about saving the planet., and encourage people to get on board, but what they care MOST about is the $$ they pocket, believe me.

$$$ isn't the goal - at least that's what they claim. They're saving the planet from those evil incandescent bulbs that cost less and are non-toxic.

Same with the hybrid batteries. Very nasty stuff. But as long as people can get that status symbol who cares? Look at how many hybrids you see with just a driver. A minivan with 7 people is three times as efficient as a hybrid with one person.

It's about money to some people, but only if they are among the chosen few. That's an inconvenient truth, isn't it?

 

[Mongo53]

Money Makes the World Go Round;

-BUT-

Integrity Holds it Together


Without one of the two, the world does NOT turn -OR- it spins out of control and comes apart.

Remember money is only a good faith check for exchanging goods and services, before or without it, we would be reduced to trading what we had on hand or services, money makes life so much more efficient.

 

[Justme2]

food for thought

Regular Bulbs I had a clip on lamp as a light. that was on for a long period of time and exposed straight up at the ceiling.

The bulb was hot spraying lysol to kill an odor in the room above the light bulb exploded shot glass everywhere.

DON'T DO THIS WITH AERSOLS BULB HOT SPRAY COLD.

 

[Mongo53]

Regular Bulbs I had a clip on lamp as a light. that was on for a long period of time and exposed straight up at the ceiling.

The bulb was hot spraying lysol to kill an odor in the room above the light bulb exploded shot glass everywhere.

DON'T DO THIS WITH AERSOLS BULB HOT SPRAY COLD.

Wow, were you in a rush, we all make mistakes when typing out a quick reply, and I hate to be the grammar police, but you might want to rephrase, I can barely make out what your trying to say, something about spraying Lysol on a cold bulb, let me guess, the bulb shattered?

 

[EmptyTimCup]

Lots of fires have been blamed on misuse of CFL bulbs, like using them in recessed lighting, pot lights, dimmers or in track lighting.

ok not using them with a dimmer ok,

but what is one to use, since the Congress Critters banned incandescent bulbs ...

 

[Mongo53]

Lots of fires have been blamed on misuse of CFL bulbs, like using them in recessed lighting, pot lights, dimmers or in track lighting.

ok not using them with a dimmer ok,

but what is one to use, since the Congress Critters banned incandescent bulbs ...

OK, why can you NOT use CFL in recessed lighting, pot lights, dimmers or track lighting?

I thought dimmers work on a different concept for incandescent bulbs and it just doesn't work with CFL, unless the CFL is equipped to work with dimming, which its labeled as a "dimming bulb". What the varying voltage mess with the ballast?

CFL run cooler and use less power than incandescent bulbs, so why would they be bad in recessed lighting, pot or track lighting? As long as they fit, which is often a problem.

Congress banned incandescent bulbs?? I know there was talk about it, but I still see more incandescent bulbs in the store than CFL.

 

[kwillia]

If you break a bulb: DO NOT VACUUM! Doing so disperses particles even more and then traps the mercury in your vac bag - possibly to be dispersed each time you use your vacuum after that! Keep children and pets away from the ventilated area for at least 15 minutes so vapors can evaporate. Clean up by hand using disposable materials including disposable rubber gloves and a stiff piece of cardboard to collect the pieces by sweeping them onto the board with damp paper towels. Put pieces and cardboard into a sealed plastic bag.

Read more at Suite101: The Dark Side of Light Bulbs: Educate Yourself on the Dangers of Using the new CFLs The Dark Side of Light Bulbs: Educate Yourself on the Dangers of Using the new CFLs

 

[GWguy]

OK, why can you NOT use CFL in recessed lighting, pot lights, dimmers or track lighting?

I thought dimmers work on a different concept for incandescent bulbs and it just doesn't work with CFL, unless the CFL is equipped to work with dimming, which its labeled as a "dimming bulb". What the varying voltage mess with the ballast?

CFL run cooler and use less power than incandescent bulbs, so why would they be bad in recessed lighting, pot or track lighting? As long as they fit, which is often a problem.

Congress banned incandescent bulbs?? I know there was talk about it, but I still see more incandescent bulbs in the store than CFL.

They use a ballast to raise the voltage to be able to trigger the fluorescent action. CFLs are not cooler than an incandescent, try grabbing the base of one after it's been on a while. They need air flow to stay cool, and putting them in a tophat or recessed lighting fixture lets them get too hot and the ballast burns up. As far as a dimmer, these are no different than the shop lights in the garage. You can't put a dimmer on those either. Fluorescent lights require a minimum voltage to begin to fluoresce, they are either on or off, no in between or dimming. Dropping the input voltage to the ballast will just cause it to burn up over time.