Author Topic: The CFL Fraud  (Read 3330 times)

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Online Pandora

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The CFL Fraud
« on: April 22, 2011, 02:08:07 PM »
I had not heard of CFLs exploding; evidently it's not uncommon and the results can be dire.  When's the last time an incandescent bulb simply going bad started a house fire instead of turning black and dead?

Quote
A compact fluorescent light (CFL) on the ceiling burst and started a fire in a home in Hornell, N.Y. December 23, 2010.  "Those are the lights everybody's been telling us to use," said Joe Gerych, Steuben County Fire Inspector.  "It blew up like a bomb. It spattered all over."  Fire Chief Mike Robbins said the blaze destroyed the room where the fire started and everything in it, and the rest of the house suffered smoke and water damage.  The Arkport Village Fire Department as well as the North Hornell Fire Department required about 15 minutes to put out the fire. Link

    "Bulb explodes without warning," reported NBCactionnews.com, May 21, 2010.
 
    "Tom and Nancy Heim were watching TV recently, when Tom decided to turn on the floor lamp next to his recliner chair.  'I heard this loud pop...I saw what I thought was smoke, coming out of the top of the floor lamp,' says Tom.  Nancy suddenly found glass in her lap.  She says, 'I did not see it. I just heard it, and I noticed I had glass on me.'" Link


On February 23, 2011, TV NewsChannel 5 in Tennessee covered "a newly-released investigators' report that blames a February 12 fatal fire in Gallatin on one of those CFL bulbs."  Ben Rose, an attorney for the rehabilitative facility in which Douglas Johnson, 45, perished, said, "This result is consistent with our own private investigation. ...We have heard reports of similar fires being initiated by CFLs across the country." Link

Here are some examples from across the country:

    "GE Helical 13 Watt light bulb.  After only 6 months of use.  This bulb started making funny noises and flickering... Finally, exploded on my kitchen table." -- Charles of South Webster, OH January 30, 2010. Link 

    "My GE 20W Helical bulb in my 1/2 bathroom caught on fire on 5/3/10.  The bulb snapped and glowed very brightly then caught on fire....The bulb was suppose to last 5 years but it was only about a year or so old.  I tried replacing it with a GE 26W bulb and the same thing happened immediately." -- Chantelle of Danville, PA May 15, 2010  Link

    "My 80 year old mother turned on her reading lamp and the bulb exploded and the lamp shade caught fire.  She unpluged the lamp from the wall and the fire went out thank God." -- M. of Lahaina, HI March 30, 2010  Link

    "I turned on an overhead bathroom light bulb and heard a pop and it exploded falling into the bathroom sink.  Nearly all of he flying glass went straight down so little damage was done; however, I was very thankful it did not get in my eyes." -- Patricia of Sammamish, WA October 20, 2010 Link   

    "We purchased a 3-way light bulb this past year. [Special 3-way CFLs are made but cost more.]  Last night the bulb started a fire in the lamp....Had we not been there our house might have burned down." -- Tina of Redding, CT July 10, 2010  Link 

    "I had a desk lamp CFL burn up right in front of me.  Switched it on and tiny sparks were emanating like a Van de Graaff generator.  Quickly switched it off; the plastic around the ballast was cracked and smoking" -- Nisshin, November 30, 2008 Link


October 5, 2010 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported: "Trisonic Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Recalled Due to Fire Hazard" because of four incidents.  It's official notice states: "Hazard: light bulb can overheat and catch fire." Link

Concerns about the toxic mercury in CFLs are downplayed by the bulbs' advocates, but they shouldn't be.  According to EPA and other sources, the safe limit is 300 nanograms per cubic meter.  When a broken CFL was reported in Maine, the state's Department of Environmental Protection did the most extensive testing in the nation to evaluate the health risk.  Its 160-page report is shocking:

Link

If you thought what .gov advises for cleaning up in case of breakage was overly complicated, check the link.

There's a lot they're NOT telling us.
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charlesoakwood

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2011, 02:22:43 PM »

I dropped one to the floor. It didn't break but the glass bulb separated from the base.

These things are a waste, they are sensitive to voltage fluctuations which will cause them to fail, they don't last as long as traditional bulbs, and they cost too much.

Now, it will be necessary to replace these toxic hazards because they blow up.
Pushang.


Online Pandora

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2011, 02:36:26 PM »
I followed this link in AT's comments and discovered this:

Quote
The lower hanging fruit is already being captured in California. The compact fluorescent light bulbs, which largely came out of this laboratory, the double-paned windows with the infrared coatings, which also came out of Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The insulation standards, all of those things, are being captured today.

Which is "this" laboratory?  It's the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, of which Steven Chu was the Director in 2008.

In case you don't know who Steven Chu is, check the link, then reread the quoted paragraph and ponder from whence comes the idea of "stimulus" money used for upgrading weatherstripping.

"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2011, 11:10:33 AM »
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Offline Glock32

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2011, 11:30:24 AM »
It's now being reported that one of their vaunted advantages -- a lifetime of several years -- is greatly exaggerated. When used in places like bathrooms and hallways where lights are frequently turned on for short periods, and then turned off again, they have a greatly reduced lifespan.

I willfully use them in a few places, my bedside reading lamp because it puts out the same lumens as a 100 watt bulb without getting as hot, and in some difficult to reach locations where it's a PITA to frequently change bulbs. But now I'm reading more and more about these things catching on fire.

Can you imagine the reaction of the Framers if you told them that one day the Federal government would have so inserted itself into the lives of individual citizens that it dictates their choices for mundane household commodities? This government is so completely out of control I don't know that it will ever be put back in its place, short of a total collapse of civilization.
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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #5 on: April 26, 2011, 11:37:34 AM »

Can you imagine the reaction of the Framers if you told them that one day the Federal government would have so inserted itself into the lives of individual citizens that it dictates their choices for mundane household commodities? This government is so completely out of control I don't know that it will ever be put back in its place, short of a total collapse of civilization.

I'm thinking the framers would think they didn't have it so bad pre-DOI as we do now!

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Offline Libertas

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2011, 12:09:23 PM »
So, what do ya'll think would happen if we all mailed these damend things to DC and told them where to stick 'em?!

I gotta tell ya, I'd really like to do it!
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2011, 12:25:47 PM »
So, what do ya'll think would happen if we all mailed these damend things to DC and told them where to stick 'em?!

I gotta tell ya, I'd really like to do it!

One of many tactics that would be useful I think.

But there needs to be many efforts aimed at the local level. Look at how effective the townhalls were. 

Bug the local officials (and the state/national ones when they show up in their districts).

Lots of calls to the mayor might be more effective than calling a US congressman who already thinks he has too much to do. Imagine if the citizens show up at council meetings complaining about disposal of lightbulbs in their community.  That would make the local news and the internet.
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Offline Sectionhand

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #8 on: April 26, 2011, 01:23:50 PM »
I've been against them from the beginning for a myriad of reasons from safety to cost . We can only hope that more practical minds prevail and incandescents regain their place in the market .

RickZ

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2011, 01:26:41 PM »
I've been against them from the beginning for a myriad of reasons from safety to cost . We can only hope that more practical minds prevail and incandescents regain their place in the market .

I hope you're right, but think of the cost to manufacturers now of retooling.  What a waste of capital.  Just like Hell Care 'Reform' which the Supreme Court, in their finite wisdom, have decided to take a 2nd and short punt.

Offline Sectionhand

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2011, 01:34:03 PM »
I've been against them from the beginning for a myriad of reasons from safety to cost . We can only hope that more practical minds prevail and incandescents regain their place in the market .

I hope you're right, but think of the cost to manufacturers now of retooling.  What a waste of capital.  Just like Hell Care 'Reform' which the Supreme Court, in their finite wisdom, have decided to take a 2nd and short punt.

The equipment is still there unless companies like Phillips and G.E. shipped it off to Padagonia or some other Godforsaken place .

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2011, 01:36:34 PM »

The equipment is still there unless companies like Phillips and G.E. shipped it off to Padagonia or some other Godforsaken place .

Then Padagonia could increase their GNP by manufacturing them.
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Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2011, 01:39:01 PM »
I have quite a stock of incandescent bulbs. My wife suffers from migraines, so it was worth the investment. We've probably got enough to last a decade or so. It boggles my mind that this ridiculous gift to GE under the guise of Global Warming policy has not been undone ten times over. We truly have no representation in DC.
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RickZ

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #13 on: April 26, 2011, 01:45:39 PM »
I've been against them from the beginning for a myriad of reasons from safety to cost . We can only hope that more practical minds prevail and incandescents regain their place in the market .

I hope you're right, but think of the cost to manufacturers now of retooling.  What a waste of capital.  Just like Hell Care 'Reform' which the Supreme Court, in their finite wisdom, have decided to take a 2nd and short punt.

The equipment is still there unless companies like Phillips and G.E. shipped it off to Padagonia or some other Godforsaken place .

If the equipment is still there, and that's a big if considering the limited manufacturing space most assembly plants have, it will still take time and money to reset that equipment up to production levels while removing the CFL production equipment.  A real waste of employee time, which is money, to produce nothing.  When it comes to waste, another Obama success story!

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #14 on: April 26, 2011, 01:48:35 PM »
We've probably got enough to last a decade or so.

I've been trying to figure this out--how many to buy. I bought some but not nearly enough to really matter.  I've never given much thought to how many we use in a year. And then I'm stumped by where to store them all and whether they would last in storage. I've started buying whenever I'm shopping somewhere that has them .  I don't get too many at a time so as not to make anyone question what I'm doing.

I guess my biggest concern is will they last in storage.
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Offline Glock32

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #15 on: April 26, 2011, 02:31:40 PM »
It's supposed to be a tiered phase out, with the 100w going, then the 75w, and finally the 60w. If you use the higher wattage bulbs, get those first because they'll be gone first.

This is so stupid, so asinine that only highly educated liberals could think of it.
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Offline Sectionhand

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #16 on: April 26, 2011, 02:38:16 PM »
I've been against them from the beginning for a myriad of reasons from safety to cost . We can only hope that more practical minds prevail and incandescents regain their place in the market .

I hope you're right, but think of the cost to manufacturers now of retooling.  What a waste of capital.  Just like Hell Care 'Reform' which the Supreme Court, in their finite wisdom, have decided to take a 2nd and short punt.

The equipment is still there unless companies like Phillips and G.E. shipped it off to Padagonia or some other Godforsaken place .

If the equipment is still there, and that's a big if considering the limited manufacturing space most assembly plants have, it will still take time and money to reset that equipment up to production levels while removing the CFL production equipment.  A real waste of employee time, which is money, to produce nothing.  When it comes to waste, another Obama success story!

That could be done more quickly than you think . But the big problem is with companies like G.E. who have so much invested in the CFL concept . The Mucho Millions in equipment investment was nothing compared to the promotional and informational expenses they've incurred and the fact that G.E. is staking it's reputation ( such as it is ) on this travesty .

Online Pandora

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #17 on: April 26, 2011, 02:38:56 PM »
We've probably got enough to last a decade or so.

I've been trying to figure this out--how many to buy. I bought some but not nearly enough to really matter.  I've never given much thought to how many we use in a year. And then I'm stumped by where to store them all and whether they would last in storage. I've started buying whenever I'm shopping somewhere that has them .  I don't get too many at a time so as not to make anyone question what I'm doing.

I guess my biggest concern is will they last in storage.

Depends where you put them.  I imagine a large plastic tote in a climate-controlled environment, like an indoor closet, will keep them just fine.

I've stocked up first on the bulbs for that which we use the most -- certain lamps, fixtures and such -- and then went to an assortment of general-use wattages.  (Why doesn't the spell check like wattages?)

I was surprised to observe the ones we run through the fastest and most often are the night-light bulbs.
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Offline Libertas

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #18 on: April 26, 2011, 02:58:30 PM »
I put mine in totes, was buying them a few at a time every time into the store...have enough to last quite a while!

 ;)
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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: The CFL Fraud
« Reply #19 on: April 26, 2011, 03:23:38 PM »
Somehow I missed it was a phase out.  I mostly use 60 so that's what I've been buying.  But if I can find them I'll buy some 100's just for the heck of it. Now than Pan mentioned I realized I better see what other light bulbs we use.  I use the regular old 60 watt for lamps most often but now I realize there are others around the house that we don't replace often but I sure wouldn't want to put the new ones in--I better go check out what kind they are.

We don't have AC and not many closets soooo....I guess I'll stock up and worry about that later!
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