# Can I purchase 80 or 100 watt equivalent CFL or LED lights with a candelabra base? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120 "2010-11-18T18:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120/21 "2010-11-18T22:46:46Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Never heard of Mennards. Maybe I can find them online. they are an upper midwest USA home improvement store with one n, similar to Lowes and Home Depot. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120/22 "2010-11-18T22:50:26Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > The other issue is that the two control chains are ridiculously short. It’s like the thing was intended for a small room with a low ceiling. if it is a hallway fixture it would put out not a lot of light as a task light and it would have a short chain to keep from running into. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120/23 "2010-11-18T23:13:59Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Given the fires that have occurred with CFL’s I hope the LED’s aren’t going to follow suit. Maybe we should gravitate towards a DC lighting system in new houses that feed off a central converter that can sit in a nice fire proof housing outside. It would be really easy to retrofit a one story house with an attic. Can you provide any cites that talk about CFL fires? This is the first I’ve heard of it, and my house is full of them. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120/24 "2010-11-18T23:43:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Can you provide any cites that talk about CFL fires? This is the first I’ve heard of it, and my house is full of them. :eek: I also have a house full of them and love them particularly since I can buy them for 26 cents apiece. [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cflbulb.asp)says there are no documented cases. However, you can read many claims of fires started by them. I don’t know who to believe but I’ve had two that went out with the drama described by Snopes as a resistor that acts like a fuse. I wasn’t too pleased by the electrical draw that occurred just before it happened. The other lights in the fixture dimmed significantly (IE, an electrical short). Scared the crap out of me because I didn’t realize it was the bulb causing the problem. Certainly one doesn’t want a standard CFL on a dimmer circuit but what happens when your house current dips because of outside events? Crap happens. Do you know when your house current dips to 90 volts? I’ve been in that situation before and was alerted by a computer CRT screen acting funny. I wouldn’t have known otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120/25 "2010-11-19T01:05:05Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > if it is a hallway fixture it would put out not a lot of light as a task light and it would have a short chain to keep from running into. Do they make ceiling fans for hallways? In any case, I don’t think the blades on this one are short enough for a hallway. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120/26 "2010-11-19T01:40:35Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > if it is a hallway fixture it would put out not a lot of light as a task light and it would have a short chain to keep from running into. > [@davidm](#): > > Do they make ceiling fans for hallways? > > In any case, I don’t think the blades on this one are short enough for a hallway. i interpreted the OP that the light/fan was replaced by a light fixture not by another light/fan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-purchase-80-or-100-watt-equivalent-cfl-or-led-lights-with-a-candelabra-base/561120.md?page=1)