Can’t wait for an MM rant. While I was sitting in my living room recliner on Saturday morning reading the daily newspaper and doing its puzzles, the compact fluorescent bulb in the pole lamp on my right started flickering and, after a very few minutes, it died, i.e., turned itself off, permanently. I went to the closet where I store my light bulbs, (etc.), opened the last of two 12-bulb valu-paks of Sino-Sylvania 13-watt cfls that I bought on sale about 8 years ago, took out one of the really neatly-packed little white cardboard boxes, pulled out a new (er, unused) bulb and replaced the burnt out one.
About noon I went to the principal early voting site and cast my votes for every Democratic candidate, including “unaffiliated” judicial ones, then went to Barnes & Noble, bought a pumpkin spice latte (with soy) and the New York Times, read the latter and worked on the crossword puzzle (got 12 words so far) and had a chicken club sandwich and a pumpkin spice latte (TMI, I know). It gets better, slightly.
Dropped off my recycling at the county’s depot and bought some groceries. Did more errands, and later that evening, got on the Board, in my recliner. While posting thread game stuff, the cfl in the floor lamp on my left side started flickering, and after another very few minutes, it died. Both of said lamps are generally in use daily as we have thermal drapes on all the windows to manage enthalpy.
Now is that two same-batch bulbs dying on the same day inter-unit “sympathy”, just well-planned obsolescence, part of the massive attacking denial of service web hack attacks occurring that day, or just plain coincidence/synchronicity?
A long time ago I had 3 of the 4 headlights on an old Dodge wagon burn out in a single night. The low beams went out first, then I switched to the high beams, A short time later, one of them dropped out. Could have been a voltage that got too high, I guess. But the replacements didn’t burn out.
The good news for the OP is that, in the eight years since he/she purchased those compact fluorescent bulbs, LED bulbs have improved and are cheaper than they were then. They’ll last longer and use less energy than those CFLs.
I have a bunch of CFL’s bought on the same day. They have burned out at completely different times.
Just providing a counterpoint. I suspect if everyone reading this thread does so, we will quickly see that my experience is the common experience and the OP’s experience is a co-incidence.
Yes, and when I first read the title I skipped over it thinking it would be a boring sports rant. Then I thought that the title was meant to be “CFL plaque” and I came in expecting some plague/plaque puns, and in that I am disappoint.
And he won’t have to call Clean Harbors to send a Haz-Mat crew if he breaks one. Good luck disposing the dead ones. Make sure the box you hide them in has no labels…
I have this problem. I figured out that I put all of my original bulbs in at the same time and the ones in my multi-bulb fixtures burnt out at the same time (cuz they had the same use) when I moved in. Then I replaced them with CFLs from the same pack, and they have died in bunches. I have replaced them with LEDs…hopefully I won’t have to change for many more years now.
I use CFLs in my fixtures. They give the light of a 60 watt incandescent and use less than 25% of the electricity. And they’re not expensive. I can get a pack of three for about $2.60. I use the ones labeled “soft white.” They give off a warm glow similar to that of a traditional incandescent bulb.
