[Shop-talk] Dimmable CFLs at Home Depot

[Mullen, J T (IT)]

>> That's not a problem with CFLs.  The problem here is that
>> the person who designed the socket is a moron.  I wouldn't
>> have thought you could screw up something as well defined
>> as an Edison screw base,

> I think what he means is that the silo into which the bulb
> is inserted is conical, conforming to the typical taper of
> an incandescent bulb, with a conventional Edison socket at
< the bottom, while the CF bulb tends to be more cylindrical
> in shape with the transformer at the bottom and won't fit
> all the way into the silo

Exactly what I was meaning.  The shape of the "silo" probably supports
the Edison bulb better, but the CFLs won't fit into it.

> I wouldn't consider a garage door opener to be a good application
> for CF bulbs.  When the door opens, you want the illumination
> right away, instead of having to wait a minute for a CF bulb
> to reach a reasonable brightness.

I don't really worry about the opener's light when I open the door -
it's the other times I need the light.  My opener has an "over-ride" on
the control that turns on the light.  Since I don't have other lighting
(or outlets/circuits to add additional lighting) I use the opener lights
as my work lights in the garage.  Besides saving electricity, the CFLs
should last longer - the regular bulbs tend to fail often (vibrations
possibly?).  I swapped out my regular bulb on my trouble light (hangs
from a reel on the ceiling) to a CFL years ago, and it's still going
strong.  A regular bulb would only last a short time before it would get
jolted a bit too much and fail.  And before anyone mentions it, yes,
I've used the "ruggedized" bulbs, but they really didn't last much
longer (but cost considerably more).

Anyway, that's why I want to install CFLs in my opener...

Tim Mullen

Chantilly, VA