[Vintage-race] Do NOT use CFLs in your garage door opener!

[mhkitchen at aol.com]

All:

Sorry, this isn't vintage racing related, but could be of interest to you!


DO NOT USE CFL light bulbs in your garage door opener (at least not
Genie openers).??? I put some in mine months ago to save energy and get
brighter light with lower power.? They worked for a while, then one day
I noticed the opener "humming".? I touched it and it was red hot!?? The
motor windings had heated up and were dripping melted insulation out of
the opener.? I pulled the plug and let it cool down and tried it.? It
worked twice, then quit.?? I figured it was just old, and needed
replacement.? WRONG, it was the CFLs!? (I had some suspicion they might
not work as they don't work with most dimmers or circuits that don't
use an actual switch or relay to turn them on).



I bought and installed a new Genie opener and called Genie's 800 number
just to check if CFLs would be OK in it.? They said, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!?
If you do, the opener will try to run and burn itself out!"? (exactly
what mine did).?? Turns out, the opener uses electronic switching and
not relays to turn on the light bulbs.? This circuit is like a dimmer
and IS NOT compatible with most CFL bulbs.? I even used bulbs that were
supposed to be dimmable, but it still ended up frying the electronics.?
When that goes, so does other parts of the circuit that drives the
motor and tries to run it a lower power.? It can't actually turn and
just ends up heating up until it fails.?? I'm glad I caught mine before
it caught fire.? It was VERY HOT!? I was surprised the thermal
overloads hadn't stopped it. 



Tell everyone you know, DO NOT PUT CFL bulbs in your garage door opener!?? Pass it on, PLEASE.



Regards,

Myles H. Kitchen
1965 Lotus Cortina Mk1 #128