Blowing many light bulbs. Why??

[Ron Taylor]

I see lots of good electrical advice here. Maybe someone can help me.

I have several standard incandescent light fixtures in my shop. These are temporary until I get the ceiling finished and install permanent flourescent. Note temporary here and I did purchase the lowest price fixtures I could find. They are plastic, two wire, single bulb fixtures similar to the old ceramic type.

My problem is that I'm constantly having to change bulbs. I've purchased cheap bulbs, moderately priced bulbs, and high price bulbs. It seems that I get about the same service life from all. That is usually only a few weeks. Sometimes it is even less. I have multiple light circuits and they all seem to be the same. They all need replacing often. I literally buy them by the dozen so I have ample supply.

Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions for solutions?

Ron

[Scott Loven]

I have certain locations in the house that are very hard on bulbs. I think the problem is vibration more so then hours.
Scott

[Dan Oelke]

I've run into similar problems - I think vibration, AND how much heat can build up around the bulb both have a big impact.

I replaced them with some compact florescents (relatively cheap ones too) and have not had many problems since.

[Bruce Overholt]

In my experience with my electrical business I had fifteen years ago, I found that as mentioned, Vibration usual suspect. Another common cause is a weak light bulb socket, and feed through wiring configurations.
I also found that Line Voltages, which in my home is 125.5 volts, affects the useful life of bulbs. You may want to try long-life rated bulbs which are rated at 130v. In one instance the power company helped me diagnose a home with a poor ground causing a high voltage backfeed on the Solid Neutral.

Bruce

[Don Baer]

I had a similar problem with the one in the laundry. I replaced it with one of the florecent screw in type from HD 3 years ago and the problem went away.

[John Hart]

Ron,

I think what you are experiencing is a heat problem. In some cases, generally with the less expensive fixtures, the ceramic absorbs the heat from the light and doesn't dissipate efficiently. The inevitable ramp in temperature reduces the life of the bulb. It is also potentially dangerous with fixtures that are mounted to uninsulated wood surfaces where small chips and splinters can ignite.

[Jim Dannels]

First and most likely is a bad ground.
Second may be voltage fluctuation from the feed.

Transformers are not changed till they blow.

[John Shuk]

Vibration, My basement eats bulbs like crazy thanks to a 2 and a 4 year old running around above it.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I used to eat them as well in the shop, but thats because I would swing boards around and hit them!

Glad to know it is vibration, my garage door opener goes through bulbs like crazy, the next one will be a florecent.

[Charles Hans]

Jeff it's strange that you mentioned a flourescent lamp for your garage door opener,. I tried replacing the light in our's with the flourescent and it would not come on when the opener was activated, I have yet to figure out why that is?
I also was having a problem with the lamps going bad from vibration, I replaced the last one with a rough service bulb and so far so good.
Chuck

[Dave Wright #2]

You didn't mention how bulbs do in the rest of the house. We experienced short bulb life when we moved into the house. I metered a few of the outlets. Pretty consistent 125 volts, so the house was running hot. We had Duke Power come out and retap the transformer. That brought us down to 118 - 120 depending on where in the house. Problem solved. We now get normal bulb life. We have found that name brand bulbs are a better choice. They have better lumen and life ratings, which is probably due to more consistent filament gauge and material. They also are less likely to fail in bizarre ways (like the glass separating from the metal).

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I used to eat them as well in the shop, but thats because I would swing boards around and hit them!

Glad to know it is vibration, my garage door opener goes through bulbs like crazy, the next one will be a florecent.

Jeff, They sell special bulbs for openers. They have heavier filaments that don't break from the motor vibration. I think I've seen them in HD or Lowes. Alan in Md.

[Roger Myers]

1 - Vibration (you can buy rough service bulbs - they have extra filament supports) from floor above
2- high line voltage (you can buy 130V bulbs)..check the voltage. Small difference in voltage = big difference in life, especially when coupled with item 1 or 3, or any combo of the 3
3 - cheap bulbs (there is a difference) - disclaimer, I work for a major US mfg. of light bulbs, so I have a significant bias, and a fair amount of experience. You buy quality tools...buy quality light bulbs!

Roger

[Ron Taylor]

Thanks for all of the replys. I've found at least a couple of things to check.

I suppose the first major item will be the ground. I pulled 4 wires from my main panel to the shop subpanel, about 75 feet. Code actually calls for an earth ground rod at each sub panel and thus far, I haven't put one in the ground. Now that several have mentioned ground as a potential culprit, its time to get on the ball and get'er done.

In my case, I think vibration is the least likely suspect. My shop is a stand-alone, single level building on concrete slab. All of the heavy equipment is sitting on the slab. Light fixtures are on the ceiling. I'm sure some vibration is transmitted through the floor to the walls, then to the rafters, but I really don't believe it could be that much. And, I'm a weekender, so zero vibration five days of the week.

Heat is a pretty good target. As mentioned, all of my light fixtures are CHEAP, as in 65 cents each, plastic with molded plastic sockets. They are both hot and poor connectors. I'll put in a better fixture as a reference and see how it goes. And, maybe this is a good motivation to get that ceiling finished so I can put in permanent lighting. My eyes need it as well.

Thanks again for the replies.

[Mike Deschler]

1 - Vibration (you can buy rough service bulbs - they have extra filament supports) from floor above
2- high line voltage (you can buy 130V bulbs)..check the voltage. Small difference in voltage = big difference in life, especially when coupled with item 1 or 3, or any combo of the 3
3 - cheap bulbs (there is a difference) - disclaimer, I work for a major US mfg. of light bulbs, so I have a significant bias, and a fair amount of experience. You buy quality tools...buy quality light bulbs!

Roger

Roger:

Quality and bulb life is very important to me, who is the best manufacturer, especially American made?