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Home > Archive > Alternative Power sources > November 2007 > CFL Repair
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| Ok, I know a dozen people here have said how easy it is to repair these
little buggers when they go out, so I figgered I'd ask. I have a
Chinese-made CFL18ROHS, Great Value brand (WalMart) 75w equivalent. How does
one go about opening it to R&R the capacitor that I hear is always the
problem? It lasted about 10 seconds..... There is a Radio Shack nearby.
Jim
| |
| Steve Cothran 2007-11-07, 9:25 am |
| On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 20:48:06 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
There is a Radio Shack nearby.
> Jim
>
Probably a Wal-Mart nearby too. Present the bulb to the return desk,
they will give you another hopefully good one, and save your solder
for another day.
| |
|
|
"Steve Cothran" <fake@fake.com> wrote in message
news:fik3j3dodm5lh9ofl9geq3v7cdgs0oaqh1@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 20:48:06 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
> There is a Radio Shack nearby.
>
> Probably a Wal-Mart nearby too. Present the bulb to the return desk,
> they will give you another hopefully good one, and save your solder
> for another day.
This isn't the only one....
Annnd, the line at the return desk is like DMV! LOL!!
| |
| Dmitri 2007-11-07, 1:25 pm |
| Jim wrote:
> Ok, I know a dozen people here have said how easy it is to repair
> these
> little buggers when they go out, so I figgered I'd ask. I have a
> Chinese-made CFL18ROHS, Great Value brand (WalMart) 75w equivalent. How
> does
> one go about opening it to R&R the capacitor that I hear is always
> the
> problem? It lasted about 10 seconds..... There is a Radio Shack nearby.
> Jim
I don't believe "easy" is the right word. "tricky" and "dangerous" seem a
bit more appropriate. A bulb drop-in replacement CFL is definitely at the
pinnacle of the "no serviceable parts inside" concept.
Best Regards,
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
http://www.cabling-design.com/homecabling/
Home Cabling Guide, Cabling Forum, color codes, pinouts and other useful
resources for premises cabling users and pros
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| Neon John 2007-11-07, 1:25 pm |
| On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 20:48:06 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
> Ok, I know a dozen people here have said how easy it is to repair these
>little buggers when they go out, so I figgered I'd ask. I have a
>Chinese-made CFL18ROHS, Great Value brand (WalMart) 75w equivalent. How does
>one go about opening it to R&R the capacitor that I hear is always the
>problem? It lasted about 10 seconds..... There is a Radio Shack nearby.
Normally it's just a matter of prying the case apart, as it usually just snaps
together.
That sounds like a random infant mortality to me and probably not a cap failure. The
cap(s) normally fail after some use and heat soak. Unfortunately when the cap fails,
the raw ripple makes the control chip do funky things that usually burns out one or
both filaments. I've not had much luck repairing the things for that reason. The
cap is a 105 deg C rated cap that you won't get at Rat Shack. Any lower rated cap
will quickly fail.
John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
If stupidity hurt then they'd be putting morphine in the water supply.
| |
|
|
"Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote in message
news:h2u3j317che906rnf3kq5qp81kp1qboubl@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 20:48:06 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
>
> Normally it's just a matter of prying the case apart, as it usually just
> snaps
> together.
>
> That sounds like a random infant mortality to me and probably not a cap
> failure. The
> cap(s) normally fail after some use and heat soak. Unfortunately when the
> cap fails,
> the raw ripple makes the control chip do funky things that usually burns
> out one or
> both filaments. I've not had much luck repairing the things for that
> reason. The
> cap is a 105 deg C rated cap that you won't get at Rat Shack. Any lower
> rated cap
> will quickly fail.
Hi NJ,
Okra-dokra. I must say it is infuriating to buy these and have to send
the bulb back to get a replacement when the few nVision bulbs from Home
Depot that have failed were replaced just by calling their toll-free number
and reading the date code off the bulb. New ones came in a week or less.
Chinese crap!
We should stick with just eating their cooking!!! LOL!!!
regards,
Jim
>
> John
> --
> John De Armond
> See my website for my current email address
> http://www.neon-john.com
> http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
> Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
> If stupidity hurt then they'd be putting morphine in the water supply.
>
| |
| Neon John 2007-11-07, 8:25 pm |
| On Wed, 7 Nov 2007 15:07:20 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
> Hi NJ,
> Okra-dokra. I must say it is infuriating to buy these and have to send
>the bulb back to get a replacement when the few nVision bulbs from Home
>Depot that have failed were replaced just by calling their toll-free number
>and reading the date code off the bulb. New ones came in a week or less.
>Chinese crap!
Before you get too cranked, consider what you paid for what you got. I usually buy
my CF lamps at Sam's Club in bulk. Usually GE branded, though that doesn't really
matter - they're all essentially alike on the inside. Probably no more than $2 for
each lamp. A remarkable achievement when you think about it. I haven't had any
infant mortalities yet, despite doing a whole-house replacement both here and at my
mom's house. A few failed prematurely but that's to be expected with electronics
that are operated at the hairy edge.
I bet you paid closer to $7 or $8 for that lamp at Home Despot. That price financed
that toll-free number and that "free" replacement.
A vendor at the local mexican flea market has been selling no-name "60 watt" CFLs for
$1 each. Unfortunately they use 8K phosphor (very cool white) so they're not all
that welcome in the home. In the shop and other places where color temperature
doesn't matter much, they're a winner. I STILL don't understand how they can go from
raw materials to the consumer's hands for a buck! Remarkable.
> We should stick with just eating their cooking!!! LOL!!!
Can't do that. I swore off cat and dog several years ago!
John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
I'm going crazy. Wanna come along?
| |
|
| "Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote in message
news:b9l4j3p6vnp6vjjaeim20kmc3m8v468nhr@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 7 Nov 2007 15:07:20 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> Before you get too cranked, consider what you paid for what you got. I
> usually buy
> my CF lamps at Sam's Club in bulk. Usually GE branded, though that
> doesn't really
> matter - they're all essentially alike on the inside. Probably no more
> than $2 for
> each lamp. A remarkable achievement when you think about it. I haven't
> had any
> infant mortalities yet, despite doing a whole-house replacement both here
> and at my
> mom's house.
I had one at the house I just sold, and one at the house where I live
now. Both were El-Cheapo Hecho In China brandola.
A few failed prematurely but that's to be expected with electronics
> that are operated at the hairy edge.
>
> I bet you paid closer to $7 or $8 for that lamp at Home Despot.
No sir; they were 9.97/6pk! :-)
That price financed
> that toll-free number and that "free" replacement.
>
> A vendor at the local mexican flea market has been selling no-name "60
> watt" CFLs for
> $1 each. Unfortunately they use 8K phosphor (very cool white) so they're
> not all
> that welcome in the home. In the shop and other places where color
> temperature
> doesn't matter much, they're a winner. I STILL don't understand how they
> can go from
> raw materials to the consumer's hands for a buck! Remarkable.
Get it while you can, it won't last long. The ChiComs won't be happy
living on 10 cents a day and a bowl of rice forever.
What gets me is that it can be made so cheaply AND shipped around the
world......
>
>
> Can't do that. I swore off cat and dog several years ago!
Confucius say: Is not good to mix cat with dog. <eg>
>
> John
> --
> John De Armond
> See my website for my current email address
> http://www.neon-john.com
> http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
> Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
> I'm going crazy. Wanna come along?
>
| |
| clare at snyder.on.ca 2007-11-08, 3:25 am |
| On Wed, 7 Nov 2007 18:32:08 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
> Get it while you can, it won't last long. The ChiComs won't be happy
>living on 10 cents a day and a bowl of rice forever.
> What gets me is that it can be made so cheaply AND shipped around the
>world......
>
It can't, and there's the rub.You are talking state owned business.
You are talking "buying market share". You are talking "dumping". You
are talking "eliminating the competition"
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
| |
| Arnold Walker 2007-11-08, 3:25 am |
|
"Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote in message
news:RNsYi.3175$852.147@newssvr17.news.prodigy.net...
> "Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote in message
> news:b9l4j3p6vnp6vjjaeim20kmc3m8v468nhr@4ax.com...
>
> I had one at the house I just sold, and one at the house where I live
> now. Both were El-Cheapo Hecho In China brandola.
>
> A few failed prematurely but that's to be expected with electronics
>
> No sir; they were 9.97/6pk! :-)
>
> That price financed
>
> Get it while you can, it won't last long. The ChiComs won't be happy
> living on 10 cents a day and a bowl of rice forever.
> What gets me is that it can be made so cheaply AND shipped around the
> world......
>
>
>
> Confucius say: Is not good to mix cat with dog. <eg>
>
Wish it was that simple ....the ChiComms also had their PetrolChina IPO
formed recently to finance oil production operations off the coast of the
our South American friend, that thought he smelled sulfur at the UN.
There is some talk of near Havana and Mexico,as well....
At the same time China is switching to other currencies for a
standard....which puts 1.7trillion dollars of reserve on the line.
Plus we are having to tighten down on enforcement of safety at the FDA
,because of them.
Plus you hear about them worried about banned books showing up in the
olympic village...bible ,koran,etc.
One wonders if they are working on open trade.....or a new weapon , hostile
economics.
Or for that matter what the next shoe is going to be....
>
>
>
----== Posted via droptable.com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
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|
|
<clare at snyder.on.ca> wrote in message
news:ao15j35su6fr3sl4sc1ctd3sb41i2eklpc@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 7 Nov 2007 18:32:08 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> It can't, and there's the rub.You are talking state owned business.
> You are talking "buying market share". You are talking "dumping". You
> are talking "eliminating the competition"
Yup. What will we do when we don't =have= any factories to make all the
things that go up in price 500% overnight? I'm just glad someone else
understands all these things, because folks just look at me funny when I
tell them this is not the Beginning of the Golden Age.
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>
| |
|
|
"Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote in message
news:RNpYi.1124$0Q5.748@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com...
>
> "Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote in message
> news:h2u3j317che906rnf3kq5qp81kp1qboubl@4ax.com...
>
> Hi NJ,
> Okra-dokra. I must say it is infuriating to buy these and have to send the
> bulb back to get a replacement when the few nVision bulbs from Home Depot that
> have failed were replaced just by calling their toll-free number and reading
> the date code off the bulb. New ones came in a week or less. Chinese crap!
> We should stick with just eating their cooking!!! LOL!!!
> regards,
Just take it back to the store and tell them it died immediately. They'll
probably give you your money back. It worked for me at H.D.
Bob
| |
| Neon John 2007-11-08, 1:25 pm |
| On Thu, 8 Nov 2007 09:05:02 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
><clare at snyder.on.ca> wrote in message
>news:ao15j35su6fr3sl4sc1ctd3sb41i2eklpc@4ax.com...
You're talking "not knowing what you're talking about."
[color=darkred]
>
> Yup. What will we do when we don't =have= any factories to make all the
>things that go up in price 500% overnight? I'm just glad someone else
>understands all these things, because folks just look at me funny when I
>tell them this is not the Beginning of the Golden Age.
If you're going to fear something at least know what it is.
Suggest you read this article
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200707/shenzhen
Which reflects my (little) experience with modern ChiCom manufacturing. Note
particularly when the author asks "Mr China" what government officials he should
interview who were responsible for the area. Mr China's reply: "I don't know - I've
never met any".
What China has done is take the lassie-faire free market economics that the west runs
its mouth about while drifting ever more toward the soviet style centrally planned
economies and actually implemented it.
Pay particular attention to the SEG market where anyone with an idea for a product
can buy what he needs to make it and even get it made on the spot. Think about what
such a market would run into here. Zoning, licensing, environuts, unions, NIMBY,
taxes, unfair competition claims.......
The major concern is NOT that they'll suddenly close their doors. That's as silly as
the prospect of the arabs turning off the oil. Anyone who's studied the chinese
psyche knows that they don't operate that way. ("Art of War" but Sun Tzu is a good
start.) They plan and execute "50 year plans" and their strategic vision extends for
decades. Undoubtedly the ChiComs plan to unseat the US as the world power but it
won't be done suddenly or with military force.
The concern is, accurately stated in that article, is the destabilizing effect on our
economy when the ChiComs start actually spending their dollars instead of investing
in US securities.
John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Daddy, why doesn't this magnet pick up this floppy?
| |
| clare at snyder.on.ca 2007-11-08, 5:25 pm |
| On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:22:59 -0500, Neon John <no@never.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 8 Nov 2007 09:05:02 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
>
>You're talking "not knowing what you're talking about."
No, I'm not.
There is NO WAY they can produce some of the stuff they are dumping on
these shores for the price they are dropping them here. The materials
they buy FROM US to make them cost as much, without shipping, and
without manufacturing costs.
If you buy something from the dollar store for $1 US, what is the
landed cost of that item? Stores don't sell many low value items for
less than 35% markup over landed cost They could never meet their
overhead if they did.
Certainly, MANY things sold in dollar stores (for an example) may only
cost $0.20 US landed, so they make more on some and less on others.
Now, go to a centralized purchasing "chain" store with a warehouse.
In order to sell something for X dollars they need to buy it at a
landed cost of X/2 dollars, or perhaps as much as X/1.5 or they loose
money carrying it.
Now, many stores WILL carry certain products as "loss leaders" to get
people into the store. Wallmart is a prime example of this - and they
use something as a loss leader, forcing the price down so nobody else
can afford to compete on the item. Then they force the supplier price
down to the point where the supplier can no longer make a profit
selling it to Wallmart - and nobody else is buying because THEY cannot
sell at a profit, so all of a sudden the product is not available
ANYWHERE, at ANY price.
>
>
>If you're going to fear something at least know what it is.
>
>Suggest you read this article
>http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200707/shenzhen
>
>Which reflects my (little) experience with modern ChiCom manufacturing. Note
>particularly when the author asks "Mr China" what government officials he should
>interview who were responsible for the area. Mr China's reply: "I don't know - I've
>never met any".
What you need to know about Chinese industry and trade is that there
is only ONE rule - "there are no rules" All is fare in trade and war.
>
>What China has done is take the lassie-faire free market economics that the west runs
>its mouth about while drifting ever more toward the soviet style centrally planned
>economies and actually implemented it.
>
>Pay particular attention to the SEG market where anyone with an idea for a product
>can buy what he needs to make it and even get it made on the spot. Think about what
>such a market would run into here. Zoning, licensing, environuts, unions, NIMBY,
>taxes, unfair competition claims.......
>
>The major concern is NOT that they'll suddenly close their doors. That's as silly as
>the prospect of the arabs turning off the oil. Anyone who's studied the chinese
>psyche knows that they don't operate that way. ("Art of War" but Sun Tzu is a good
>start.) They plan and execute "50 year plans" and their strategic vision extends for
>decades. Undoubtedly the ChiComs plan to unseat the US as the world power but it
>won't be done suddenly or with military force.
No military force will be required when they decide to unilaterally
raise prices on necessities the US can no longer produce at home.
No military force will be required if China decides to dump even a
small part of their US$ reserves on the world market.
Destabilizing a rocky ship is VERY easy. - and undoubtably part of
someone's "50 year plan"
>
>The concern is, accurately stated in that article, is the destabilizing effect on our
>economy when the ChiComs start actually spending their dollars instead of investing
>in US securities.
>
>John
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
| |
|
|
"Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote in message
news:0mg6j3tv3ljckb8kdlp2mnn7joe391rjs5@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 8 Nov 2007 09:05:02 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
>
> You're talking "not knowing what you're talking about."
>
>
> If you're going to fear something at least know what it is.
>
> Suggest you read this article
> http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200707/shenzhen
Thanks for the link; velly intelesting, as Artie Johnson used to say....
>
> Which reflects my (little) experience with modern ChiCom manufacturing.
> Note
> particularly when the author asks "Mr China" what government officials he
> should
> interview who were responsible for the area. Mr China's reply: "I don't
> know - I've
> never met any".
>
> What China has done is take the lassie-faire free market economics that
> the west runs
> its mouth about while drifting ever more toward the soviet style centrally
> planned
> economies and actually implemented it.
>
> Pay particular attention to the SEG market where anyone with an idea for a
> product
> can buy what he needs to make it and even get it made on the spot. Think
> about what
> such a market would run into here. Zoning, licensing, environuts, unions,
> NIMBY,
> taxes, unfair competition claims.......
>
> The major concern is NOT that they'll suddenly close their doors. That's
> as silly as
> the prospect of the arabs turning off the oil. Anyone who's studied the
> chinese
> psyche knows that they don't operate that way. ("Art of War" but Sun Tzu
> is a good
> start.) They plan and execute "50 year plans" and their strategic vision
> extends for
> decades. Undoubtedly the ChiComs plan to unseat the US as the world power
> but it
> won't be done suddenly or with military force.
>
> The concern is, accurately stated in that article, is the destabilizing
> effect on our
> economy when the ChiComs start actually spending their dollars instead of
> investing
> in US securities.
>
> John
> --
> John De Armond
> See my website for my current email address
> http://www.neon-john.com
> http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
> Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
> Daddy, why doesn't this magnet pick up this floppy?
>
| |
| Neon John 2007-11-08, 8:25 pm |
| On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:06:29 GMT, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the link; velly intelesting, as Artie Johnson used to say....
There's a flash slide show with voice-over interviews on that same site. There is
also a 45 minute NPR interview of the author available from the NPR website. Sorry,
I didn't save those URLs.
Back in the 80s I teamed up with my cousin to do two early ChiCom projects. The
first was to manufacture oil well rocking horse pump gearboxes and the other to
manufacture pay phones. In both cases the deal was the same, concluded with the PLA
via a one sheet contract (chicom scratchings on one side and English on the other,
typed on a Chicom clone of the Royal manual typewriter). The ChiComs provided the
factory, the labor and all funding. We supplied the intellectual property. We were
50-50 partners.
I didn't go over but my cousin did. He got the grand wine-and-dine tour. He said
that it was quite evident that the labor was, shall we say, involuntary. Prison?
Slave? Who knew? My attitude then and now is, it's their business. When they get
tired of that kind of government, they'll overthrow it and form a new one. Anyway..
That Atlantic article intimated that in the heavy industries, the situation is
probably the same. OTOH, maybe a couple of years ago I did the electronic design work
on a client's gadget that was/is manufactured in China in the Shenzhen economic zone.
We didn't know Mr China but the agent my client used seemed to be practically a
clone. We never met the agent and none of us went over there. All business was
conducted via email, file transfer and DHL.
One of the most remarkable things with the experience was design change turnaround
time. We could make a major ECO, one involving changes to the die cast metal case
and the ChiComs would have new prototype done and in our hands literally in a day or
two. Faster than I could get through the automated attendant at a US company.
This does NOT bode well for this country. I'm kinda glad I'm too old to have to
worry about such futures anymore.
John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
*fas-cism* (fash'iz'em) n. A system of government that exercises a
dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the
merging of state and business leadership, together
with belligerent nationalism. -- The American Heritage Dictionary, 1983
| |
|
| "Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote
> This does NOT bode well for this country. I'm kinda glad I'm too old to
> have to
> worry about such futures anymore.
My wife and I have 8 kids and 2 grandkids between us...... I
tremble.....
>
> John
> --
> John De Armond
> See my website for my current email address
> http://www.neon-john.com
> http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
> Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
>
> *fas-cism* (fash'iz'em) n. A system of government that exercises a
> dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the
> merging of state and business leadership, together
> with belligerent nationalism. -- The American Heritage Dictionary, 1983
>
| |
|
| Bob F wrote:
> "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote in message
> news:RNpYi.1124$0Q5.748@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com...
>
> Just take it back to the store and tell them it died immediately. They'll
> probably give you your money back. It worked for me at H.D.
>
> Bob
>
>
Two of these things (GE) crapped out on me just yesterday. I got them
at Sam's. Softwhite 100, 6 to a package around a year ago. I noticed
when I got the last one out to replace one of the bad ones, the package
says "Guaranteed" five years based on 4 hours/day/7day week return with
receipt.... etc etc. Maybe I just got a bad batch, I once went to the
trouble of sending one back to GE and got a gift certificate for GE
lighting products, I don't remember how much it was though, 10 bucks I
think. Whatever, so much for brand name stuff, I'll get
replacements at Dollar General. and I might as well go back to
incandescent bulbs, my experience is they are more cost effective.
Repair? http://en-genius.net/includes/files/col_081307.pdf
Mercury clean up cost?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1825609/posts
| |
| Ron Purvis 2007-11-13, 3:25 am |
|
"Neon John" <no@never.com> wrote in message
news:b9l4j3p6vnp6vjjaeim20kmc3m8v468nhr@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 7 Nov 2007 15:07:20 -0600, "Jim" <jim@home.com> wrote:
>
> Can't do that. I swore off cat and dog several years ago!
>
Dog is pretty good. Most people that I have known who tried it, liked it. At
least until they knew what it was. : - )
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