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[whitenack]

I didn't see any mention of this, but has anyone had any history of increased bulbs blowing using x10?  I have 2 flood lights on my garage (the kind that use the tube bulbs, not the screw in can lights), one at 300 watts and the other at 500 watts.  Both are brand new and both have blown their bulbs in less than a year with probably less than an hour's use between them.  Am I just unlucky or is there a pattern here?

[dave w]

Nope, is is likely bad luck or crappy manufacturer.

But as a side note, not pretaining to the relay style WS13A.

Don't dim halogens, unless you dim more than about 40 or 50 percent. Halogens depend on burning very hot in a small quartz envelope to replenish metal back on the filament, extending life. If you dim 10 to 30 percent you end up losing this reconstitution of the fiament. Dimming more than 40 percent or so and the filament runs so cool that it doesn't matter anymore relative to filament life. As told to me by VP of GE Lighting Division about 1997.

Aside from that, what brand halogen bulbs are you using....I have had bad luck with Feit.

[Brian H]

Are they being short cycled? Where they are consonantly being turned On and Off?

[dave w]

Are they being short cycled? Where they are consonantly being turned On and Off?

Yeah, good point. That will definately shorten the life of a halogen.

[Brian H]

Touching the bulb and getting fingerprints on it also shortens their life. From what I have read.

[whitenack]

Thanks for the replies.

No, these aren't being short cycled.  In fact, they are rarely turned on at all.  Maybe once every other month or so, if that.  Also, these are the bulbs that came with the light, so there haven't been any fingerprint opportunities.

They are Utilitech lamps, standard from Lowes.  Could it be that they use cheap bulbs in their stuff?

[dave w]

They are Utilitech lamps, standard from Lowes.  Could it be that they use cheap bulbs in their stuff?

Well the bulbs included with the lamp are not likely "premium" quality.
FWIW, I have had good luck with Sylvania 300 and 500w "work light" bulbs, although I do not burn them for long periods either.

[bkenobi]

I have a number of those same brand fixtures that I have on X10.  One thing that I can say is that they do burn out quickly.  I've had one lamp that is turned on several times a day in the winter that has burned out 2-3 times in the last <2 years.  These fixtures are dual lamp 300W (150W each lamp) and the bulb seems pretty fragile.  Every time I replace one (totalling 4 now I think), the porcelain end cap is broken and the bulb is usually black.

On the other hand, I've read in a thread somewhere on this site that if you dim a halogen bulb/X10 fixture slightly, it can cause a buzzing in the bulb.  This buzzing is from the filament vibrating and is a sure sign that a cheapo bulb will burn out sooner than expected.  If you need to dim the bulb, you should use the heavy duty bulbs with thicker filaments from what that thread suggested.  I haven't tried it yet, but that's my next step if the trend continues.

[JeffVolp]

Line voltage can also be a factor.  The electrician installed 130V bulbs when this house was built, and they lasted a very long time.  The standard replacements don't last nearly as long, but are much brighter for the same wattage.  Our line voltage here tends to run on the high side (122V to 124V).  There is a tradeoff between power consumption, brightness, and longevity of the bulb.

One further thought - The incandescent bulbs controlled by our Leviton X10 switches (which ramp on and off) have lasted a VERY long time.

Jeff

[dave w]

porcelain end cap is broken and the bulb is usually black.

yeah, if early in the bulbs life, that is usually indicative of a cheaper constructed bulb where the seal between the quartz envelope and the porcelin cap breaks down and enough air seeps in to allow the filament to really "burn". If an old bulb, it's sorta normal.

[dhouston]

One further thought - The incandescent bulbs controlled by our Leviton X10 switches (which ramp on and off) have lasted a VERY long time.

Even with standard X-10 lamp modules/switches, dimming to 0% as opposed to turning them OFF and then brightening to the desired level instead of turning them ON will lengthen their life even more. Of course, there is a slight waste of power (less than a night light) for the module itself. If you also use 130V bulbs, lifetime approaches or exceeds that of CFLs. Using this technique, I went nearly 10 years without replacing an incandescent.

[Brian H]

Dave, Sounds like a good way to extend the life of bulbs.
I have two date Code Soft Start LM465s that would not work on.
At 0% both controlled bulbs still glow.
Date Code 09J44 on a 100 watt bulb 0% 13.5 VAC.
Date Code 08A01 on a 100 watt bulb 0% 18.85 VAC.

I tested with both AHP on a CM15A and manually with a HR12A Palm Pad and RR501.

[dhouston]

Brian - All of my lamp LM465 modules were pre-softstart. The LM14A would only dim to a level similar to what you see so I'm not surprised. In my case, I was just curious about how long the bulbs would last without experiencing inrush current.

Both I and Charles Sullivan measured the voltage using true RMS meters (and I verified with my Kill-a-Watt) but I doubt I can find my notes. IIRC, there was still a volt or so at 0% and looking closely in a darken room you would sometimes see a very dim glow at the filament - not noticed unless looking for it.

[Brian H]

I could see them glowing on a soft start LM465 in a room with other lights On.