Why do my lightbulbs keep blowing out? The lamps say don't use over (100 or 75). So I use 60. Still they go

Question

out a couple times per year! That seems like a lot. What could this be from?

Answer 1

The lamps say do not use over 100 or 75 watts because the lamp base is not designed for the heat. You would notice the lamp base deteriorating when changing bulbs if your bulb were running too hot. Using a hgher wattage than recommended by the lamp manufacturer will damage the lamp base and may cause far more serious problems.

Ceiling fan lights simply do not last as long as regular light bulbs, nor do lamp bulbs subject to drafts. They make a ceiling lamp bulb designed to deal with the added stress of vibration and heat changes.

With regular usage, I have found twice a year to be about normal life for a regular bulb. The package usually says about 1000 hours, which is 5.5 hours per day for six months. The environmental heat of the devices ambient temperature may affect the bulb's life. A ceiling fixture mounted next to a hot attic, will shorten the life of an incandescent bulb. Air conditioning vents near a bulb also shorten the life of a conventional bulb.

I personally have bought the screw-in fluorescent mini-bulbs. While they are 6 to 10 times more expensive for an equivalent light(measured in lumens), they generally use less than 1/4 the amount of electricity and last at least 10 times longer. They look a little different, but save quite a bit of money, and the amount of time they need to be changed. In four years, I have changed one mini-fluorescent in my house, and that lamp was on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Over the period of one year, I saved enough on electricity to pay the additional cost of the mini-fluorescents, and still had quite a bit of life left to the bulbs. This is important to me because of the difficulty in changing bulbs on high ceilings, but when I realized my electrical savings, I have now replaced all my incandescent bulbs(regular type) with mini-fluorescents. The mini-fluorescents also reduce my time of having to actually replace the bulb. I also watch for the sales, because sometimes they are put on sale very reasonably. They are next to the incandescent bulbs, so you need to compare lumens value to get the equivalent light output.

Now that I have given my position in my circumstances, there is another remote possibility.

The second possibility, which would be remote if your house was wired by a qualified electrician, would be an unbalanced load. It is hard to explain quickly, but if a large power device came on, even the spin cycle of a washer machine, and all your bulbs dimmed, it is possible, although not necessarily, that you either have an unbalanced load or a ground system going bad. In this case, two months would be a very long time for bulbs to last. Do NOT attempt to disconnect a ground wire at the ground rod unless all the power to the house were disconnected. This is a job for a qualified electrician.

It is remotely possible, that your utility company is either producing too much voltage from the transformer, or the electricity is not consistent, with occasional electrical surges and drops. The drops wouldn't hurt your bulbs much, it would just dim them slightly. The surges will damage the bulbs and shorten the lives.

The easiest and least expensive way to test your house voltage is to check it with a voltmeter, some digitals are less expensive than an electrical service call. If one leg of your electricity is is very much higher than 130 volts, it is time to call the electrical utility and tell them. High voltage from the service would also burn out a lot of other appliances, so unless you also are burning out radios and small airconditioners and televisions, it is unlikely to be a faulty transformer.

Good luck, but I really suspect it is normal in your case, and you would definitely benefit from the use of mini-fluorescents.

Answer 2

if it says dont go over try that amount, so get a 75 or 100 bulb if that doesnt work maybe it's the lamp not the bulbs

Answer 3

That's not a lot if they are being used a lot. The cheaper the bulbs the more they blow out. Like the ones at the dollar store are cheap but they burn or too fast so, you don't save anything.

Answer 4

Depends on how much you're using them, but that doesn't sound too bad to me. I had to break myself of buying off-brand bulbs because they just didn't last as long as the name-brand ones. If you're using good bulbs, the problem may be in your wiring.

Answer 5

you are getting great service if you only replace them every six months!!! most bulbs today are made to last about 300 hours,, so if you use it five hours a day you get 60 days use,, etc etc

Answer 6

sounds about right........... if they were going out every week then might be the lamp but if lamps are used every day it is average time for light bulbs..........

Answer 7

have an electrician go over your wiring if you have any other problems with electricity in your home. you dont need an electrical fire.

Answer 8

They just don't make um like they used to!!!!!