Why does my house eat light bulbs?

Question

I can replace all of the light bulbs in my house and a month later, I'll have to replace half of them. This is true for the cheap incandescent bulbs as well as the green/expensive flourescent bulbs. An interesting symptom: In the fixtures that have two light bulbs, only one of them will go. The other will last for a much more normal life span.

Is there an easy way to diagnose the problem with some certainty? Is there an easy way to fix the problem?

Answer 1

At the base of light fixture sockets you will find a brass tab. This tab is bent at an angle when the fixtures are new and will spring back and forth if depressed slightly. Do not ever stick your finger in the socket to test this, (bzzzz) as you can get shocked (ouch) if the power is on to the fixture.
Take several new light bulbs and inspect the base of each one. You will quickly notice that the bottom of most light bulbs has a small droplet of solder in the center of the base. More importantly the size of this drop of solder is not consistent from light bulb to light bulb. It is close in size, but not always the same size or height.
If the brass tab at the base of the socket does not make firm contact with the bottom of the light bulb, a small electrical arc can happen that starts to melt the solder. Over a period of time, the solder can deform and the gap between the solder and the brass tab gets larger.
When this happens, the electrical contact between the brass tab and the solder is broken and the light bulb acts as if it has been turned off when in fact the switch is on and the bulb is still in working condition.
To prevent this arcing you must be sure the brass tab is always at about a 20 degree angle inside the bottom of the socket. People who twist bulbs in tightly will depress and flatten the tab so it does not spring back when a bulb is replaced. That's a bad NO NO Good Luck!

Answer 2

Sometimes, the problem can be as simple as prying the (for a lack of better word) tongue at the bottom of the light socket away from the bottom with a small screwdriver. It's pretty simple. What happens sometimes is the "tongue" loses its "springiness" and creates just enough of a gap to make just enough contact to make it look like the light bulb is on all the time but actually it is arcing and wearing out the filament quicker than it should. This is assuming that the fixtures in your house are old, of course and not just a year old

Answer 3

You need to check your voltage. Low voltage with cause an excess of current which is not good for any light. They make a voltage tracker which can give you a log over time which is in most cases far better than a single reading.

Answer 4

I got a Jack Russel and that is so true he does bounce of the walls and if he had to put a light bulb in, in would do it while bouncing off the walls.

Answer 5

How is the ground wire? Do you have a good ground? May be getting surges? Take voltage checker and check a plug-in, while holding it in plug, have someone turn on a light, and watch what happens at volt meter.

Answer 6

i had this problem 1 time and i found that in the circuit breaker panel every screw at the breakers and the grounds were all loose.this seemed to work for me be careful in that breaker panel hot hot stuff don't get bit ouch.

Answer 7

I knew someone that did that problem to they quit smoking fetimines 故事/传闻 (3243) helped

Answer 8

I would do or have a voltage check done.