What's with these flourescent lights.

[SwampDonkey]

I have a kitchen light that seems to have quit working. The bulbs are a year old, but I never have lights on much at night and mostly in morning when making breakfast. It used to quit working sporadically and now it seems to be permanent. I've twisted and turned the bulbs and nothing works. Also, in my washroom I installed a new florescent a couple years ago. There was an older one there for 30 years that quit, I think it was just old. But, even the new one doesn't work proper I have to fiddle with the switch turning it off and on several times before it lights up. Sometimes I just give up.  : Nothing wrong with the switches that I've noticed, I've even put a meter on the wires to test it. Had one over the kitchen sink that never worked right either and I put in a 40 watt tungsten light which works great. I been putting it off, but i think I'm going to replace that kitchen flourescent with a tungsten light. I'm aggrevated with flourenscent lights not working proper.  >:(

[SwampDonkey]

Weird, I just started flipin switches for the kitchen light and it came on, but not like it should. I'm wondering if humidity afects these types of lights.  ???

[Paul_H]

Might be time to grab a chunk of wood to pry the ol' wallet open and head to town for a new fixture  :D

[sprucebunny]

Sometimes it's the ballast that goes in older lights.

[beenthere]

I've not had any major problem with flourescent lights, so suspect you just have some bad ones. I like the light better than tungsten bulbs in most situations. Not so good for reading, as I pick up the 60 cycle flicker.
As long as you are sure it isn't the switch, then a new fixture is the next best move, as Paul says.  

[pigman]

Not all fluorescent bulbs or fixtures are equal. :(  I bought several fixtures for my wood shop last year. I bought them because they were cheap; I am a penny pincher you know. :  After a lot of bulb twisting and and harsh words directed at them I finally broke down and paid a little more and got some better fixtures. The new ones always work. 8)  Sometimes we are penny wise and pound foolish.
Bob

[Don_Papenburg]

I am sorta like Bob but I don't squezze the begeberz out of a penny . I bought some mid-range priced shop lights . I had bought this brand before with good luck . Hung them on my 16 ceiling . two of them don't work. and a couple others send a spiaral pulse through the lamp. 
If you have new fixtures they are probably rejects that get shiped out anyway .

[J_T]

Your ballast has an over heat feather . You can get a heaver ballast I have before be sure your hot and neutral is correct too. ??? Also they aren't designed to be installed up tight on anything . When I install a ballast I leave the screws as loose as I can for air space . Some of those shop lights have a very small cheep ballast . Always put a new bulb with a new bulb nine out of ten times if you put a new bulb with an old one the new one won't last long  : We got a two bulb four fixture that is never turned off unless the elect goes off . They don't pull much juise 8) If you check the out put on that ballast beware the volts it puts out they way up there :'( For outside or in a cold shop the make H O and V H O fixtures they will light in a frezzer . On some of these a good ground is a must . Good luck

[breederman]

 The wife called this morning from the big blue box where she works and says"you mighit want to get up here, they are getting rid of stuff."  I bought eight four packs or compact florecents for a dollar a pac. 8)  I replaced most of the bulbs in the house with them tonight.  Anyone else use them?  Do they last? will they stay bright?

[jkj]

I'm wondering if humidity afects these types of lights.  ???

I've done quite a bit of electrical work for a children's camp in central Mexico (Moctezuma) and one thing I did was replace all of the old fluorescent fixtures with incandescent.  They said the fluorescents worked well for a few years then all started failing.  Those in more humid areas such as basements went first.  Ballasts went bad and contacts were corroded.  Incandescent bulbs bought there were horrible (10% failed the first day of use) but at least they were cheap and easy to change and unless burned out they always come on with the switch - none of this annoying flickering, dim, maybe/maybe not stuff.

Although the climate in the central highlands is not particularly humid, I saw no buildings in that area with heat or air conditioning.  If humidy is an issue, perhaps that explains why fluorescents work so well in the commercial office buildings and stores here which are nearly always heated and air conditioned and have a lower humidity year around.

Although they are still rather expensive, I'd rather use the new fluorescent screw-in replacement bulbs in a standard fixture than use a fluorescent fixture - low wattage, low heat, and seem to last forever.

JKJ

[Don_Papenburg]

I only buy floressant bulbs with a 6500K or more rateing (Some trade names are Daylite , ultra daylite) .    They seem to cast a whiter light and seem brighter than any of the others.   But it is harder to find screwin bulbs with a 6500K rateing . Many times they do not print a K number on the package.

[Tom]

Did you know that studies have been done on Flourescent lights to determine the effect that the color has on human emotions?

There are daylight bulbs and yellow bulbs and blue bulbs.   Warmer colors can cause anger, colder colors cause you stave off exhaustion. 

If you can find one of these studies, read it.  They are really interesting.

[Bill]

I know alot places around here are replacing the incandescent for the flourescent for the energy savings - supposed to be short payback then all savings. I switched the house over to the cheap imported screw in types ( when I found US mfg and imports all came from china ) some year(s) ago and just leave the kitchen lights on and on ( crime is big around here ) . Flourescent seems to work for me ( occasionally have to replace a 4' or 8' bulb or fixture ) . I think Sprucebunny's hit it - time for a ballast.

Good Luck . . .

[SwampDonkey]

You folks are probably right about the ballast. This kitchen light has been here for over 30 years. And cheap stuff is cheap as you say. But, my folks can't remember the lights acting this way. Funny, they have been troublesome ever since they moved out. :D

Paul that wallet is as tight as a vice, I don't know if the wood pry would be much help. Maybe it could be used for something else. ;D  :D

[Paul_H]

You could tap the ballast with the stick,heck it might even keep the Kelvinator in line.Works good too when one of the tubes in the TV act up    8)

[Patty]

Hey Donkey, a crowbar might work!

Those old ballists can catch on fire if they are allowed to get too hot. We had them in an old schoolhouse we leased for our business. One day when the guys were all on service calls and just us girls were there, we had one start smoking up on the 2nd floor . I could not find the source of the fire anywhere, and worried that it may spread into our equipment, I yelled down to one of the secretaries to call 911 for the fire department, while I continued to search for the fire. I searched the entire floor and even up into the 3rd floor, but could not find the source of smoke. By this time my eyes were watering and the fumes were getting toxic, so I went down to see where in the world that @$#@ fire department was. I asked the girl who was supposed to call them, and she said, " I haven't called them yet, I am still trying to find their phone number."   

As it turned out the whole thing was our ballasts were overheating. You may just want to replace yours Donkey.

[SwampDonkey]

I figure I'll end up doing just that, but I won't be going with the same type of light. I'll get a regular tungstan fixture but try screw in flourescent bulbs maybe. I  really don't have the lights on that long in the day like in an office, but after 30 years anything can go wrong. The old one I replaced in the washroom looked like it had tar all over the ballast, good candidate for a fire.  : DOH!!

[beenthere]

That tar was from overheating the ballast, I suspect. You are right, and caught it before the 'fire', but probably would have had some smell from it turning to toast.