One of my light bulbs just blew up.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Man was I an idiot.One of my CFL lights had been dimming on and off for no reason for about 5 minutes and I wasn't paying any heed. There was also a growing burning smell and because I am a complete idiot, so involved in typing out backroom rebuttals, that I assumed someone in the kitchen was screwing up their meal. Then my light turned off suddenly and I was like, huh? Then I heard the pop and I grab my lab goggles and got the hell out, holding my breath. Put my goggles on, got a few breaths, then held it in again and ran back in my room opening my window, turning the power off for the lamp and turning on a fan pointing to the window.

After 5 minutes, I took out the lightbulb and disposed of it properly. This was the second one from the same batch that failed on me. I am beginning to suspect I bought cheap bulbs.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Possibly. Or it's that wonderful habit of the USA taking the wrong engineering choice again, with 110VAC. That's just asking for burning.

(Because for every unit of Work delivered you have to run double the current, therefore incur 4 times as much heat as the sane version with about 220/230VAC. It's only people who want to create large magnetic fields and play with flux capacitators that benefit.)

[Fragony]

Get proper non-toxic old fashioned lightbulbs from Ukraine. Warm cozy light will prevent your house from looking like a testlab and you won't have to throw away that awesome art-deco chandelier because you can't find thick fittings. Your gas bill will thank you as well.

[Centurion1]

huh ive never had a light bulb break on me.

[drone]

If you want some fun, put a CFL in a socket controlled on a dimmer switch.

[Cute Wolf]

while you may want to blame cheap bulbs, maybe you better check the electric circuit of your home

[a completely inoffensive name]

Thanks to everyone suggesting the problem might be elsewhere besides the bulbs. I put a new bulb in last night, different brand and after 2 hours, it started dimming again. I checked how hot the base of the bulb was and it was burning my hand the moment I touched it. I think my cheap desk lamp must be the problem, idk why though.

[Beskar]

It seems you like to over-dramatise deposing a lightbulb though, or do they only sell highly toxic varieties in the United States?

[drone]

It seems you like to over-dramatise deposing a lightbulb though, or do they only sell highly toxic varieties in the United States?

CFL's (compact fluorescent lightbulbs) have a small amount of mercury vapor in them, which gets released if the glass breaks. The box usually has some form of "get out and ventilate for 10 minutes" warning on them. Overkill in my opinion, but there is some exposure.

[Gregoshi]

Overkill in my opinion, but there is some exposure.

Overkill? There should have be an evacuation of the surrounding 10 block area.

[drone]

Here we go, straight from the good folks at the EPA:

Before Cleanup

* Have people and pets leave the room.
* Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
* Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
* Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:

o stiff paper or cardboard;
o sticky tape;
o damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
o a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

During Cleanup

* Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
* Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

After Cleanup

* Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
* If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

Why is it important to clean up a broken CFL properly?

CFLs and other fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury is released as mercury vapor. To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, EPA recommends that residents follow the cleanup and disposal steps described on this page.

What if I can't follow all the recommended steps? or I cleaned up a CFL but didn't do it properly?

Don't be alarmed; these steps are only precautions that reflect best practices for cleaning up a broken CFL. Keep in mind that CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury -- less than 1/100th of the amount in a mercury thermometer.

However, if you are concerned about the risk to your health from a potential exposure to mercury, consult your physician.

People used to drink mercury straight up. Granted, they eventually went insane, but still. We are talking about 1-5 mg per bulb here.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Also, I am a paranoid man so I am prone to freaking out about relatively small things.

[Fragony]

It seems you like to over-dramatise deposing a lightbulb though, or do they only sell highly toxic varieties in the United States?

I like to overdramatise how incredibly ugly CFL-light is myself

[Cute Wolf]

actually, you get exposed more from mercury when you hold thermometer with metal pin, filled with mercury in your mouth, I just want to point out that Mercury is metal, and metal actually did dissolve metals, albeit at slow rate...

but since that was mouth, it's still count nonetheless (and it's still a minute quantity, don't get panicked)

[Andres]

People used to drink mercury straight up. Granted, they eventually went insane,

I am a paranoid man (...) freaking out

*** holds sedative and straightjacket ready ***

[Beskar]

I like to overdramatise how incredibly ugly CFL-light is myself

I prefer it. I really dislike strong-brightness, the glare irritates me. So having CFL-light which is more dulled is very nice.

[Hosakawa Tito]

CFL's (compact fluorescent lightbulbs) have a small amount of mercury vapor in them, which gets released if the glass breaks. The box usually has some form of "get out and ventilate for 10 minutes" warning on them. Overkill in my opinion, but there is some exposure.

That's what happens when the lawyers get involved. Which is why we have "not for human consumption" disclaimers on boxes of rat poison, and " No Swimming" signs at the brink of Niagara Falls instead of letting Darwinism run it's course. Shouldn't be too long before we read about someone trying to get a buzz sniffing those cfl vapors.

[Fragony]

I prefer it. I really dislike strong-brightness, the glare irritates me. So having CFL-light which is more dulled is very nice.

Nothing gives nicer light than an old fashioned lightbulb imho. Also keeps the place warm nicely.

[naut]

I use glowstone mined from the nether to light my dwelling.

[Sigurd]

I saw this and immediately thought of your mercury fright

[Husar]

That's hilarious Sigurd, these guys are crazy.

[Vladimir]

I use glowstone mined from the nether to light my dwelling.

Meanwhile, while others use obsidian for more practical uses (like making things pretty!)...

[gaelic cowboy]

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/04/2...bulbs-explode/

I imagine this is what happened

all the lighting advice you will ver need disregard the voltages obviously

Take my advice get a new lamp

[a completely inoffensive name]

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/04/2...bulbs-explode/

I imagine this is what happened

all the lighting advice you will ver need disregard the voltages obviously

Take my advice get a new lamp

Thanks GC, I think that may have been the problem. The new CFL I put in my lamp has been working just fine so far. It is a twisty desk lamp and the only changes I made was twisting it so the light points up instead of down. Also, the nights and thus my room have gotten colder (no heat to save money), so that may be helping avert another bulb failure.

[gaelic cowboy]

Thanks GC, I think that may have been the problem. The new CFL I put in my lamp has been working just fine so far. It is a twisty desk lamp and the only changes I made was twisting it so the light points up instead of down. Also, the nights and thus my room have gotten colder (no heat to save money), so that may be helping avert another bulb failure.

if you get anymore problems send me a mail.

Funnily at the min I am working on a project to save energy in a hotel and were putting in LED lighting.

[A Nerd]

I like the room dark or dimmly lit. I have decided to surround myself with lights of various colors, well mostly green and blue save the eternal flicker flame for my deceased cat. A very nice ambiance I must say and keeps my mood quite calm and sedate. I need to buy three green 25-50 watt bulbs for one particular lamp and I think my collection will be complete. I have been debating one of those pedistal lamps a put a colored bulb in that, but I haven't decided yet. Am to make a trip to Lowes today after they gym and nose about a bit.

Hopefully none of my bulbs burn out prematurely though!