# Bulb burning out in around five days



## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

Most of the time when I get a call like this the customer is using cheap dollar store bulbs. Put a rough service bulb in and see how long it lasts.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

eddy current said:


> .......Put a rough service bulb in and see how long it lasts.


 
aka appliance bulb, ceiling fan bulb, and garage door opener bulb.


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## Briancraig81 (May 25, 2007)

I've heard that bulbs rated at 130v last longer than the ones marked 120v. You may want to try that.


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

Thanks. A buddy of mine told me about the 130v rating on the bulb. I will definitely check into that. I will start off by measuring voltage at the socket and going from there.


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## 5486 (Feb 18, 2009)

And here I thought it was Thanksgiving and not Christmas.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

I'd probably go flourescent. Might be getting some vibrations from cars driving bye and breaking the filament. Incandescents are sensitive to vibration. I'd also check the things you mentioned.


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

didn't think of that good point. I'm now wondering if some kind of moisture may be getting into the socket.


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## TNVOLSELECTRICIAN (Nov 19, 2009)

You can also try street light bulbs.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

al13nw4r3LC76 said:


> Thanks. A buddy of mine told me about the 130v rating on the bulb. I will definitely check into that. I will start off by measuring voltage at the socket and going from there.


I wouldn't bother measuring the voltage at the socket. Just install the 130v bulbs and your problems will go away.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

TNVOLSELECTRICIAN said:


> You can also try street light bulbs.


 What is a street light bulb?


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I wouldn't bother measuring the voltage at the socket. Just install the 130v bulbs and your problems will go away.


 I agree with Dennis.:thumbsup:


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

william1978 said:


> What is a street light bulb?


 
I hope he's not suggesting an HID bulb, which just won't work in a normal socket.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

480sparky said:


> I hope he's not suggesting an HID bulb, which just won't work in a normal socket.


 Yea, Thats why I asked.:laughing:


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

What if I get out there and its low voltage  Pretty sure its 120v but homeowners don't usually know diddly. We will find out. So a fluorescent bulb rated for 130v is the consensus?


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

al13nw4r3LC76 said:


> What if I get out there and its low voltage  Pretty sure its 120v but homeowners don't usually know diddly. We will find out. So a fluorescent bulb rated for 130v is the consensus?


I don't think you will find a fluorescent bulb that is rated 130 volts. They just come one way. The problem is with incandescents and 120volts vs 130 volts. It makes a big difference.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

al13nw4r3LC76 said:


> I am going to look at my mothers friends yard light tomorrow. I dont know whether it is on a photo cell or not but I'm going to assume not at this point. Its an outside light that comes up inside of some bricks decorative in the yard.
> 
> She claims that everytime they put a new bulb in it only lasts for around five days. 120v I am thinking a loose connection or bad socket at this point. Possibly the bulb is not rated right. Going to check it out tomorrow. Thanks for any input.
> 
> Thoughts please?


I wouldn't just put in a heavy service bulb. Check the voltage and open up the fixture. I had one that was doing this and it turned out to be a burned neutral inside the fixture that would short to ground every once and awhile and it was going through a bulb about every week or two. New fixture and the problem went away


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

Just got back. Checked voltage at the socket = 124V It was also corroded so I scraped the crap outta there and cleaned the inside of the fixture. Went down to the store and got a 130V rated bulb and tada shes working. Only downside was going to home depot where they only had a 24 pack of the 130V rated bulbs.. They have 23 extras now


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

*Light bulb*

Check and see if the lamp in there is a higher wattage lamp than advised for the fixture. It could be a heat dissipation problem. However, I answered a call at a trailer park with exactly the same problem. I replaced the fixture and she was happy...I installed it in my den and it has been there for four years without a problem. Who knows...maybe she had a batch of bad lamps. It happens.


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

al13nw4r3LC76 said:


> Just got back. Checked voltage at the socket = 124V It was also corroded so I scraped the crap outta there and cleaned the inside of the fixture. Went down to the store and got a 130V rated bulb and tada shes working. Only downside was going to home depot where they only had a 24 pack of the 130V rated bulbs.. They have 23 extras now


I know that you already did the job, but another thing that could be checked is making sure that the tab in the socket isn't pushed too far down. If it isn't making good contact with the lamp, it can arc, and burn a pinhole in the lamp base.


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## TNVOLSELECTRICIAN (Nov 19, 2009)

william1978 said:


> What is a street light bulb?


 
The bulb says "street light bulb" printed on it. Some old electicians I work around love them, they last a long time. Just an incandesent bulb.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

TNVOLSELECTRICIAN said:


> The bulb says "street light bulb" printed on it. Some old electicians I work around love them, they last a long time. Just an incandesent bulb.


 Do you got a link so I can check this thing out?


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

JohnJ0906 said:


> I know that you already did the job, but another thing that could be checked is making sure that the tab in the socket isn't pushed too far down. If it isn't making good contact with the lamp, it can arc, and burn a pinhole in the lamp base.


 The tab was a little far down so I bent it up. I blew up my 10 in 1 in the process though :whistling2:


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

al13nw4r3LC76 said:


> The tab was a little far down so I bent it up. I blew up my 10 in 1 in the process though :whistling2:


That could have contributed to the problem.

Next time, turn the switch off first. :whistling2:


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

JohnJ0906 said:


> That could have contributed to the problem.
> 
> Next time, turn the switch off first. :whistling2:


What's a switch? :whistling2:


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

al13nw4r3LC76 said:


> What's a switch? :whistling2:


It's an anti - blow-up-your-10-in1 device....... :whistling2: :laughing:


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## Johnpaul (Oct 2, 2008)

Not much point in putting in a more expensive bulb until you find the source of the problem. Incandescent bulbs don't deal well with voltage surges from an intermittent connection. Just need to locate the bad connection on the leg. A CFL will last longer but it too will fail unless the partial connection is fixed.

There are industrial bulbs available almost everywhere that cost twice as much and are designed for use in hard to get to locations. These days most businesses are switching to CFL (mistake) or LED's which last forever if installed properly. 

At my house I was loosing a lot of bulbs courtesy of the local power grid. All my electronic equipment was protected by line conditioners but not the light bulbs. Finally got the power company to replace their piece of equipment that was generating the surges. It was actually a device designed to stop surges but it was malfunctioning with the opposite effect.


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