Oh yeah. I had a pair of GE Kitchen & Bath F40T12s from the ReStore in Worcester, MA. I only bought them because they were pre-Ecolux. One got a hairline crack and stopped working. I just noticed yesterday that the other one's got a hairline crack in the same spot (about 1/8 or 1/4" from the endcap on the etch end) and this one goes like 2/3 of the way around the tube! I haven't tested it to see if it works. I Might install it until it works but I'd want to put it in a light with a diffuser so the lamp doesn't fall to the ground when/if the crack spread all the way around. I don't have any 4ft fixtures with diffusers (I have the parabolic troffer but it only fits T8s).
@ Andy: Nah it's not that bad. Similar to a halogen.
@ Mike: I had a lamp from Restore too that formed a hairline crack.Recently had one new Philips ALTO that developed a crack and stopped working after only a few hours of use.
I've noticed that a GE F40T12 weighs almost twice as much as a Philips F40T12. Pretty crazy! I always thought maybe GE used a heavier endcap cement or it was because GEs have more mercury (and maybe those two things do factor into the lamp weight) but it seems more likely that Altos just use REEEEEALLY thin glass. Sylvania is actually the only brand lamp that I haven't seen cracked on the end. I've seen a couple GEs get cracked near the endcap and same for Altos.
Really? 90s Sylvanias are notorious for cracking at the ends apparently. Vince lost a nice F96T12/D (pre-EPACT, halophosphate, full mercury, 75w) that way.
I lost a 2011 Cool White Plus the same way.
(no offese to /WW fans of course).
@ Mike: I had a lamp from Restore too that formed a hairline crack.Recently had one new Philips ALTO that developed a crack and stopped working after only a few hours of use.
I lost a 2011 Cool White Plus the same way.