This pic has been taken tonight, and as of now two of the three CFLs being used in my backyard light have almost 11 000 hrs of use, one thousand hours over the advertised lifespan of 10 000 hrs! The third one has the same hours on it, minus ~3 650 hrs (it's a newer replacement lamp from 2009, one year after the CFL retrofit)
The secret? Base-down, reduced on-offs by hour of use, GE brand. Simple as that. ^_^
The GE helicals are pretty good. i've never had one fail, but one got mercury starved. It now resides in my collection. It's very pink and gets almost as hot as an incandescent lamp.
UPDATE 10/08/11: Add 1 000 hrs to the above CFLs' usage! They are now at over 12 000 hrs! It's probably a matter of months before one of them fails, at least one of the two older ones. Here's what I'm gonna relamp with:
I could use Philips or Globe CFLs, but it's gonna be the yellow-tinted type for sure. The GE ones with a yellow cover are very reliable, but sucks at repelling bugs!
The older GE helicals were in fact GE lamps, but I believe some of the new GE spirals are just rebranded TCP lamps. I don't have many spirals left in use, but I'm using up my older Lights of America ones, and they don't want to quit!
UPDATE 08/23/12: As of today, these CFLs are STILL working! so far the two oldest ones have run a whopping 20 000 hrs! The newer one is at 17 000 hrs, still not bad at all! Even if they're running in the best conditions, I am impressed they're on their way to DOUBLE their advertised lifespan!
Yeah that's great! just wondering so why do you use bug lights in those that are not near the house?
I have 3 15W GE dimmable CFLS that have been in use outside since about 2007(23,000 hrs) only one died, they're base up and in dual-bright fixtures that dim after a minute...only one bulb failed...just would not dim. ..I did take one out to use an 17W LED in it
Talk about long lasting, I have a GE buglite CFL too, I got it when the local Walmart was clearing them out along with some red and green coloured PARs.
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after all these hours how well have these maintained lumens?
I didn't see any noticeable lumen depreciation, although I should buy a brand new specimen and compare.
I could use Philips or Globe CFLs, but it's gonna be the yellow-tinted type for sure. The GE ones with a yellow cover are very reliable, but sucks at repelling bugs!
I have 3 15W GE dimmable CFLS that have been in use outside since about 2007(23,000 hrs) only one died, they're base up and in dual-bright fixtures that dim after a minute...only one bulb failed...just would not dim. ..I did take one out to use an 17W LED in it