What is wrong with CFL?

Traditionally fluorescent light bulbs were independent of the ballast. But CFL light bulbs have electronic ballast inside of them. When the bulb stop shinning bulb and ballast are discarded together. What a waste!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Ballast
• CFL
• recycle
• charge control
• diodes
• transistors
• capacitor
• light bulbs

[MrDeepwoodtickles]

Only problem i have with cfl is the warmup time, the lights good when they get going.

Usualy its the circuit that fails,often through overheating.

[generatorblue]

@MrDeepwoodtickles These days, I like them until they stop working. Then I do not know what to do with the glass part. I have been saving the circuits. I do not mind the warmup time as long as I have some light when I turn on the switch. OLd CFLs were like long FLs: You turn on the switch and have to wait 5 second in the dark with light flashes until the constant light comes on. Sometimes the failure happens inside the bulb with part of it flickering while another section looks normal. Thanks!

[DaveArgon]

I agree, there are tons of things these circuits and the parts can be re-purposed into. Various power supplies can be made, both higher and lower voltage, and the CFL can be made to run off low voltage DC using these parts and a couple from your junk bin.

Otherwise, there are many uses and applications for the majority of the components, especially the magnetics and capacitors.

[generatorblue]

@DaveArgon You are right! I have not yet use them for anything but expect to do something with them eventually. This is a situation where most of the parts remain valuable when the bulbs are discarded. Eventually a recycling center will separate the circuits from the glass and sell them. They will be even more useful when you can buy large quantities of the same model from the same manufacturer. Thanks!

[thewii552]

These circuits are worth about $1. The reason bulbs burn out is because the circuits fail, not the bulbs.

And BTW, the thing in the middle is a transformer to step up the voltage.

[generatorblue]

@thewii552 Hi! Thank you for the information. I knew that it had to be a transformer but could not see two sets of windings. The following video supports what you said:

"Burnt CFL Re-Light" can be seen on the nomadqq.'s channel.

The circuits on his Website show full rectifiers in all the diagrams. Would that be a reliable part to recycle?

I would have to spend more than $1 to assemble a similar circuit. Thanks again!

I will watch your electronics tutorials. I just started watching Afrotec.'

[legitimatemind]

@MegaDRjohn You're just a grumpy traditionalist that's going to soon be unable to use his energy wasting incandescent light bulbs. And honestly who cares what's inside. People have been using Ballasts forever. They're proven safe. Oh and by the way, Mercury vapor is so thin and harmless compared to what's in a old fashioned glass thermometer. I don't know where you scared people get all this fear from. Conversation finished, go about your business.

[MegaDRjohn]

@legitimatemind i can see six capacitors clearly..

p.s. incandescent,s produce a nice clean usable lightsource. the same cant be said for cfl's and when reactive power charges are implemented they will in effect cost as much as incandescent's to run, possibly more and they cost more to manufacture and pollute far more in production stages.

[generatorblue]

@legitimatemind I just uploaded a video entitled "beauty of CFL bulbs". Thanks to you!

[generatorblue]

@legitimatemind I honestly did not know that there was a circuit in these bulbs until one dropped and separated during the filming of my ceiling fan alternator 230+ volts video. I was just lucky that it did not break in the room. I found a store that sold them for 49 cents and bought a lot of them. I even modified a light fixture to make them look good. I should post a video about the light fixture. I think that I will even apply for a patent related to CFL. Problem: I am stuck with 3 dead CFLs.