BribieG Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) I've replaced all my lights apart from fluoros, with curly new globes. However there is now a fuss about mercury pollution from dead globes ending up in landfill. Today while out shopping I had a rash moment and I bought a 2 dollar rectangular plastic bucket and put it in the shed to store dead globes (so far, after 18 months, not one has failed on me as yet) until such time as the Govt. decides whether to have collection points at major retailers or whatever they are going to do. Mercury poisoning can be pretty bad, as I have seen in docos about gold miners in the Amazon who have poisoned entire populations downstream due to their use of mercury, and Japanese villages ravaged with mercury poisoning from local fish. May be a good idea for any thinking person to buy a dedicated bucket. At the current rate my own bucket should see me out edit: yeah I know ... kick... bucket... Edited July 1, 2008 by BribieG
DrP Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 Come back in 5 years time when 20,000,000 CFLs are ready to be replaced and see how the local tip looks. I wonder if local councils will start to refuse to accept CFLs based on their content (there's more nasties than just mercury in there BTW).
BribieG Posted July 1, 2008 Author Posted July 1, 2008 Come back in 5 years time when 20,000,000 CFLs are ready to be replaced and see how the local tip looks. I wonder if local councils will start to refuse to accept CFLs based on their content (there's more nasties than just mercury in there BTW). With, say 12 million households and maybe ten or so light points in each home as a conservative figure, the quantity might be more like a hundred million globes? Obviously something has to be put in place right now, as Garrett has moved forward the date for phasing out the old incandescent bulbs to only 2 years away.
shrek Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 I've replaced all my lights apart from fluoros, with curly new globes. However there is now a fuss about mercury pollution from dead globes ending up in landfill. Today while out shopping I had a rash moment and I bought a 2 dollar rectangular plastic bucket and put it in the shed to store dead globes (so far, after 18 months, not one has failed on me as yet) until such time as the Govt. decides whether to have collection points at major retailers or whatever they are going to do.Mercury poisoning can be pretty bad, as I have seen in docos about gold miners in the Amazon who have poisoned entire populations downstream due to their use of mercury, and Japanese villages ravaged with mercury poisoning from local fish. May be a good idea for any thinking person to buy a dedicated bucket. At the current rate my own bucket should see me out edit: yeah I know ... kick... bucket... I'm in the process of replacing my globes with energy saving ones (only a few to go). Does the bucket have to be rectangular Bribie or can it be round? I work for a chemical company which has a chlorine manufacturing plant which use to use mercury cells as part of the chlorine manufacturing process. They rebuilt the whole plant a few years back that didn't need to use mercury cells. Naturally for environmental and health reasons cause the new plant is a much 'cleaner' plant. There's a story that quite a while back some guy that worked at the chlorine plant was riding their bicycle home and about to go through the security gates when they fell off their bike. The guards were waiting for the guy to pick up his bike and keep on going but the guy couldn't pick the bike up......... Turns out he filled the bicycle frame with mercury...... .......and that was his last day at work.
BribieG Posted July 1, 2008 Author Posted July 1, 2008 I'm in the process of replacing my globes with energy saving ones (only a few to go). Does the bucket have to be rectangular Bribie or can it be round? Rectangular so it's harder to kick over. Like the French say, the more things change the more things stay the same ... in the 70s I worked in a steelworks in Cardiff UK and there were huge and very expensive half-shell bearings for the rollers of the steel mill, and a skinny guy used to strap one on each side of him under his coat, until he fell over at the gate and was lying there like a turtle with his legs kicking into the air
shrek Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) Rectangular so it's harder to kick over. Like the French say, the more things change the more things stay the same ... in the 70s I worked in a steelworks in Cardiff UK and there were huge and very expensive half-shell bearings for the rollers of the steel mill, and a skinny guy used to strap one on each side of him under his coat, until he fell over at the gate and was lying there like a turtle with his legs kicking into the air Another story...... Many moons ago, Some guy was trying to steal a screen door and got stuck in the turnstiles (trying to exit the site) and that was the last thing he ever did. Died of a heart attack in the turnstiles. Edited July 1, 2008 by shrek
mello yello Posted July 1, 2008 Posted July 1, 2008 http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-LOtKIIKcg Holy Mercury Batman
CoNFooZeD Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Does anyone know if energy saving globes that work with existing dimmer switches are available in Australia? I have seen some (expensive) models on overseas websites, but nothing in the local stores.
drsmith Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Does anyone know if energy saving globes that work with existing dimmer switches are available in Australia? I have seen some (expensive) models on overseas websites, but nothing in the local stores. The Philips Genie which I use behind the SXRD as a backlight is not suitable for dimmers. It would be interesting to know how energy saving globes compare to traditional light bulbs in terms of total environmental impact, not just power consumption.
jayweb Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-LOtKIIKcg The polly in the background didnt seem to concerned in this video. That was, of course, until he looked like he might break one......priceless!!!
myrantz Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 (edited) The Philips Genie which I use behind the SXRD as a backlight is not suitable for dimmers.It would be interesting to know how energy saving globes compare to traditional light bulbs in terms of total environmental impact, not just power consumption. Don't think CFLs work with dimmers... The bucket is a great idea.. Some of these globes die quickly (sometimes < 12 months) but on average it last longer than tungsten... Don't think these globes are environmentally friendly at all, I use it because i prefer the daylight white ... Edit: oh, how many of you think these compact lights flicker?? What brands are good? Phillips? Osram? Edited July 2, 2008 by treblid
DrP Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Most of them have choppers that run in the many kHz range (some even give an audible whine) so its unlikely you'll see any flicker effect. Standard fluro tubes flash 100 times / sec and I can't say I've heard anyone complaining about them flickering (tube failing aside). I have noticed that on cold mornings they can take quite a few minutes to get up to full brilliance (can be quite dim) unlike the humble heat light bulb which is at full brilliance the moment its turned on.
50mxe20 Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Is anyone have a bad run with these lights. ie, very short life span. I also find them a PITA in areas of short term use. cupboards etc - because by the time they have warmed up and are bright, one is turning it off again.
myrantz Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Most of them have choppers that run in the many kHz range (some even give an audible whine) so its unlikely you'll see any flicker effect. Standard fluro tubes flash 100 times / sec and I can't say I've heard anyone complaining about them flickering (tube failing aside).I have noticed that on cold mornings they can take quite a few minutes to get up to full brilliance (can be quite dim) unlike the humble heat light bulb which is at full brilliance the moment its turned on. The phillips genie?? I own two of that and it takes eons to get to full brilliance.. I'm not sure what's the problem.. No other CFLs I use are that bad. Someday when I run almost out of bulbs I will change every lightning in my place to round halos.... Is anyone have a bad run with these lights.ie, very short life span. Me me... I bought some from Bunnings, can't rememebr the brand but I think it starts with an N.. And have problems with it.. It has this stupid high pitch buzz, seems to flickers and for some reason gave me headaches.. Very happy when it died after a few months.... Sighz, we drop tungsten to stop global warming.. the next generation will use tungsten or led to save the earth from mecury....
drsmith Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 I also find them a PITA in areas of short term use.cupboards etc - because by the time they have warmed up and are bright, one is turning it off again. Cupboard. A good place to store incandescent bulbs.
Kjay Posted July 2, 2008 Posted July 2, 2008 Is anyone have a bad run with these lights.ie, very short life span. I also find them a PITA in areas of short term use. cupboards etc - because by the time they have warmed up and are bright, one is turning it off again. I'm fairly sure that frequent on/off cycles shorten their life span.. Wouldn't last long as fridge lights I guess.. My local supermarket had a special on CFLs a few weeks ago.. Excellent I thought at the time, I need one for my lavalamp. It wasn't until I got home did I realise my error... cheers....
Austen Posted July 4, 2008 Posted July 4, 2008 Does it make us bad people if we're slowly but surely stocking up with incandescent light globes ? I think a far better (and more practical) idea would of been to of banned LIGHT FITTINGS that take incandescent light globes, instead of banning the globes themselves. We have several *cough* "different" lights in our house for which there is no available CFL globe available, and we're not considering changing all the light fittings in our house just to suit CFL globes. Sure, CFL's are a great idea, in fittings designed for them ................. Our stair-well light, we turn it on at sunset, off at sunrise, has been CFL for 19 years........Same with our outdoor garden lights, on at sunset, off at midnight, CFL for a number of years now, but in appropriate fittings !!!! Austen.
SDL Posted July 4, 2008 Posted July 4, 2008 I had one fail out of the box today. A lot of money for a globe that last 0.1 sec. I also hate the way many of them take a while to glow brightly. I am replacing my hard to get to globes with the energy saving ones, but others I will stick to the old tried and trusted cheapies.
myrantz Posted July 4, 2008 Posted July 4, 2008 Does it make us bad people if we're slowly but surely stocking up with incandescent light globes ?I think a far better (and more practical) idea would of been to of banned LIGHT FITTINGS that take incandescent light globes, instead of banning the globes themselves. I see no reason why these globes have to be banned... There are worse polluters in the households... If you use green power, and turn off lights when you don't need it, I'm sure you'd be doing a better job "protecting" the environment. We shouldn't pay when it's really the power companies doing all the population. I had one fail out of the box today. A lot of money for a globe that last 0.1 sec. I also hate the way many of them take a while to glow brightly. I am replacing my hard to get to globes with the energy saving ones, but others I will stick to the old tried and trusted cheapies. What brand you using btw?
SDL Posted July 4, 2008 Posted July 4, 2008 I see no reason why these globes have to be banned... There are worse polluters in the households... If you use green power, and turn off lights when you don't need it, I'm sure you'd be doing a better job "protecting" the environment. We shouldn't pay when it's really the power companies doing all the population.What brand you using btw? I think it was Philipps
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