Bulbs Dont Last In Fixture

Jkountz

Hey guys, I was hoping maybe some of you could shed some light (pun intended) on a problem Im having with a light fixture in the stairwell of my house. The light is on a three way switch one at the top and one of course at the bottom of the stairs and every time I put a new bulb in (60 watt) it only lasts for a week or two maybe a month at the most. I replaced the entire fixture last month but still the same thing. Could it be cheap or faulty switches? I cant keep a bulb in this darn thing. Its as I said located high above the stairs leading to the basement of my home. Its just a standard single bulb fixture, not an expensive one but not a $5 one either. I had a cheapo fixture there at first and thought that was the culprit but the new fixture is doing the same thing. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Leo G

Fixture may be getting to hot. Or maybe a loose neutral.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

hbiss

I hear this all the time, it's not the fixture or the switches or the wiring. It could be crummy bulbs. Yes I know you bought brand name but they are all made in China these days. I notice that longevity is pretty much a crap shoot. Could be vibration, are there other stairs above those? What I would do is use 130 volt bulbs instead of the usual 120 volt. Might be hard to find but they are out there. Go to Bulbman.com. Another thing you might try is rough service bulbs that you would use in a trouble light. There are also vibration service bulbs. Keep both of these in mind for bathroom fans and garage door openers also.

Then of course there are always compact fluorescents.

-Hal

troubleseeker

Agreed on both counts. Always worth finding the 130v bulbs, especially for difficult locations. And even the name brand bulbs are crap. Sylvania seems to be the absolute worst. Every time my electrician uses them, he ends up replacing 80% of the bulbs before we punch out the job; no exaggeration.

MALCO.New.York

Please delete this post.

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

MALCO.New.York

Are you sure the Three-Way is wired correctly?

You need to get a voltage reading on the fixture.

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

dSilanskas

A thought and an idea. Thought is that perhaps from the closing of the door is vibrating the bulb enough to blow it. And if that is the case even if its not try a twist bulb. I will bet you dollars to donuts it will fix your problem

woodchuck2

I switched to the twisty's just so i wouldnt have to keep replacing light bulbs in the house. I upgraded to a more expesive bulb but they would still blow after 6-8 months. It seemed like i was replacing light bulbs somewhere in the house at least once a week. Went to the Fluorescent bulbs and i have only had to replace one of those and i had that warrantied. Power bill still hasnt dropped but at least i am not dragging a ladder in from my trailer every week to change bulbs somewhere.

Ponsse

yeah, you can't beat the CF in hard to reach places. I put them in everything that has a cover/diffuser where you can't see the lamp. Now if they would make them more "stylish" they could be used in even more places.

Do they make any "stylish" ones, you know like something that could be put in a ceiling fan, something other than the twisties.

Anybody using LED's yet?

mdshunk

130V lamps, rough service lamps, and compact fluorescent lamps solve these types of issues.

MSSI

Vibration from the floor above and hot filaments do not mix....Rough service fan bulbs, although fan bulbs are not much better than standard, should help

Stickman

They have a pretty good selection of c/f bulbs these days even to include dimmable. Just have to search them out.

mdshunk

The dimmable CF's on the market at this point are TERRIBLE!

You can call them "sorta dimmable".