Light bulbs...
battle
travel trailer constantly. I live in my trailer. I
now rarely, and I mean RARELY, have a bulb go out. The
secret? I used to have to drive a semi-truck. The
newer tractors have a new kind of bulb for the head
lights. This bulb is pluged into a socket that is then
screwed back into the main headlight assembly (banana
type screw plug). There is one thing that drivers have
to learn, and usually the hard way, that you can not
touch the glass part of the bulb in any way with your
fingers. The oils (and possibly dirt) from your skin
will cause the bulb to immediately glow a dingy yellow
the first time the lights are turned on. The bulb is
ruined and must be replaced again. I, therefore,
decided to try replacing my travel trailer bulbs without
touching them, using a napkin or clean rag. It works!
I have had to replace only one or two bulbs this past
year.
HDinNY
snipped
> ruined and must be replaced again. I, therefore,
> decided to try replacing my travel trailer bulbs without
> touching them, using a napkin or clean rag. It works!
> I have had to replace only one or two bulbs this past
> year.
>
Good in theory perhaps. I've tried it and the bulbs still
burn out fast. Try and keep frosted bulbs in the bathroom,
doesn't matter how carefully they are handled, mine still
burn out within a few weeks. Finally got sick of changing
them so often and bought smaller wattage bulbs, they last a
lot longer. It has a lot to do with the voltage. If line
voltage is high (15 volts or so), the bulbs won't last as long.
HD in NY
Alan Balmer
wrote:
Are those halogen lamps? They run hot (minimum 200 degrees C) and the
fingerprints absorb the heat, causing the envelope to crystalize. You
can clean them with alcohol.
--
Al Balmer
Balmer Consulting
removebalmerc...@att.net
Sandy A. Nicolaysen
wrote:
HD: I think he is referring to halogen bulbs, which use quartz glass
because of the high temperature. The one problem with quartz glass is
that oil from your skin will cause unequal distribution of heat from
the bulb. Glass doesn't care too much what temperature it is, so long
as the entire piece of glass is the same temperature. Cold or hot
spots cause glass to fracture.
- Sandy
HDinNY
snipped
> HD: I think he is referring to halogen bulbs, which use quartz glass
> because of the high temperature. The one problem with quartz glass is
> that oil from your skin will cause unequal distribution of heat from
> the bulb. Glass doesn't care too much what temperature it is, so long
> as the entire piece of glass is the same temperature. Cold or hot
> spots cause glass to fracture.
>
> - Sandy
>
Yes, he did refer to the Halogen bulbs and the need to keep
oils off them. But then he applied that knowledge to the rv
bulbs in his trailer. That was the part I responded to. I've
tried both ways, being careful to keep skin oils off the
bulb and just changing the bulbs with no regard for that.
I've not found any difference between the two methods.
HD in NY
Tom J
"HDinNY" <huf...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:bbgcfs$96kle$1...@ID-84980.news.dfncis.de...
It works on headlight bulbs because they are halogen and touching them will
ruin them. On the other hand the bulbs used inside and outside most RVs come
in 2 grades. Those you buy at the flee market for $2 to $3 a box just don't
last as long as those you get from the auto parts house for $2 to $3 a pair.
I have the frosted bulbs in the vanity in my 1986 trailer and 1 bulb has been
replaced since new. On the other hand, I bought a box of 1141 bulbs at the
flee market for the overhead fixtures and went through them in 6 weeks. Went
back to the auto parts house and bought more and they are lasting well again.
I do wash my hands before replacing bulbs, but only use towels when replacing
halogen bulbs.
Tom J
HDinNY
Good point Tom. In my zeal for cheapness I bought a bunch of
flea bulbs and that is probably why they fail so fast.
HD in NY
Peter Pan
Just out of curiosity, what type of bulbs do you have in your RV? All my 12V
lights are halogen.
Tim Dolan
I've been reading this thread. Are there any flourescent 12v adaptors for
RV's?
Tim,
Looking to expand Seniors (55 + ) Daytime Pool League
Alan Balmer
> On the other hand, I bought a box of 1141 bulbs at the
>flee market for the overhead fixtures and went through them in 6 weeks.
Wow! That's almost 200 bulbs a week!
(Sorry, couldn't resist ...)
battle
bulbs are simply not burning out. The bulbs are not halogen.
They are #906 12V 6CP - made in Red Commie China by slave
laborers.
I still have to use the logic behind my technique as being the
cause of the better result.
HDinNY <huf...@earthlink.net> wrote in news:bbgcfs$96kle$1@ID-
84980.news.dfncis.de:
GBinNC
wrote:
>On Tue, 03 Jun 2003 00:56:41 GMT, "Tom J" <tomj...@att.net> wrote:
>
>> On the other hand, I bought a box of 1141 bulbs at the
>>flee market for the overhead fixtures and went through them in 6 weeks.
>Wow! That's almost 200 bulbs a week!
>
>(Sorry, couldn't resist ...)
LOL.
Can't believe I missed it. I'm gonna endanger my reputation here.
Think I'll "flee" now. (Or did Tom mean "free" market?...)
GB in NC
HDinNY
snipped
> Just out of curiosity, what type of bulbs do you have in your RV? All my 12V
> lights are halogen.
>
>
Plain auto, filament type.
HD in NY
Chris Bryant
>Hi,
> I've been reading this thread. Are there any flourescent 12v adaptors for
>RV's?
Other than the standard "Thin Lite" and Sunray brands, you
might check out
http://www.marksnyderelectric.com/catalogold/fluorescentlight.html -
he has a fairly wide selection of ballasts and compact florescent
adapters in 12 volt versions.
--
Chris Bryant
Bryant RV Services- http://www.bryantrv.com
Tim Dolan
>> I've been reading this thread. Are there any flourescent 12v adaptors
>for
>>RV's?
>
> Other than the standard "Thin Lite" and Sunray brands, you
>might check out
>http://www.marksnyderelectric.com/catalogold/fluorescentlight.html -
>he has a fairly wide selection of ballasts and compact florescent
>adapters in 12 volt versions.
>
>--
Hi Chris,
Would you recommend flourscents? Would they be better for
"boondocking"
Chris Bryant
>
>Hi Chris,
> Would you recommend flourscents? Would they be better for
>"boondocking"
>Tim,
> Looking to expand Seniors (55 + ) Daytime Pool League
Yes- very much so- they give far more light per watt of power
than standard incandescent bulbs.
I haven't been a big fan of the Thin Lite brand lately,
though- I've started trying the Sunray-
http://www.sunrayts.com/default.htm to see if their ballasts last
longer.
The neat thing about the Mark Snyder page is that he has
separate 12 volt ballasts- so you can find nearly any household
fixture you like and convert it to 12 volt florescent.
Allyn Boldt
http://www.backwoodssolar.com/Catalogpages2/lights2.htm
"Chris Bryant" <Bryan...@cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
news:8uvpdvck5epc4bio3...@4ax.com...
Tim Dolan
> Yes- very much so- they give far more light per watt of power
>than standard incandescent bulbs.
> I haven't been a big fan of the Thin Lite brand lately,
>though- I've started trying the Sunray-
>http://www.sunrayts.com/default.htm to see if their ballasts last
>longer.
> The neat thing about the Mark Snyder page is that he has
>separate 12 volt ballasts- so you can find nearly any household
>fixture you like and convert it to 12 volt florescent.
>
We are about to get a new Triple-E Commander 29fter. The lights may be able to
be converted to flourescent but are the fixtures going to look "jury-rigged" ?
Man, my wife, a normally wonderful women, wouod string me up if I screw up the
lights just to savea few watts. <VBG>
Neon John
wrote:
> The neat thing about the Mark Snyder page is that he has
>separate 12 volt ballasts- so you can find nearly any household
>fixture you like and convert it to 12 volt florescent.
There are a couple of other alternatives with considerably better pricing.
One is http://www.t2-neonpower.com/, a company that specialized in 12 volt
powered neon power supplies. These will light a fluorescent lamp, though not
quite as brightly as a regular fluorescent ballast. The good thing is, you
can string up to about 20 ft of 15mm tubes together onto one power supply.
I've never asked but he might have a line of fluorescent lamp drivers too.
Absolutely superb stuff. Never had a failure in several hundred neon car kits
I've sold.
An even better alternative is to have some white triphosphor "neon" tubes made
that will fit the fixtures. These "cold cathode" lamps will literally last
forever. Any neon shop can do that for you.
yet another alternative is the cold cathode lamp of the type used in scanners
and copiers. This is quite similar to but smaller than what I describe above.
The glass tube is about 4mm in diameter and the length varies from an inch or
so to a foot or longer. Austin Electronics (770.449.8697) in Norcross
(Atlanta) Ga has the lamps in various colors including white, a 12" tube and
12 volt driver going for $14.95. these things are so tiny that you could
stick them anywhere, like under a counter or something.
---
John De Armond
johngdDO...@bellsouth.net
http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/o/johngd/
Cleveland, Occupied TN