NE-2 bulbs dont last forever

[gregebert]

I checked my datasheet, and confirmed neon bulbs have an average rated lifespan of 25,000 hours at recommended current. This is about 3 years of continuous operation, so it seems very plausible to me that if an NE-2 bulb dies after 3-4 years, it's normal.

The lifetime is a statistical average; some bulbs will last longer, and some shorter. My 'big clock' has 304 NE-2 bulbs, and after nearly 4 years of operation I've had one premature bulb failure (in this clock, bulbs are 'on' for a maximum of 1.3 hours/day which equates to 50 year lifespan on average). There's nothing wrong with the design or manufacture of this clock; it's just an oddball lamp that failed.

In a different clock, I've also had an NE-2 fail after about 3 years. This bulb is always on, so I'd say it failed as expected.

[JohnK]

I saw a situation with a local power outlet manufacturer back in the 1990s. The Neons in the outlet normally lasted for years.. then a batch lasted for a few  weeks before they went black. The same value resistor was used [and anyway, some of the 'new' bulbs were fitted to old flushplates to also demonstrate to non-tech management. The new batch failed.] The current was 2mA of ac iirc.

 The bulb manufacturer did not provide any reasons - just replaced the bulbs.  No idea whether a wrong part number was involved, or if the supplied part was defective.

 

John K

Australia

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[Nick]

Indeed - I have a number of commodity switched multiple-outlet (typically 4 socket) power code extenders - these tend to have a neon "live" indicator and almost all fail within 1 year or two.

These things (the power strips) are such a commodity item and are so cheap I suspect that the neons are simply sub-standard and not proper NE-2s or similar.

Nick