I think I have light bulb PTSD

[GoodEnuff]

Have you purchased light bulbs in the last few years? What a PITA!

I recently bought some flood light bulbs. No kidding, you can choose the brightness and sometimes the color with a switch on the light bulb itself. WalMart has an entire aisle of nothing but light bulbs. Are you trying to just replace a 60W bulb in a lamp? Good luck. Leave early; it will take a long time to find the equivalent. Now the label will read 11.2W. Huh? That's like a night light. No, that's the power it is drawing (I think?) but the brightness is what used to be called 60W. The older bulbs aren't marked for lumens so you don't know what it will take to replace the old light. And be certain to take along your magnifying glass to read the fine print on the box.

Argh!

 

[hollydolly]

Have you purchased light bulbs in the last few years? What a PITA!

I recently bought some flood light bulbs. No kidding, you can choose the brightness and sometimes the color with a switch on the light bulb itself. WalMart has an entire aisle of nothing but light bulbs. Are you trying to just replace a 60W bulb in a lamp? Good luck. Leave early; it will take a long time to find the equivalent. Now the label will read 11.2W. Huh? That's like a night light. No, that's the power it is drawing (I think?) but the brightness is what used to be called 60W. The older bulbs aren't marked for lumens so you don't know what it will take to replace the old light. And be certain to take along your magnifying glass to read the fine print on the box.

Argh!

I know tell me about it. My husband was very techi, and he dealt with all that nonsense with the bulbs since it was all changed to make it as awkward as possible to know what type of bulb we need.... and now he's gone, it's down to me who is not techi at all ..and it's a real PITA

 

[debodun]

I am used to dealing with wattage. What does 800 lumens in an LED correspond to in watts?

 

[Imogene]

<sigh>. My almost 20 yr old lightbulb on the back patio finally gave out recently. I was able to find something I think will work - hopefully the base is the right size - there is base size to also contemplate

For me the bigger issue is now climbing up on the 8’ step ladder. That never bothered me until my third concussion that left me with worse vertigo than I already had.

So the old joke how many _________does it take to change a lightbulb? I’m leaving that wide open for the punsters

Until I have a good “lesser vertigo“ day, I will just continue to use my big spotlight on the dogs when I let them out, so they know that I can see them. You’d be surprised how they hide if they don’t see a light shining on them from the doorway

 

[Michael Z]

The new light bulbs require so much less energy, which means they also are much cooler so there is less fire hazard. A helpful chart below.

 

[Flarbalard]

The new light bulbs require so much less energy, which means they also are much cooler so there is less fire hazard. A helpful chart below.
View attachment 480063

Thank you!

 

[MarciKS]

Have you purchased light bulbs in the last few years? What a PITA!

I recently bought some flood light bulbs. No kidding, you can choose the brightness and sometimes the color with a switch on the light bulb itself. WalMart has an entire aisle of nothing but light bulbs. Are you trying to just replace a 60W bulb in a lamp? Good luck. Leave early; it will take a long time to find the equivalent. Now the label will read 11.2W. Huh? That's like a night light. No, that's the power it is drawing (I think?) but the brightness is what used to be called 60W. The older bulbs aren't marked for lumens so you don't know what it will take to replace the old light. And be certain to take along your magnifying glass to read the fine print on the box.

Argh!

if you have a smart phone just take a pic of the fine print. you can make it bigger in the photo to read it.

 

[GoodEnuff]

if you have a smart phone just take a pic of the fine print. you can make it bigger in the photo to read it.

That's an idea. IDK if my old phone, which takes lousy pictures, would do that. Hmmm...

 

[GoodEnuff]

The new light bulbs require so much less energy, which means they also are much cooler so there is less fire hazard. A helpful chart below.
View attachment 480063

I have never had a light bulb start a fire, but then I have always been careful not to wrap them in tissue paper or something.

Thanks for the chart. I will try to print that out.

 

[MarciKS]

That's an idea. IDK if my old phone, which takes lousy pictures, would do that. Hmmm...

You got a flip phone or a smart phone?

 

[Nathan]

IMO the compact fluorescent bulbs were crap, something always seemed to go wrong with them prematurely.

The LEDs are a much better technology.

 

[hollydolly]

The new light bulbs require so much less energy, which means they also are much cooler so there is less fire hazard. A helpful chart below.
View attachment 480063

I know all this already because my husband taught me... ( thank goodness I was listening) and fortunately years ago he changed all our light bulbs to the most modern ones... so now when the bulbs blow I just look to see what the name of it is, and buy replacements.. however, gone are the days when a lightbulb cost about 50p... now they're very expensive....... a pack of 2 LED E27 bulbs ( 7 watts = 60watt equiv)... the other day cost me £11.00

 

[Flarbalard]

IMO the compact fluorescent bulbs were crap, something always seemed to go wrong with them prematurely.

The LEDs are a much better technology.

Interesting. I've had the opposite experience. Edison based LED's only last about 7-11 months. Durability was so noticeably poor I began putting dates on them. The compact fluorescents have a few years on them so far.

 

[OldFeller]

I had to replace a ceiling fan. I picked one up from Home Depot. The same Hampton Bay brand as the old one but a different model. It had 4 lights below the fan just like my old one but it doesn't work like the old one. The old one allowed you to select whether you wanted two or 4 lights on. This new one only has one option and that is all 4 lights on or off.

Well, the bulbs that come with the lamp are this new LED type and 4 of them, when on together, could light a football stadium. So I only put 2 in and had to leave the other two sockets empty.

I would really need to go shopping for 4 less bright bulbs but I'd have to go to Light bulb school to learn how to pick out what I need.


Here is the label from the bulbs that came with the ceiling fan.

 

[Jules]

Last week I bought a bedside table lamp that I loved. The lamp had to be turned upside down and the script read with a magnifying glass. G45 W5. After trips to the hardware stores and specialty lighting store, the final trip was to return the lamp. I could have bought a dozen bulbs on Amazon for over $20. I doubt I’d need 4 in my lifetime.

 

[Ted01]

I had to replace a ceiling fan. I picked one up from Home Depot. The same Hampton Bay brand as the old one but a different model. It had 4 lights below the fan just like my old one but it doesn't work like the old one. The old one allowed you to select whether you wanted two or 4 lights on. This new one only has one option and that is all 4 lights on or off.

Well, the bulbs that come with the lamp are this new LED type and 4 of them, when on together, could light a football stadium. So I only put 2 in and had to leave the other two sockets empty.

I would really need to go shopping for 4 less bright bulbs but I'd have to go to Light bulb school to learn how to pick out what I need.


Here is the label from the bulbs that came with the ceiling fan.

View attachment 480074

I think that pic is saying:
9 watts
800 lumens
2700k = warmish, whiter end of the color spectrum

but that's just guessing... I couldn't read when magnifying the image.
I was thinking the same as you though... go buy 4) 400 lumen bulbs... but it might be a PITA to find.

 

[debodun]

I though myself clever when replacing an incandescent bulb with an LED in my outdoor pole light. I found out that LED bulbs don't work in it, only incandescent.