[LesterSleepsIn]

Our house is 104 y/o. Three years ago we replaced three fixtures with new lamps from Rejuvenation lighting and had a trusted electrician install them. The sockets for the new fixtures are all ceramic. The problem is that bulbs for these fixtures last for only a few months and sometimes die with a soft pop. And this morning another bulb blew after only about 4 months of infrequent use. I'm thinking that the cause is the lamps and not the electrician and my completely uneducated guess is that somehow the ceramic sockets  are not meshing with the older wiring. Is this possible? What's going on?

Thanks,
Lester

[Elizabeth]

I find lights enclosed inside a globe fail far more than bulbs open to the air.
You also do not mention the type of bulb used.
Also I have owned dimmers which killed light bulbs really fast, and oddly, other dimmers which the bulbs last for FIVE YEARS. (same use!)
So I can agree it may be your fixtures... or the switch
Though I do not think is is the fact the base is ceramic.
If you could get a soft start switch... I think that would solve the early death of lightbulb.

I have never used the parts you ask about. I am just mentioning possible reasons and cures.

[Phil A]

Don't know if this helps - http://homeguides.sfgate.com/figure-out-problems-ceiling-lights-68224.html  or   http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/nyregion/home-clinic-making-repairs-to-a-ceiling-fixture-when-its-bulb-falters.html

[mcgsxr]

What is the wiring in the house?  When was it last overhauled?

My brother lives in a place built in the early 1900's, and they did an extensive reno years to to rip and replace all the knob and tube with modern romex and appropriate panel replacements etc.

[thunderbrick]

What voltage readings do you get throughout the house?

Can the local utility track the supply readings?

I know there's a lot of junk coming from China but fixtures are so simple I don't see how they can be the problem.  OTOH, I haven't been overjoyed with the service I've gotten from CFL and other new designs.

[Elizabeth]

I haven't been overjoyed with the service I've gotten from CFL and other new designs.

My gripe is the fact CFL and LED both get dimmer rather quickly as they age. So that once 100 equivalent is soon the same as a 60 watt equivalent... and then a 40 watt equivalent.
Plus the fact no one makes a 200 watt LED, or even a 150 watt LED. Seems the powers that be think we should all be mucking about in candlelight levels of lighting.
And sorry to twist the op thread.

[LesterSleepsIn]

Thanks all. And thanks for the link Phil. Yes, I have the same gripe about CFLs and LEDs as many of you do. Mark, the house was built in 1913 and is a bird's nest of older wiring with 6 different owners adding different wiring schemes. A complete redo has never been done and I'm not against the idea but my wife might be. The reason I suspect the lamps is that this only happens with the Rejuvenation lamps whereas we didn't have this problem before with the lamps that were replaced. Something's not matching up. T-brick, don't know about our local utility tracking supply readings but I'll ask.

Cheers,
Lester

[Wayner]

I have spent most of my working career as a lighting equipment designer. What kind of lamps are you using that go "pop"?

Wayner

[thunderbrick]

..... and is a bird's nest of older wiring with 6 different owners adding different wiring schemes.

Is your fire insurance up-to-date?  Have a sprinkler system?

Get thee to an electrical contractor!!!!!     

[FullRangeMan]

Our house is 104 y/o. Three years ago we replaced three fixtures with new lamps from Rejuvenation lighting and had a trusted electrician install them. The sockets for the new fixtures are all ceramic. The problem is that bulbs for these fixtures last for only a few months and sometimes die with a soft pop. And this morning another bulb blew after only about 4 months of infrequent use. I'm thinking that the cause is the lamps and not the electrician and my completely uneducated guess is that somehow the ceramic sockets  are not meshing with the older wiring. Is this possible? What's going on?

Thanks,
Lester

I had the same prob of lamps with short life in this past summer, after a verification I found a sparkling in an outlet that preceded the lamps.
It was only necessary to tighten this connection.

[Wayner]

I had the same prob of lamps with short life in this past summer, after a verification I found a sparkling in an outlet that preceded the lamps.
It was only necessary to tighten this connection.

Why would an electrician put lights on an outlet circuit? Usually that is not the practice.

[FullRangeMan]

Why would an electrician put lights on an outlet circuit? Usually that is not the practice.

Saving wire, the local electrical norm specifies nothing inside the home.

[thunderbrick]

Saving wire, the local electrical norm specifies nothing inside the home.

Wire is cheap; they were probably just being lazy.

Plugging a vacuum cleaner into an outlet can make the downstream lights go on, yet the vacuum doesn't work.  It acts as a switch, closing a loop back through the motor.

That was the case in the house I bought and was one of the first things I fixed.

And, if I blow a wall socket I don't want to lose my lights at the same time!

[Wayner]

Saving wire, the local electrical norm specifies nothing inside the home.

The National Electrical Code supersedes the local codes....

[JLM]

The National Electrical Code supersedes the local codes....

No, the NEC is only a model code that most local/state electrical and residental codes adopt (with or without amendments).


There is a difference between poorly made and better made CFL and LED bulbs.  For LED's the extent of heat sinking is a predictor of lifespan. 

[JerryM]

The National Electrical Code supersedes the local codes....

The "Authority having jurisdiction" supersedes all codes. Trust me.

[Elizabeth]

The "Authority having jurisdiction" supersedes all codes. Trust me.

Yup. "Authority having jurisdiction" supersedes all codes. Trust me."
 I had a friend who wired his garage. He was a electrician apprentice and did it according to code. But he did not get a permit. So the permit dude forced him to tear out 100% of the work.Get a permit and then do it all over. Just because he (permit dude) could

[Wayner]

That has nothing to do with the NEC.

The NEC has exceptions to the code all over the place. As an example, it allows for the use of conduit in residential homes (perhaps part of a city building code). but it describes the conduit types, wire size, wire type, temperature and even allowable conduit fill. It doesn't allow someone to use 18gauge lamp cord on a 15 amp circuit (as an example).

NFPA has adopted the NEC, as has UL, and all of the insurance companies.

So while local or state "authorities" may write in their own choices for wiring code(s), it is still under the descriptions covered by the NEC. No one can undermine or "lessen" the code (back to the 18 gauge example).

[Armaegis]

Yup. "Authority having jurisdiction" supersedes all codes. Trust me."
 I had a friend who wired his garage. He was a electrician apprentice and did it according to code. But he did not get a permit. So the permit dude forced him to tear out 100% of the work.Get a permit and then do it all over. Just because he (permit dude) could

I bought a house with a fully finished basement. It turns out the basement was finished by the homeowner probably 20 or 30 years ago, but he never took out any permits. Guess who's on the hook for all of that now...

[Wayner]

Getting a permit from your local city or county has nothing to do with the NEC.

BTW, we still don't know what kind of lamps the OP is burning out........