Categories: Electrician Secrets, Sources of light
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The second life of an energy-saving lamp

 


The second life of an energy-saving lampThe article provides simple tips for extending the life of energy-saving lamps and restoring burned out ones.

Energy-saving lamps are increasingly entering our lives. They really save energy, but they do not always justify the money spent on their purchase. This is due to premature lamp failure. Do not rush to part with her - often by simple manipulations it is possible to extend her life.

Energy saving lamp consists of two parts: a luminous bulb and an electronic ignition circuit hidden inside the case. The secret is that it is extremely rare for both components to fail at the same time. As a result, it is often possible to assemble one working lamp from two faulty lamps, and it can serve for a very long time.

So, pick up a blown lamp and carefully examine it. At first glance, it seems inextricable, but this is a misleading impression. A shallow groove is located in the upper part of the body closer to the bulb. With a narrow blade or a small screwdriver, try to divide the case into two parts. After some effort, you will succeed. Difficulties arise only for the first time - subsequently you will carry out this operation in a matter of seconds.


Inside, we see a round board with, as a rule, radio elements blackened from overheating. Four pins of a square section are arranged in pairs along the edges of the board, to which the wires from the bulb are attached. I draw your attention to the fact that they are precisely wound - no soldering, etc.

Disassembled compact fluorescent lamp

Disassembled compact fluorescent lamp

Carefully unwind the conductors with tweezers, being careful not to break them. Now with an ohmmeter, check the spirals for an open. At both ends of the flask are two leads. It is necessary to measure the resistance between them. If at least on one side it tends to infinity - the flask can be thrown away. In this case, it is likely that the ignition circuit is operational.

If the spirals of the bulb are intact, and the lamp does not burn, the electronic circuit has failed. It can also be repaired, but it requires certain qualifications and is not considered in the framework of this article.

Now we need to take a serviceable flask with the upper part of the housing from one lamp and the circuit with the lower part from the other, gently screw the leads to the pins and connect the halves. Thus, having 2 to 4 burned out lamps, we can assemble at least one, and if we are lucky, then two workers.

In the vast majority of cases, the cause of the breakdown is overheating of the internal electronic components. This is especially often the case when the lamp is installed in a bulb down and, especially, inside a closed lamp in conditions of limited free cooling.

Now that you are introducing the interior of the lamp, to improve ventilation, drill several holes with a diameter of 3-5 mm in a plastic housing. This operation must be performed very carefully so as not to damage the internal elements. Drilling is also recommended for new lamps. This significantly increases their service life.

These tips will help you truly save by efficiently using energy-saving lamps. Of course, you need to purchase them, if possible the same.

Oleg Volsky

The second life of an energy-saving lamp

See also at e.imadeself.com:

  • Extend the life of a compact fluorescent lamp (housekeeper)
  • Incandescent lamp soft start device
  • How to repair a burned out energy-saving lamp
  • The difference between LED lamps and energy-saving compact fluorescent
  • Malfunctions of luminaires with fluorescent lamps and their repair
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    Comments:

    # 1 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    That's right, I always did that. What is interesting is on the expensive from 100r. lamps burn flasks. A year ago, I bought 8 pcs.39 rubles / pc of "Econom" bulbs from the Start on the stock, so they still work and shine much brighter. And I thought it’s not so pathetic to burn. And with electronic blocks, you can run ordinary LB.

     
    Comments:

    # 2 wrote: Alenka | [quote]

     
     

    “The use of energy-saving lamps will certainly affect your wallet,” - this is how the media and our leaders convince us. Exactly in this is that the use of energy-saving lamps on our pockets is really reflected, but not by saving, but by waste of money.

     
    Comments:

    # 3 wrote: Telminov | [quote]

     
     

    For more than a century, the whole world has used incandescent bulbs with tungsten filament. But they considered it - they were released a lot, and the cost of electricity increased by several orders of magnitude. They began to save electricity in various ways. To put motion sensors in the entrances and corridors - the cost of systems has increased. We introduced the transition to winter and summer time, so as not to turn on the early light. But now they have also abandoned this method of saving. It seemed inconvenient. Now released a lot of energy-saving lamps. But they, like fluorescent lamps, badly affect vision due to the white spectrum, plus they pulsate with a harmful frequency. And reading with them is not recommended. Or put in the nursery. They contain mercury. And they will then have to be disposed of. But Russia is big, and will all the bulbs go into recycling? Many will be thrown into landfills or simply into forests, as happens with all the garbage around small towns and villages. In addition - they are expensive because of the electronic filling. And because of power surges, they are not durable.

    One Russian inventor at once solved all these problems. Yuri Vasilyevich Makarov simply decided to improve a conventional incandescent lamp. Now it can be called - “Vasilich’s bulb!” An ordinary incandescent lamp does not harm the eyes, non-toxic, not expensive. Its only drawback is that it spends a lot of electricity. More precisely, 5% of the lamp energy is converted into light. And 95% goes into heat. He suggested that around the filament a cap made of asbestos or a metal mesh with a phosphor coating. It is a substance that, when heated, glows. There are many such substances. It is only necessary to choose the optimal substance for this project. He himself made such a lamp on his desk. Although the grid is located outside, and it is not warming up enough - luminosity is already three times as much. According to his calculations, a 40-watt lamp will shine like 150-watt! Energy savings can reach 80%!

    It was not enough to invent. We also need to win the war against capital invested in the creation of enterprises producing mercury and energy-saving lamps. Prove everything to all officials and responsible persons. The most difficult thing is to solve issues with people.

    And technically - only a small improvement in production - to make "caps" around the spiral inside the bulb. Big investments are not necessary. Restructuring of production is not required. And such lamps will cost about 10 rubles! And that means that all analogues are beyond competition!

     
    Comments:

    # 4 wrote: Andrew | [quote]

     
     

    Do you know that incandescent lamps coated with phosphor have been produced for a long time by serious companies like Osram, for example? They are called-DRV (very similar to DRL, but with a tungsten filament inside.) And you say "Vasilich’s bulb!"

     
    Comments:

    # 5 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    "Grids with phosphor sputtering. This is a substance that glows when heated. There are many such substances. You just need to choose the optimal substance for this project. He made such a lamp on his desk. Although he placed the grid on the outside and it does not warm up enough - the luminosity is already three times as much. "

    I wonder what phosphor Makarov used for that lamp on his desk. It would be possible to share such a secret with everyone.

     
    Comments:

    # 6 wrote: Starvit | [quote]

     
     

    AndrewAnd you are aware that the DRV lamp (RL, if in Russian) is the same DRL, but does not require a throttle. The tungsten filament in it serves to limit the inrush current. Those. replaces the choke for the drl lamp.

     
    Comments:

    # 7 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    Thanks. Good article. I measure the resistance of the wires without unscrewing the wires. There are times when only one thread burns out. Then I solder to the racks
    of a burned-out filament, a resistor of slightly larger denomination than the resistance of a whole filament
    power of 0.5 W. The lamp lasted about a year.