Halogen Lamps

[Robert Reed]

I bought one of those floor stand shoplights at Home Depot a couple of months ago. It uses 250 watt Halogen lamps in two separate units. In <20 hrs of use, two bulbs have already burned out. They were not cheap to replace at $5 a pop. Since this is my first experience with Halogens, I have no idea on their life span but would expect a lot more life out of them. Anybody have a handle on the normal life expectancy of these bulbs? Also, I used a rag rather than direct skin contact to install the bulbs.

[ddl939]

I found some brands of tungsten halogen tubes are poor quality and burn out quickly. The box of one brand says 2000h.

[Ken1]

I have experienced the same thing myself with 500w halogen floodlights that I put on the exterior of my house. The manufacturer of the lamps supplied generic made in china bulbs and they all burned out within 10 hours. I replaced them with GE branded halogens and had no problems since.

[Robert Reed]

Ken
Just out of curiosity, what were the relative prices of those two brands. I pay about $5 for the ones I purchased (not sure of the brand) and at the time thought that price should justify some longevity. The wattage of the bulbs are 250 watts in a well ventilated enclosure.

[MrAl]

Hi,

Robert:
Just wondering, what hours do they claim on the package?

I used to have incandescents that burned out in one single month, then i switched to the
energy saver spiral fluorescents.

[Ken1]

I believe I paid around $5 each for them. That was a few years ago. They were sold one bulb on a card. The generic ones were 2 per card and sold for around the same price per card which means half price. I believe the GE ones stated 2000 hours lifespan. I don't have any spares lying around to check.

[Robert Reed]

MrAl
Never checked brand or package specs. Was in the middle of a hurry up job when I replaced them.

Ken
Well that compares to the single unit price I paid ($5) so I guess I will be more aware on my next purchase.

[dacflyer]

el cheapos do not last long,, i have had some that turned black, so black that almost no light escaped, then they went out.. you could see how the bulb deformed..