CFL in a drill press/garage door opener?

[nissan_crawler]

Has anybody tried this? Does it rattle them to death? I freaking hate CFL's with a passion, but they have their place when you want to install a brighter bulb than the fixture is rated for. I'm just not sure they'll take the vibration.

 

[PoorOwner]

I have on my opener, no problems.. I actually used to put CFL on the shop lights because when I drop it it doesn't tend to blow the filament.

Just keep in mind it's dim for a minute at first if it's for parking the car when you first come home then it's not real good idea.

 

[gesoffen]

I've had CFLs in our screw drive garage door opener for years. In fact, the bulbs in my opener are going on 5 years and have never been changed. Pretty impressive considering my garage is uninsulated and has open gable vents. With the winter we've been having in the DC area, we've seen plenty of single digit temps and our garage gets opened/closed 3-4 times a day.

I also run CFLs in all of our outdoor lights. All those are going on 5 years as well with out replacing any bulbs. IIRC, all the bulbs are 11w incandescent replacements from IKEA.

 

[CraigFL]

I've had one in for years and no problems. You do have to be careful on some openers because they are longer so your open door height needs to be adjusted so the door doesn't hit the bulb. Ask me how I know!

 

[chadincolo]

I put a CFL in our garage door opener and it lasted about 6 months. My research said that CFL's don't like to go on/off/on/off...ours does that when you walk in and out of the garge, and it is death on the CFL's.

 

[rsanter]

I have a CFL in the garage door opener with no trouble.
I also have a CFL in the overarm light on the lather that works perfectly

bob

 

[ddawg16]

I have CFL's in both the Garage door opener and a light next to my radial arm saw......

For the most part, a CFL can handle vibration better than an incadescent....

But as noted above, constant On/Off is not the best thing for them....but so far the CFL's in my opener have lasted a lot longer than any incandescent...

 

[nissan_crawler]

cfl it is, then. I like light, so I want to put "100 watt" cfl's in my 60 watt outdoor fixtures, the garage door opener, and the drill press, as a way to get around installing higher wattage fixtures.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

I've been wondering if they were going to come up with a rough service one, for things like trouble lights, refrigeration units, etc.

I've been waiting for the price of led ones to drop.

 

[thewelder]

hey nissan crawler the box thats your avatar is it yours and did you do the custom work

 

[Joe Reed]

I put one in the opener for a while, but switched back to the incandescent. Even the 100w equivalent CFL was just too dim when the garage is cold. My garage opens onto a fairly dark alleyway, so I wanted more light so my wife wouldn't hit anything important

I did, however, put CFLs throughout the rest of the garage (100w equivalent "daylight" units)...and they're great! I don't need them to come on instantly...and they only take a minute or so to get to full brightness in the cold.

This pic was before an el cheapo garage makeover (fresh paint, homemade cabinets, etc.). Maybe I'll post some pics sometime to show how much difference can be made on a small budget in a small garage.....

 

[TonyF]

I have on my opener, no problems.. I actually used to put CFL on the shop lights because when I drop it it doesn't tend to blow the filament.

Just keep in mind it's dim for a minute at first if it's for parking the car when you first come home then it's not real good idea.

Should you worry about breaking them when you use them in a handheld shop light? Should we be worried about the mercury?

Sidenote - thewelder you should PM (private message) nissancrawler

 

[Chestrockwell]

I have a desk lamp from Ikea on my lathe max rated 60w but I screwed a 200w incandescant in it and nothing but good bright light; it's a shakey old lathe and the bulb has lasted for years.

 

[nissan_crawler]

hey nissan crawler the box thats your avatar is it yours and did you do the custom work

Yes, it's mine, and I did all the work to it.

I have a desk lamp from Ikea on my lathe max rated 60w but I screwed a 200w incandescant in it and nothing but good bright light; it's a shakey old lathe and the bulb has lasted for years.

EEK! That sounds like a fire waiting to happen.

My garage is heated, so the cfl's only have a 5-10 second delay to full brightness, so that's not an issue. I'll give it a go, from the feedback on here. That will let me have a "100 watt" bulb which is only 3x watts in a 60 watt fixture.

 

[lawfarm]

I have on my opener, no problems.. I actually used to put CFL on the shop lights because when I drop it it doesn't tend to blow the filament.

Just keep in mind it's dim for a minute at first if it's for parking the car when you first come home then it's not real good idea.

The other downside to CFLs in shop lights is that when they do break, in theory, they release mercury in your shop. Bummer, eh?

 

[ripsnortMN]

I've had them in my garage door opener for over a year with no problems.

 

[thewelder]

that is the coolest lookin box I have ever seen and think it deserves a thread