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How to choose a quality incandescent lamp

 

How to choose a quality incandescent lampWe live in an amazing time when the word "economy" penetrates into all spheres of life. Just some 10 years ago, few people thought that soon from the usual incandescent lamps, those "Light bulbs Ilyich"will have to decline in favor more economical LED and fluorescent analogues.

Unfortunately, the proposed alternative solutions are not a panacea, because due to the simplicity of the design of an incandescent lamp, its cost is extremely low, and the dissipated thermal power is sometimes in demand, for example, in domestic incubators.

Currently, the production of incandescent lamps is gradually being phased out. Because of this, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a quality inexpensive product: you won’t surprise anyone with a situation where a lamp left by grandfather works properly for 5-10 years, and a recently purchased one fails for several months.

In fact choose a quality incandescent lamp it is possible, but for this, when buying, you should pay attention to several key features.


Base cap - lamp base

For example, take three lamps of the same power from different manufacturers (Fig. 1).

Three incandescent lamps from different manufacturers

Fig. 1. Three incandescent lamps from different manufacturers

The picture clearly shows that the design of the lower contact of the base is different for everyone (Fig. 2, 3).

Base contact of three incandescent bulbs
Base contact of three incandescent bulbs

Fig. 2, 3. The lower contact of the base of the three incandescent lamps

Theoretically, this difference should not affect the performance of the lighting device, but in practice, everything is a little different:

- type "A". The contact area of ​​such contact with a copper “tongue” (central spring-loaded contact) in the cartridge is smaller than with other implementations. With frequent replacement of lamps, the tongue has the property of moving slightly to the side, so sometimes the contacts can not touch because of this, and even a working lamp does not shine. The most unfortunate decision;

- type "B". The contact area is reduced, but it is, nevertheless, larger than in the first case. Compromise solution;

- type "C". Large copper pad. It works without problems even in worn cartridges. The only thing - such a contact should not have any play.


Soldering: Proven Reliability

The method of connecting the outer part of the current lead to the base is also different (Fig. 4, 5)

Top contact of the base of incandescent lamps
Top contact of the base of incandescent lamps

Fig. 4, 5. Top contact of the base of incandescent lamps

At the moment there are two of them: using spot welding (type "B") and classic soldering (type "A", "C"). Although welding looks more technologically advanced, however, often such a connection tends to break down. Perhaps this is a manufacturing defect, but there were precedents. Therefore, the most reliable is a quality-soldered current lead (type “A”).

The filament is different for different manufacturers. The most widely used are tungsten filaments, but are sometimes found from an alloy of tungsten with osmium. The picture shows the difference in length. Usually alloy threads are more durable. Perhaps this is due to the more frequent arrangement of the supporting hooks, due to which the sagging of the thread is reduced.



Reliable hold above all

The glass bulb is connected to the metal base using a special mastic. Its layer is easily visible through the transparent glass of the flask. One of the lamps showed that the manufacturer decided to save on this component (Fig. 6).

Such a lamp is doomed to an early failure. After a while, the bulb, due to constant heating, will come off the base, hang on the current leads, and fall. In any case, a manufacturer who monitors the quality of his products will not allow himself such “savings”. Better to refrain from acquiring.

Resin composition of an incandescent lamp

Fig. 6. Resin composition


Crimp Filament

Frequent the cause of "burnout" of incandescent lamps poor-quality fixing of the filament is supporting electrodes (Fig. 7). It is possible to hide this drawback only in matte lamps. When buying transparent models, you need to pay attention to this point. The picture (Fig. 8) shows what a reliable crimp should look like.

Channel thread crimp defect

Fig. 7. Defect crimping the thread of the channel

Correct crimping of the filament

Fig. 8. Correct crimping of the filament

Following these simple recommendations will allow acquired incandescent lamps to delight others with their light for a long time.

Dmitry Babin

It is interesting: Who actually invented the incandescent lamp

See also at bgv.electricianexp.com:

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  • LED lamps FILAMENT - device, types, characteristics of dignity ...
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  • How to calculate the filament temperature of a filament lamp in nominal mode
  • Why do incandescent bulbs burn out so often

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    Comments:

    # 1 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    I’ll clarify.

    1. The site. No questions. The large area of ​​the site is good. But most often on lamps with such a large area, soldering is not of very high quality, and the site itself is all oxide before the start of operation, and therefore it is not necessary to talk about good contact. In this case, the sample "C" is very similar to the lamp of the Kalashnikov factory, and they are known to be of very low quality, but cheap. In this case, I will prefer sample “A”, since it, unlike others, is more convex and better than spain.

    2. Connection method. In life, I did not fail. And in your review it is not at all correct to interchange the lamps and assign them a different sample name.

    3. The method of fastening the flask. The matter is important, but it fails on the most low-standard lamps at the time of screwing into an old tight cartridge or after burnout when twisting. They just didn’t fall off in life.

    4. To the campaign of the review you decided not to specify a specific sample further. Apparently they themselves were disappointed in their samples and did not find a good lamp.

    5. Fastening the filament. Complete nonsense. It makes sense only the distance between the legs excluding sagging threads. Sagging threads under its own weight, this is real evil. And sometimes in life, burned out lamps were treated with its turn. A broken thread simply stretched and, when turning, threw itself onto a piece of another piece and began to work. Pretty long.

    Council such. Buy not the cheapest lamps from reputable manufacturers. For example, I exclusively use Osram lamps, but I think Philips or GE are no worse. Although branded manufacturers, the service life is clearly measured out correctly and will not be more than that indicated on the package. But less too. Stable!

     
    Comments:

    # 2 wrote: Ruslan | [quote]

     
     

    Thanks! I’m looking closely.

     
    Comments:

    # 3 wrote: Developer | [quote]

     
     

    Pay attention to the marking. Try to choose lamps with an upper limit of 240V rather than 230V.

     
    Comments:

    # 4 wrote: Andrew | [quote]

     
     

    Buy not the cheapest lamps from reputable manufacturers. For example, I exclusively use Osram lamps, but I think Philips or GE are no worse. 

    Don’t say it! They burn out at least others, even those made in Europe (Poland, Hungary, Ukraine). And often the first time you turn it on. It is possible that for bulbs supplied to Russia they have underestimated quality requirements. The same applies to energy-saving lamps. Chinese brands sometimes serve much longer than European ones.

    Significantly extends the life of incandescent lamps, the use of soft starters is tested. And they are now not so expensive.

     
    Comments:

    # 5 wrote: Svetlana | [quote]

     
     

    Very interestingly written about light bulbs. I liked that there are many examples. I will now know what to look for when buying light bulbs, or even the truth, lately there have been a lot of defective ones.

     
    Comments:

    # 6 wrote: daron33 | [quote]

     
     

    All this was written in order to write that in 90% of cases the lamps burn out due to poor-quality tungsten, too thin filament, the technology is not respected. It is beneficial for our manufacturer to lower the lamp life. In the union, the lamps burned on the floor, or even for years, and European brands burn in the same way because it is an ordinary Chinese fake.

     
    Comments:

    # 7 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    daron33,
    I completely agree about Chinese fakes. In general, somehow I did not think about the quality of the lamps. I choose automobiles very carefully, but these are somehow on the drum.

     
    Comments:

    # 8 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    I bought Philips lamps (30 rubles), one out of three has been on for 3 years, I bought Osram (15 rubles) - they burned out for half a year, I bought General Electrik (pr-in Belarus, 12 rubles) - less than 3 months later. burned out, even connected through a dimmer. All lamps are 240V matte. So if you still need the incandescent bulbs, then you should buy high-quality and expensive ones.

     
    Comments:

    # 9 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    It is necessary to do everything in the complex, put a voltage limiter, a protection unit for halogen lamps and incandescent lamps, and accordingly buy good bulbs and everything will be ok.

     
    Comments:

    # 10 wrote: Zhizdermo | [quote]

     
     

    The reason for the incandescent lamps to burn is shitty tungsten. It contains all sorts of impurities, they eventually evaporate from the spiral, tungsten becomes loose and burns out.

    Life is shit. The one who makes her shit is shit too.

    All the best.

     
    Comments:

    # 11 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    But I subjectively came to the conclusion that incandescent lamps should now be used only in humid rooms such as bathtubs and toilets (housekeepers burn out due to humidity and frequent inclusions) and any utility rooms; ), then its service life can grow to several. years (even of poor quality), the only flicker appears. Well, or you can turn on through all sorts of protection blocks as described above, only they are expensive.

    In general, the Philips are the best now, although they are more expensive, Chinese-complete bullshit. Domestic, a little better than China.

     
    Comments:

    # 12 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    I have an energy-saving lamp installed in the room. It has been working for the second year now, it started to flicker. I bought for 200 rubles during this time, the heatings would have already burned out several times, and they would have consumed more electricity. So there is a saving. It’s true I don’t know where to dispose of them, because they have mercury.

     
    Comments:

    # 13 wrote: | [quote]

     
     

    I don’t know where you find different manufacturers. I in Moscow buy only Belarus, "space". They burn out quickly in a chandelier, 10 bulbs have enough for 5 horns for less than six months. They knock out the machine in the electrical switchboard.

     
    Comments:

    # 14 wrote: Gregory | [quote]

     
     

    If the energy saving accidentally crashes in an apartment and a drop of mercury spills, then what will you do? Where to look for these drops? It is necessary to call the Ministry of Emergencies and ventilate the apartment for at least 2 weeks, and where to live this time.

    Do not put energy savers in a residential area!

     
    Comments:

    # 15 wrote: Electrical student | [quote]

     
     

    Gregory,
    Do not mislead people! Probably you mean CFL by "energy-saving", but in them, like in standard LB mercury lamps, the cat cried! With single CFL destruction, demercurization is not carried out!
    Enough ventilation (at least 6 hours, or at least 2 hours with active ventilation).

    But a drop of mercury about which you spoke can be contained in DRL and DRI or DNA lamps! Sodium lamps will be used ONLY for street lighting (due to the predominance of yellow in the emission spectrum), and DRL and DRI are installed in rooms with a height of at least 7m according to the PUE (due to the stroboscopic effect), so you will not find DRL in apartments! If the DRL bulb is destroyed, it is necessary to call the Ministry of Emergencies and to carry out the demercurization of the room.

     
    Comments:

    # 16 wrote: Santix | [quote]

     
     

    In fact, there are much more high-quality incandescent lamps than lamps and wiring accessories.99.99% of people just don’t know why their bulbs burn out and 99% of them don’t know what to do.

    I would not want to criticize, but the article says almost nothing about quality and choice. About the alloy of tungsten with osmium, I generally had a "template break". Friends do not believe there is none. Usually tungsten with additives affecting recrystallization, less often an alloy with a low rhenium content.

    In the base, quality does not affect the central contact, but the glass (body). Soft aluminum is worse than galvanizing, especially in high-power lamps (burn side contacts in lampholders). Brass is the best, but almost never occurs.

    Alas, one can rely only on experience. Appearance says very little about how much which lamp can burn out. I can say that of our good quality for Tomsk light bulbs, Lisma also makes decent ones, but there are also bad series. Kalashnikov’s are not very good. There are no more domestic ones left. Of the imported palm trees, I will give the championship to Osram, the best of ordinary incandescent lamps available on the market today. Polish philips of average quality, at the level of ours. Hungarian GEs are good. Belarusian lamps are also quite high quality, but it is better to buy them under your own name - it is so significantly cheaper. Ukrainian Spark - low quality. Kyrgyz Miley-Say - pretty good, especially 25 watts. The Chinese, by the way, are not so bad and come across very durable. Especially monospiral, only they have less luminous flux. True, some regions no longer have to choose, in the East, for example, almost only Chinese are already.

     
    Comments:

    # 17 wrote: Novel | [quote]

     
     

    I don’t know where you saw the French OSRAM, here in Moscow in a nearby hypermarket they sell OSRAM lamps made in Russia, Philips made in Belarus (the most expensive), and another year-round made in Belarus (the cheapest).

     
    Comments:

    # 18 wrote: Alexander | [quote]

     
     

    Philips is also made in Poland. Now I buy only them. I can’t switch to energy-saving so far, because all switches with LED illumination, and, most importantly, through one are connected so that they break zero, not phase. IN there is no sense in changing the wires in places, since there are also correctly connected ones, and you can’t get close to the “wrong” ones in the back without disturbing the interior.Because of thisenergy-saving lamps flash after turning off, it remains to use ordinary incandescent lamps. And buy lampsPhilips orOSRAMit is necessary in good stores - it seems they are often faked. I bought a couple of packagesOSRAM on the market so their base was so hot that they overheated me and destroyed all the plastic cartridges, one was still old black Soviet, but he survived. I had to throw out apparently normal lamps. For testing, the devil got it, took one package for 40 W and the second for 60 W of some Navigator made in China. I bought in a good store selling electric lighting devices. So they have glass flasks from the base peel off, and not immediately, but after a certain period of operation. After peeling off, they hang on the electrodes, but once completely fell off and the red-hot one fell to the floor, the tungsten filament damped in flight did not have time to cool down and burned the mark on linoleum. Would fall on a shoulder or head, there would be a severe burn, would fall on the floor covered with flammable material, could catch fire. Horror, do not buy such, take care of yourself.