Lights for Basement

Hey guys, I am about spent on trying to keep some lights going the basement. I have tried Florescent shop lights, regular bulbs, those expensive 5 year bulbs, high voltage 130V bulbs and they all seem to last about a month. Anyone found something that will keep going? These lights are not 24 hours per day, maybe 4 hours per day. LED's??

Thanks in advance

what is the voltage at your house ? Do you have this problem all through the house or just the basement circuit(s)?

Ozzy said:

what is the voltage at your house ? Do you have this problem all through the house or just the basement circuit(s)?

Click to expand...

Hi, the voltage in our area runs 127V, through out. Kills 120V bulbs pretty fast. I have tried the 130V bulbs but still they do not last long at all.

Something is definitely wrong but probably not with the bulbs. I get years out of fluorescent bulbs and they hardly ever just fail all at once, they gradually fade out and then start to flicker. 127V is not the problem - that voltage is fine (same as my house and I don't have bulb issues).

Could be a grounding problem, a bad ballast in the fixture, or other wiring issues such that nearby loads are creating voltage spikes that are hitting your bulbs.

Make sure all of your grounds are good and make sure light fixtures are grounded properly.

If you have an electrician buddy, buy him some beer and get him to thoroughly check out your wiring. If you don't have an electrician buddy, get one - they come in handy.

If you think other loads could be creating voltage spikes that are killing your bulbs, you might check with the power company to see if they have an electrical disturbance analyzer to monitor for spikes. These devices can capture a "snapshot" of the spike which can be compared to known signatures to determine the source of the spike.

If you have spare room in your breaker panel, try adding a breaker and connecting one (or all) of your lights to it to isolate from the rest of the house wiring.

You might also try replacing a ballast in one of the fixtures to see if that could be the problem. If the ballasts are the old mechanical type, you will gain some energy efficiency by switching to electronic ballasts. The electronic ballasts also work better in colder temperatures. You could even replace the ballast with a T8 version and use the thinner T8 bulbs instead of the normal T12s.

Hope this helps.

DC

It sounds to me like your fixtures are not grounded, they sometimes don't like to fire off if the fixture is not grounded.....dunno why, just is.....I have a pesky one in my 'shop' that is not grounded, so I lazy and just touch one of the bulbs and it fires off normally....

:shocking:

You have electrical issues, like a loose nuetral.
Incandecent lamps last 2000 hrs average at rated voltage
130 lamps at 120V last about 2500hrs
Flour last a little more
LED lamps last MILLIONS of hours

Gene, a Flour fixture requires a grounded surface adjacent to the lamp (shade) to ignite.

Hey guys, great suggestions. I went down the path of bad ground last night, found that the switch was not breaking hot leg but the ground. Switch kinda sizzles when cut on, assuming this may be where the lack of ground may be. Going to run a complete new circuit from breaker box. Hopefully this will fix the problem. Thank you, would have never ventured down the ground path. BTW, my office is on left side of basement, using recessed 4 bulb florescent lamps, leave on pretty much 24 hours a day, can't remember how many years it has been since I changed bulbs, all makes sense now. Thanks again. tt :friends:

I would imagine a switched nuetral would qualify as a loose nuetral. LOL
I am sure you meant the white (nuetral) wire, as switching the ground would do zip.

big2bird said:

You have electrical issues, like a loose nuetral.
Incandecent lamps last 2000 hrs average at rated voltage
130 lamps at 120V last about 2500hrs
Flour last a little more
LED lamps last MILLIONS of hours

Gene, a Flour fixture requires a grounded surface adjacent to the lamp (shade) to ignite.

Click to expand...

So I have been told, Jeff, but only one of my garage/shop fixtures gives any troubles.....all my lighting is run off the old ceiling bulb 15 amp aluminum wired OEM circuit to the house....

if you saw my garage/shop/lighting wiring, and then glanced at the extension cords I use for outside, you would shit.....

I TOLD you all the Frankenstein ran away scared after once glance....

:rofl::rofl::cussing::twitch:

I just can't stand electrical problems.... car or house.... simply sux....

glad to hear you seem to have figured it out :bump: