Options
Can you grade with CFL? If not, what will you do when incadescents are gone?
Prethen
Posts: 3,466 ✭✭✭
One notable grader told me that he's going to stock up on as many incadescent bulbs he can get his hands on before they become extinct. I personally haven't tried grading by CFL, but is it simply not possible? Are any of the manufacturers on the verge of creating a new high-efficiency bulb that we can all happily grade with?
0
Comments
AB
Russ, NCNE
Hard to believe we even have to discuss this. But I'm sure somebody here will speak positively about it.
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
- Jim
BTW, I dropped a CFL the other day and it broke. I swept it up and threw it in the garbage.
<< <i>The CFL's that have the bulb type glass on the outside instead of the exposed curly Q and have the more incandescent type color work ok, but not nearly as well as an incandescent.
BTW, I dropped a CFL the other day and it broke. I swept it up and threw it in the garbage. >>
...that would explain the black helicopters hovering over your home.
<< <i>
<< <i>The CFL's that have the bulb type glass on the outside instead of the exposed curly Q and have the more incandescent type color work ok, but not nearly as well as an incandescent.
BTW, I dropped a CFL the other day and it broke. I swept it up and threw it in the garbage. >>
...that would explain the black helicopters hovering over your home.
Yes, I've been throwing all of my burned out CFL's that were suppose to last 10X longer than an incandescent bulb at them.
<< <i>The CFL's that have the bulb type glass on the outside instead of the exposed curly Q and have the more incandescent type color work ok, but not nearly as well as an incandescent.
BTW, I dropped a CFL the other day and it broke. I swept it up and threw it in the garbage. >>
...and despite the supposed recycling plans in the works for these, most other people will be doing the exact same thing-throwing them in the garbage can. That's why CFLs are a big menace in the making as more of them get thrown away.
You're actually doing the local landfill and water supply a bigger favor by sticking with incandescents because as you know, each and every CFL has various amounts of mercury in it. I guess they forgot to mention that when they were launching the whole lib treehugger CFLs-will-save-the-planet brainwashing agenda.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
...not to mention they're made in china!
<< <i>I have enough Reveal Bulbs to last a lifetime...
AB
I'm assuming that has to do with the peanut food allergies? I've heard school districts were talking about doing this but haven't heard of anyone actually following through.
<< <i>
<< <i>The CFL's that have the bulb type glass on the outside instead of the exposed curly Q and have the more incandescent type color work ok, but not nearly as well as an incandescent.
BTW, I dropped a CFL the other day and it broke. I swept it up and threw it in the garbage. >>
...and despite the supposed recycling plans in the works for these, most other people will be doing the exact same thing-throwing them in the garbage can. That's why CFLs are a big menace in the making as more of them get thrown away.
You're actually doing the local landfill and water supply a bigger favor by sticking with incandescents because as you know, each and every CFL has various amounts of mercury in it. I guess they forgot to mention that when they were launching the whole lib treehugger CFLs-will-save-the-planet brainwashing agenda.
CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, but much more mercury is released by power plants to provide the
4 times as much electricity that incandescent lamps require. I grade and photograph with GE 13 watt daylight 6500 kelvin
full color spectrum CFL lights.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf
There is currently no substitute for mercury in CFLs; however, manufacturers have taken significant steps to reduce mercury used in their fluorescent lighting products over the past decade.
<< <i>It's not grading with them that bothers me, it's inhaling mercury particles into my lungs if and when the bulb breaks that bothers me, not to mention all of the cleanup/disposal hoops they want you to jump through after one breaks! >>
Have you ever read the warning messages on the boxes? What to do if you drop and break one? Hilarious. Here is just some of it from the EPA site.
Lance.
* Have people and pets leave the room, and avoid the breakage area on the way out.
* Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for 5-10 minutes.
* Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning (H&AC) system, if you have one.
* Collect materials you will need to clean up the broken bulb:
o Stiff paper or cardboard
o Sticky tape (e.g., duct tape)
o Damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces)
o Glass jar with a metal lid (such as a canning jar) or a sealable plastic bag(s)
* Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place debris and paper/cardboard in a glass jar with a metal lid. If a glass jar is not available, use a sealable plastic bag. (NOTE: Since a plastic bag will not prevent the mercury vapor from escaping, remove the plastic bag(s) from the home after cleanup.)
* Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.
* Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
* Vacuuming of hard surfaces during cleanup is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. [NOTE: It is possible that vacuuming could spread mercury-containing powder or mercury vapor, although available information on this problem is limited.] If vacuuming is needed to ensure removal of all broken glass, keep the following tips in mind:
o Keep a window or door to the outdoors open;
o Vacuum the area where the bulb was broken using the vacuum hose, if available; and
o Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and seal the bag/vacuum debris, and any materials used to clean the vacuum, in a plastic bag.
* Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly.
o Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your area. Some states and communities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center.
* Wash your hands with soap and water after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing bulb debris and cleanup materials.
* Continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the H&AC system shut off, as practical, for several hours.
Actually, I use CFLs for photography, and recommend them to others as well. For both photography and grading, it's not the type of the light source as much as it is the size relative to the coin. CFLs are bigger and more diffuse than halogens unless you cover part of them to make them smaller, in which case they'll just be dimmer. If someone is used to a specific color temperature, then a CFL can take some getting used to, especially if switching to daylight bulbs. Perhaps the notable grader is always cold and likes the warmth of the incandescent bulb, as it keeps his nose from running and dripping on coins. On cameras that don't have custom white balance (an increasing number of low-end P&S's), you might never get the white balance just right.
CFLs are not without their failings, however. The power-on latency, especially if it varies among multiple bulbs in a fixture, has a "third world" feel to it where you think you have to kick something to get them all to come on right away. They take a long time to warm up if they're in a cold environment. Don't think you'll replace the 100 W real bulb in the garage with a 23 W CFL and get the same amount of light, especially in the winter. The inexpensive ones aren't dimmable and can't be used with motion detecting light switches (found this out myself). They last longest if they don't get too hot and are never turned off (front porch has been on 24/7 for over 2 years while previous 40W incandescent was only on at night). Disposal of CFLs in quantity when they fail early, often as the magic smoke is let out of bulbs internal circuitry, is a nuisance. I could bury incandescents in my back yard if I wanted to. Even though the amount of mercury in a CFL is supposed to be harmless, I'd probably be brought up on charges of assorted earth crimes if I did it with those.
Another thing I learned about them is that when they say "guaranteed to last up to 5 years" it doesn't mean that there's a 5 year warranty on them, but only 2 years from the date code stamped on them. It must be syntactically and/or semantically equivalent to "not guaranteed to last more than 5 years," or "guaranteed to die after 5 years or less."
Hopefully, as LED lighting is refined over the next several years to overcome its limitations and CFL negative attributes, CFLs will be able to go away.
A few interesting articles:
Linky 1
Linky 2
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
<< <i>I have done what several others here apparently have done - stocked up on GE Reveal incandescent light bulbs. They should last me long enough to carry me through until this inane law that actually prohibits the incandescent light bulb is rescinded. >>
President Bush did not ban incandescent bulbs, just inefficient ones.
Link
Frank, is there a specific name for the 13W bulb you use? I'm curious to try it.
afford on sales , 2 for 1 deals , coupons , closeouts etc . Then I happened to read the
"Ebay ends dangerous coin listing" thread . A slow but encompasing fear crept over me .
How am I ever going to sell my bulbs to collectors , if Ebay does not allow numerical
designations in the title? I mean there are dozens of 40 Watt ,75 Watt , 100 Watt and
the ever popular 50-100-150 Watt for use in the home when trying to read the ever
shrinking grey sheet font . I can visualize it now . Hawking my wares behind the peanut
snack lady , and YN's with windex bottles clogging up the aisles at Baltimore or Fun
or whereever . Maybe I should try the BST?
President Bush did not ban any bulbs - Congress did. Under the bill enacted by Congress, very few of the new technology lamps will meet the efficiency standards outlined in the legislation, effectively eliminating the incandescent bulb from the market place. This is why GE closed its last manufacturing plant in the US, laying off 800 employees. One of the very few energy efficient incandescent bulbs still available once this bill goes into effect in 2012 is the quartz halogen bulb, known to present a distinct fire hazard due to its significantly higher operating temperature. This is why many college dormitories ban the use of halogen lamps, due to the fire hazard. Congress was ill-advised to enact such legislation before a suitable replacement was found.
Given the excessively long turn-on time of the CFL bulbs, their inability to be used reliably (if at all) with dimmers, their questionable long life, their high cost, potential danger to the environment when improperly disposed of, and cold and unnatural color, I will stick with the vastly superior Reveal incandescent bulbs. I find the Kelvin temperature of the light from these bulbs to present much more natural color, whether for coin study and grading, reading, and most other household uses.
<< <i>So far it appears not all is lost.
Frank, is there a specific name for the 13W bulb you use? I'm curious to try it. >>
Look for this package..they come in 10 watt (40w replacement) or 13 watt (60w replacement) Light is similar to Reveal bulbs.
For those who prefer incandescents, Reveal bulbs will still be available after 2012 in 40 and 60 watt sizes as "appliance bulbs" for ovens and refrigerators.
Except for the slightly smaller size, they have identical lighting qualities.
Didn't Bush sign the bill that Congress passed?
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
The efficiency of CFLs has been overstated. What is the real energy savings for lights I use infrequently like for coin grading?
<< <i>Interestingly, incandescent bulbs helped heat your home in cooler climates. Now you may need to burn more oil, or your flavor of choice.
>>
You will save a lot of money using oil instead of the wasted heat from light bulbs.
<< <i>
<< <i>Interestingly, incandescent bulbs helped heat your home in cooler climates. Now you may need to burn more oil, or your flavor of choice.
>>
You will save a lot of money using oil instead of the wasted heat from light bulbs. >>
I was simply saying that all the energy from traditional bulbs was not wasted and that needs to be accounted for. Look at this 2001 study, less than 9% of residential electricity consumption relates to lighting.
It would be even less today, even without CFLs with our new toys and gadgets. It was a great opportunity for democrats and republicans to facilitate the moving of factories overseas.
CFLs will not save the world, even if they did not fail as frequently as mine do from quality Chinese manufacture.
End-use Consumption of Electricity 2001
Look at the top box, they don't even break out lighting separately.