January 03, 2005
Ultra Mini Spiral Lamps
Summary: Buy Commercial Electric (CE) ultra mini compact fluorescent (CF) lights. They are smaller and cheaper than ever, and seem to be reliable. (Except one just burned out in two weeks. See log below.) Don't buy Lights of America (LOA) CFs.
Just bought two six packs (a dozen) of Commercial Electric Ultra Mini Spiral Lamps. The CE bulbs I already have are holding up, including the one they mailed me after a good customer service experience.
These are very small. Smaller than a regular light bulb or the burned out LOA bulb seen in this photo. They seem to put out as much light as the larger bulbs. (In this case 60 watt equivalent.)
The ultra minis are replacing three LOA Model 2425 Bulbs that burned out very quickly. Unlike my good Commercial Electric experience, Lights of America wanted me to mail in forms with receipts etc. I just won't buy from them anymore.
Commercial Electric puts a customer service number right on the bulbs: 800-378-6998. That's a good sign. The sale price at Home Depot was $9.95 per six pack. Too good to pass up.
Specs:
Light Output (Lumens) 900
Energy Used (Watts) 14
Life (Hours) 10,000
SKU # 292-460
Model: EDXO-14
14W 200A
V#42836
Customer Service: 1-800-378-6998
Marketing:
Lasts 7 Years Guaranteed*
This Package Saves You $276.00
$46.00 in Energy Costs Per Bulb
Lasts 10 Times Longer Than Standard Bulbs
*based on 4 hours average use per day
*savings based on 10 cents per kilowatt hour
They are replacing larger Lights of America Model 2425.
The Light Log - a 7 Year Experiment
Last updated 1-25-2005
Installation Date / Fixture
- 1-3-2005 / Basement Hallway South. Died 1-23-2005
- 1-3-2005 / Basement Hallway North
- 1-3-2005 / Basement Office South
- 1-3-2005 / Basement Office South
- 1-3-2005 / Basement Office North
- 1-3-2005 / Basement Office North
- 1-3-2005 / Basement TV Room East
- 1-5-2005 / Piano
- 1-15-2005 / Upstairs hall East
- 1-15-2005 / Master Bedroom Closet
That's funny you should write this. I just had a Commercial Electric bulb go out on me. I do think it was one of their older ones which used a larger spiral than the newer ones. The one that burned out was a 20 watt bulb with 3 coils, but the one I replaced it with was 19 watts with 4 coils. I should really write the dates on them so I would know how long they actually last. My lamppost outside goes through regular bulbs like crazy but fluorescents would last a longer (still burn out before their time) until that lamppost stopped working altogether.
The thing is that now the bulbs are so cheap that what's the point of returning them? Not that that would stop me. I only use the fluorescents in lights where they are on almost all the time or are set to come on by timer (I heard once that flipping them on and off shortens their life): kitchen, dining room, and 4 lamps on timer in the den and living room. No good for bathrooms or bedrooms.
Posted by: UT at January 3, 2005 11:39 PMI didn't return my bulb. I sent a very polite and friendly e-mail, and they sent me a new bulb. I used this e-mail address: [email protected].
If you get no response, you may want to try Pamela.
Posted by: Jeb at January 3, 2005 11:48 PM