discussion Rants etc.....

[lowfat]

Still using 10+ year old CFLs for many lights in house. Did have another finally die a couple days ago.

I still have quite a few replacement bulbs left. But all of them are cold white, which I really don't like.

 

[JD]

However not a single one of those $1 lights from that time actually lasted any length of time. Best ones maybe lasted 2 years in the rooms with actual traffic, 5 in rooms with little usage so had to swap them all out anyways. Most of them the plastic housing were cracked and damaged when they failed. Corners were definitely cut making them

I feel like everything during the eco-grant programs were like that. Quickly rushed to market for people to grab all the government money, but really poor quality overall and likely just contributed to more waste...

 

[Izerous]

I feel like everything during the eco-grant programs were like that. Quickly rushed to market for people to grab all the government money, but really poor quality overall and likely just contributed to more waste...

Unfortunately not uncommon to see people take advantage of that kind of thing.

With the greener homes programs lots of solar companies popped up out of no where to try and cash in on program money.

Even met someone who spun up a company to do home reclamation after the major Calgary flooding over a decade ago. He already set off alarm bells before I found out he cashed in on that with a fly by night company. Working with him was a nightmare. I'm not a violent person but I might have imagined hitting him with a folding chair after some of the stuff he said.

 

[ipaine]

Probably set up for a floor lamp. Did you check both sockets? Sometimes the switch is only ganged to one of the two sockets.

No have not checked that yet. It was late and it annoyed me, plus no food in it gives me a bit of time. Will be checking tonight though.

If it's just normal bulbs, you can get some sensor bulbs so you can leave the light switch turned on and the lights will come on when you go down there, simple workaround.

That seems like it could be one of the easiest solutions.

Except that leaves a functional switch for the freezer which will at some point in time definitely end up being turned off by accident if it's not one of those bright red furnace switches. (I think the furnace switches might also have stronger throw weight on them to discourage accidental engagement).

It took me over a year to realize that the light in our bedroom closet which I assumed was just broken was also tied into the hallway light. If your lucky and feel comfortable enough opening it up take the cover off the switch and pull the switch out of the box and check how many wires are in it. If the outlet is tied directly to the switch there will be extra wiring and you can bypass the switch. Without doing much more than re-connecting the wires differently and you don't need anything more than a screw driver.


For me the light was actually where the power ran to first then down to the switch and back up. So I had to take the light down and re-terminate it in that box. Still pretty simple fix to make it so the switch in the closet worked independently from the hallway. (motion switch in the closet is amazing open the doors and auto turns on now)

If the outlet is daisy chained off the light from the switch then that makes things more complicated and likely needs new wiring not just re-terminations.

If I go with something like the sensor light gingerbee mentioned above I will first be looking at the wiring to the switch itself. If it is possible I will just bypass it and get rid of the switch completely and just put a solid panel over it. Again all depends on what the actual wiring looks like. That said sswilson's idea about testing the other socket comes first before any others.

Thanks for the replies, it does give me stuff to think about and consider.


Now onto my other rant.

Power sofa bed we got in the sons/guest room. Found out that if you have it open and then it loses power, once it gets power again it closes, and there is no way to stop it. And with the design it could easily seriously hurt someone if it was like a young kid or elderly parent or something. Just imagine being asleep and the power goes out and then comes back on, it would not be a pleasant experience. Have already sent the info about it to the store and filed a consumer safety complaint with the gov.

Also I typed this out all yesterday and looks like I forgot to hit post.

 

[gingerbee]

Ya, if rewiring to bypass the switch is not the easy option and you go with the sensor bulbs, just make sure you get a switch guard/blocker so you don't have to worry about someone accidentally turning it off. But I do agree that if a bypass can be done, it's the simplest and cheapest option, only requiring a wire nut and a blank cover plate, so like 10 bucks, where the sensor lights and switch blocker will be between 15-40 bucks. all good options

 

[clshades]

Apparently reading a very clear list is a special skill reserved only for those that aren't idiot savants. Sigh... Condo clearly says 40 gal tank so why is there a 60 gal... Ffs.

 

[sswilson]

Now onto my other rant.

Power sofa bed we got in the sons/guest room. Found out that if you have it open and then it loses power, once it gets power again it closes, and there is no way to stop it. And with the design it could easily seriously hurt someone if it was like a young kid or elderly parent or something. Just imagine being asleep and the power goes out and then comes back on, it would not be a pleasant experience. Have already sent the info about it to the store and filed a consumer safety complaint with the gov.

Also I typed this out all yesterday and looks like I forgot to hit post.

That is bizarre! Definitely a design flaw if that's the default, and even more so if it's something that can't be changed.

What's the make/model?

 

[lowfat]

The ads I'm seeing for MTG (Magic The Gathering) are just ridiculous. Like wtf. The Office & Furbies cards?!?!