CFL Bulbs that really last for 5 Years

[DonL]

I still think the old bulbs work better and longer.

I don't think I can be proven wrong, Yet...

A bulb that does not work is very energy efficient when it is deader than a door nail, and you don't count the energy to replace it.

[Runs with bison]

It's hard to understand why some have so much trouble with CFL's. I've done CFL conversions in at least 5 houses in three states (including relatives and in-laws) without any problems. I mount them up, down, enclosed, all-around.
One set worked really well in an old 1930's wired house that couldn't get enough juice to the bathroom to run anything but the CFL's--they finally rewired it and replaced the box.

Recylcing is easy, no need to sort, just take them to HD when you make a trip.

[Dana]

I've had very few CFL failures, most happen in the first month- if they survive that (more than 90% do), they go for many years.

But then I don't run 23 watters in base-up configurations either. Even at CFL efficiencies it's a lot of heat being directed at a socket designed to INSULATE rather than transmit that heat. Edison base sockets are designed to keep the fixture from catching fire from the intense heat of an incandescent bulb, not to keep the components cool in an electronic ballast.

I've had a few where glue failed on base-up 9W R30s though, but none catastrphophically (a couple I re-glued, the other I tossed since it already had gone a decade in that socket.)

I've gotten candelabra base 3-watt cold-cathode CFLs by the handful and even by the case for under buck a bulb on ****, in years past, but I suppose that was before they showed up in 1 & 2-packs at Home Depot. For whatever reason the infant-failure of the candelabra base seem higher than 13watt twisties, but I've run them for 5+ years since without an issue. Ive never lost a cold-cathode bulb (edison base or candelabra, any wattage) that made it past the first 10 hours of operation, and that includes the pair of 5-watters out on the front porch that have seen everything from -10F coolth to cozy 100F outdoor temps over their 5+ year installed life to date. (They're base-up in enclosed sconces too, but at 5W they're never too hot to touch.) They were made in China too (like most light bulbs of all types.)