Electrician help!1 60 Watts Type "A" bulb or 13 CFL

[UTUSN]

Just when the estimable Lounge thought the depths of my ignorance had been plumbed (especially about computer tech matters), here's a whole new category!1

So this lamp says to use a maximum of 60 watts bulb or 13 CFL. I literally had to Google to find out what CFL means, Compact Fluorescent Lamp. So the only bulbs on hand were one of the (old style) Type "A" bulbs, with the Watts number having rubbed off, illegible.

The CFL type bulb similarly had some faint, tiny printing around the base. It was part of a energy conservation program that the electric company sent out, replacing bulbs in the house, probably a government/generic bulb.

With a magnifying glass and under another light, this is what can be read:

2700 K
120V 60 Hz
20W 0.289A


**********So, is this saying it's equivalent to a type "A" bulb of 20 Watts? or is it a 60 Watts bulb?

Or should I go buy something that says 13 CFL or what???!!!1

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. It's a 20W CFL bulb, I assume.

Which would be like equivalent to a 100W regular bulb.

(Unless in the fine print somewhere it says 'equal to a 20W bulb', then the 20W is the rating of the bulb itself)

[HopeHoops]

2. Do NOT use a CFL in a dimmer switch!!!

Otherwise, they are great if they fit. The longer CFLs are too big for a lot of fixtures, overheads like bathroom lights in particular. There's also no way to attach a bulb-mount shade to one unless it is encased in a Type A bulb (which they make).

[Kansas Wyatt]

3. A 150W bulb would work, but it will eventually burn up the light.

The light is rated for the wattage bulb that the Underwriters Laboratory tested the light for maximum wattage bulb. For liability issues.

Buy a 60W incandescent lamp or a 13 CFL lamp to put in the light. The CFL bulb package will tell you how much light it will put out if it were a incandescent lamp, like:
10W CFL = 40W incandescent

[UTUSN]

4. Thanks all. Since this thread bounced up to the top, I'll update.

My problem was that the bulbs I had on hand didn't have enough information.

I ended up at the store, and the packages *do* contain the information. There were some puzzling incongruences, such as: There were 13 CFL, 14, and 20 CFLs all saying "equal to 60W". And there were packages of three for $10 and other three for $6.

But this settles it, and thanks again.

[pokerfan]

5. A 20W CFL is roughly equivalent to a 75W incandescent

in terms of illumination. In terms of power consumption, it's 20W. You should be fine.