I feel I am reasonably prudent when it comes to electrical matters. I wouldn't put a 100 watt bulb in a fixture rated for 40w or 60w. But I have probably routinely gone one size bigger when I was looking for more light and didn't think it would be a problem. Guess I was wrong.

Had to change a bulb in a recessed light in a walk in closet. The glass separated from the base when I tried to remove the spent bulb. I used a cut off piece of potato to try to remove the base and the socket pushed through the recessed fixture trim. So I removed the trim and was shocked (pun intended) to discover melted insulation on the neutral.

This looks like a fire waiting to happen. Thank goodness I had a reason to take this fixture apart.

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

This would be a good time to start switching to CFL's- they don't have the current draw or the heat.

Same applies to our cars . . . putting in a 7W "hyperwhite" wedge bulb in the 5W instrument cluster socket is eventually going to melt the plastic prisms in the older cars.

As was posted above....why the heck are you using incandescent bulbs? 100W? You can light a whole house with less power than that!

Step into the future. I even consider CFL's a "moderately dated" technology. I am slowly migrating most of my lighting to ultra-efficient LED's. Can light a whole room with less than 5W of power! And even the lower lifespan ones last over 20,000 hours!

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Where do you get em from?

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

It might be a freak accident. Lets try THIS sucker to make sure.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I am steadily transitioning to CFL's. Haven't bought an incandescent in about two years. But I don't replace incandescents until they fail.

I've had several (at least 4 out of maybe 20) CFL's fail within 18 months even though the ratings say they'll last 8 - 11 years. Anyone else seeing this?

I was in Lowes yesterday and saw the LED's. They run upwards of $20 each. I'm not ready to shell that out until more data on their longevity is available.

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

cfl's fail in huge amounts- I've had closer to 7 out of 20. No return on investment at that rate versus original price and running costs.

CFL's, while popular and portrayed as "the future" isn't always the best choice for illumination.

I wouldn't bank on that damage necessarily being caused solely by using a 100 W bulb in a 75 W fixture.

A poor electrical connection can result in local resistive heating that really cooks things. Use of a higher-wattage lamp would of course aggravate such a condition (higher current, more resistive heating).

Interesting. The connections to the socket are rivets done in the factory (you can see them in the second picture). The other end of the wires terminate in a molded connector that plugs into the recessed light trim. Doesn't seem likely that either end would be a poor connection.

BTW, this fixture was installed 21 years ago when I built the house.

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.

CFLs have a LOT of issue's, I do use them where I can though.

MERCURY, requires special caustious disposal.
Not dimmable, I have most of my house on dimmers.
Longevity, heavily affected by on/off cycles.
Actually less efficient for fixtures that are turned on and off constantly, flourescents require a huge (relatively) power draw to start.
Color, getting better.
Cold start, not good for outdoors in cold climates.
Limited styles.
Slow start, I have several that take up to 5 minutes to produce full light.

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

What's the payback time on a CFL used in a closet?

Not more than 200 years

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MB-less

But darned close to it.