So, unless this thing has some sort of automatic dead bug removal/avoidence system, be prepared to clean it out on a regular basis. Excessive Glade spraying of the living room followed. Smoke alarms were quieted by much magazine fanning and the lamp unplugged and moved to the patio to extinguish and air out.
#Halogen lamp bulb full
The column of rancid smoke eminating from one of the lamps led to the discovery of what looked like a small Weber grill full of smoldering dead insects instead of charcoals! The main course was a large moth that had fallen on top and set everything off like a fuzzy, six legged MatchLight briquet. Then one night, there was this ghodawful burning smell, like someone had set the pekingese on fire. She rationalized my well intentioned warning of her latest shopping score as just rude negative critizism. I initially warned her of the incredible power consumption of these things (300 watt bulbs for ‘mood’ lighting!? Sheesh! And all that about the fingerprints is true too), but also of the heat and fire danger. I remember the first time my brother’s wife bought a couple back in their pre-pyro peak, and noticing the halogen bulbs were exactly the same as the ones we used to use in our stat camera in the days before desk top publishing (Stat camera? Yeah, that’s how old I am). Hopefully, these new lamps live up to their new safety features! Now, had they just continued making the sturdy $50 ones, we’d have spent the same amount of money yet not had to deal with the hastle of running to Home Depot or Target all the time and hauling off the dead lamps. By the end of the year, we had almost a dozen to haul off to the dumpster. The broken ones ended up there, sometimes to be harvested for parts that would prolong the life of another for another few weeks.
So we ended up with what we called the “lamp farm” in the dining area. With those weighted bases, it’d have cost more than the initial cost of the lamp. But the never lasted more than like 3-4 months! And while they had a 1-year warranty, they had to be mailed back to the manufacturer for replacement. By this time, there were everywhere for $12-15. When I moved into an apartment, my roommates and I added a number to the apartment. Off at college, I had one because the ceiling-mounted flourescent fixtures in the dorm sucked. I had one in my bedroom when in high school. I remember when these halogen torchaires first came ont the market, they seemed pretty sturdy and cost about $50. I’m taking the Holmes company at their word since they are a reputable manufacturer, but if my condo or the Newsvine offices catch fire and kill me, somebody please hack into my server and delete this blog post. I don’t blame her.Īnd so with that, I proceeded to the checkout to purchase my death torches. I went on to explain that these new lamps were safer than the ones from the past but she didn’t seem impressed. “Sorry to interrupt you, but my entire house burned down because of one of those lamps.” No sooner do I run into Keith’s wife and start talking about how Disneyland beats the crap out of Disneyworld, than a woman interrupts our conversation and politely says the following (pointing to the torchieres in my cart):
So I threw two of them in the cart and went over to the food section for some groceries. According to the packaging, its “new technology and design exceeds new 1999 UL 153 Safety Standards”… whatever that means. Sure enough, I spotted a Holmes 300 Watt Halogen Torchiere with full-range dimmer!!! And better yet, it seemed to have all sorts of new safety features built in like auto-off and a cage around the bulb. Fred Meyer is a combination hardware store/grocery store and they have a ton of stuff. Hmmmm, seems like a reasonable cause for alarm, but my halogen of 15 years just went out and I need a new one! How prevalent could this safety hazard really be?Īfter work today, I went down to the last place I knew of which carried something resembling my current model: Fred Meyer in Ballard. Apparently, the bulbs burn extremely hot and if the fixture tips over or some moron throws a shirt on top of it, a fire can start. I went into my local Lowe’s Hardware Store to find out.Īs it turns out, there have been a rash of accidents over the last several years resulting from the use of these lamps. Has anybody noticed, though, how difficult it is to find one of these badboys today? Everywhere you go, it seems this bastion of illumination has been replaced by either an awful flourescent bulb version or a weak incandescent model, both usually with the dreaded “three-way switch” instead of the full-range dimmer. Available for not much more than $15 at any home and hardware store during the height of its popularity, this ultra-soft source of light was a staple of urban living.
#Halogen lamp bulb portable
It was the portable upright lamp seen in every living room, dorm room, and bedroom during most of the 1990s.
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