compact florescent bulb ballast works for regular 15 W F15T8 bulb

[robert casey]

I had two 15W compact florescent bulbs die on me prematurely.
Partly my fault as I had them in enclosed fixtures, as
it says not to use them in such on them. Anyway, took them
apart (squeeze gently in a vise) to see what might have died
in them. Well, it turns out it was the actual spiral
florescent bulb. One end of both had open filaments.
Decided to see if the ballast would work a regular 15W
florescent bulb (F15T8, the kind you find in desk lamps).
It does work. Both ballasts work separate 15W bulbs.
At the right brightness.

FWIW, the make and model CF bulb was "Maxlite SKS15EAWW"
15 watts, equal light as that from a 60W incandescent.

 

[Robert Baer]

I had two 15W compact florescent bulbs die on me prematurely.
Partly my fault as I had them in enclosed fixtures, as
it says not to use them in such on them. Anyway, took them
apart (squeeze gently in a vise) to see what might have died
in them. Well, it turns out it was the actual spiral
florescent bulb. One end of both had open filaments.
Decided to see if the ballast would work a regular 15W
florescent bulb (F15T8, the kind you find in desk lamps).
It does work. Both ballasts work separate 15W bulbs.
At the right brightness.

FWIW, the make and model CF bulb was "Maxlite SKS15EAWW"
15 watts, equal light as that from a 60W incandescent.

About a year ago, some companies had a 7-year guarantee.
They rudely discovered was the most stupid and foolish thing to do.
Damn bulbs themselves crap out in under a year's worth of use.
A 7 year guarantee on the electronics would make sense, except there
is no cheap way to replace the lamp itself.