Removing a 4 Pin CFL Florescent Bulb!!!
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- Опубликовано: 8 ноя 2020
- These bulbs were driving me NUTS trying to remove them!!! A lot of cursing of the designers of these fixtures and builders of our house in choosing them. Watched a bunch of videos after I broke one bulb and was struggling with another on how to remove them but still was having problems until I finally just grabbed firmly and pulled straight out with one firm tug. They ALL (6 more) came out easily when doing that (came out in one second). In this video, it takes me a couple extra seconds and I was doing this at an awkward angle for the purpose of the video. I don't know if this will help anyone or if it will work for you but my bulbs felt like they were anchored in (when trying to finesse them out with wriggling back and forth) and I was fighting with them until I just did what I did in this vid.
I don't use them but you might use gloves, eye protection, etc. The standard safety precautions. I didn't but if I'm at an angle and pulling the bulbs straight down, they came right out in one second easily.
If you want to do yourself a favor and be done with these florescent bulbs, switch out to the LED bulbs that you can use in these fixtures. All you need to do is switch the bulbs. No need to remove the ballasts. They're easy to install, easy to remove, and the light quality is WAY better: amzn.to/3ycDSal
#CFL #4 pin #removal #lightbulb
Thanks you Kevin very much for this informative video, it took me just couple of seconds to change the bulbs after following ur instructions . I waited for a year trying to figure out how to remove it and failed, I wish I found ur video then .Thanks!!
Glad the vid came in handy Teja! I was so frustrated with these bulbs/fixtures. My biggest tip after removal is, somewhere down the line, just change out the bulbs to the LED types (like the one in my description) that don't require changing out the ballasts in the fluorescent fixtures. The bulbs might be slightly more expensive but the light is WAY better and seems to be lasting longer. I think it's been 3-4 years and the light seems as bright as when we first installed them. The fluorescent CFL bulbs seemed like they started getting dim only after a couple years.
Thank you so much Kevin for ur recommendation and also for proving amazon link to order LED lights, that was really helpful. Indeed the philips led bulbs are way better and brighter than cfl bulbs and also in one of the youtube videos they explained the risks of having cfl bulbs and health problem it causes. I ordered my LED bulbs from the link u provided and believe me we are so glad we bought it since our house looks like new with new bright lights , earlier with dim cfl lights we were really having hard time looking for food items in pantry and kids in doing thier homework since it would take longer to brighten up. once again thank you so much Kevin for posting this video :)
THANK YOU VERY MUCH 👍🏽
You're welcome. Hassle aren't they?! Highly recommended to switch the bulbs out to the LED variety. Just make sure you get the LED replacements that don't require doing anything with the ballast. The light quality/brightness is vastly better than these florescent types and last way longer plus, they're a lot easier to remove if you ever need to. Our LEDs haven't dimmed one bit.
Thank you so much for posting this video. Your method really made it easy to change these bulbs that had nearly defeated everyone in the house. Once I tried it, it only took a few a seconds and I was able to change 6 bulbs in the house within a matter of minutes. Thank you once again
Glad the video helped! Yeah, I know what you mean about defeat. I was feeling the same way and got so frustrated that I just did the one firm tug and out mine came along with the rest of them. We had them all over the house. I think they're a lot harder to change upon the first change, too, which was the case with all of ours in new construction. What you might look into are the LED replacement bulbs at some point in time. WAY better light and, I'm guessing, should last a lot longer. With some, you have to remove the ballast but with some bulbs, all you have to do is replace the bulb and that's it.
I spent days trying to twist my lightbulb out! Thank you for the video 🎉
This worked. Thank you
Thank you! It saved my day!
Worst light bulb design in all of history.
That's exactly the thing that was going through my mind when I was switching out my 4th bulb or so and having a lot of problems including the breaking of some bulbs. What made mine worse was, I think, was that I was switching out the first bulbs used in these fixtures so I think they were extra tight. I got really mad and just got that firm grip and pulled out the bulb firmly and it came right out. Finesse definitely isn't the way to go from what I found as it starts to break the glass as they start wiggling around and cracking.
Thank you! Great video...short, sweet right to the point. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Glad it helped!
Thank you for your video! I just went through this on my kitchen recessed CFL (G24Q-2) lights. I an going from warm 3500K to daylight 5000K. Each recessed can has two two tube, 4 pin CFLs. Hand access was limited and they were really old so when I tried to use my hands they would start to break. My solution was to use an old paint can wire handle with bent hooks on either side and attach to the paint can. The handle wire is stiff enough to not easily deform, I only needed one side where I used hook to grab at the underside of the bulb base and pull down. It worked pretty well. I also saw someone using a paint can lid remover, but for me it was a bit too short. Also for new bulb installation, I used the cardboard protector the new bulbs came in to push the new bulbs in. This applies an even force to the bulb's ceramic base and not the bulb. What a horrific bulb design!!
I have these as well. For mine, I just have to gently turn the bulb a few degrees counter clockwise and the bulb pops out. The socket is then slightly rotated. I put the new bulb in at the same angle and rotate slightly clockwise. I have no problems doing it.
Good tip! These fixtures had me really frustrated wondering how any builder would decide to use them. Replacement bulbs are relatively pricey too. I'm sure new construction is all LED these days so, hopefully, people won't have to deal with this type for too long. I like the LED bulbs for these CFL's though. I've had mine in for a few years now and they seem as bright as when brand new and I didn't have to switch out these CFL fixtures which was the biggest thing.
Back when we remodeled our house in 2006 in CA they were required by code in both the kitchen and the bathrooms (some kind of florescent lighting), now they are pain and a hazard.
Thanks for this. I thought I was going crazy being unable to change a lightbulb! Turns out you just gotta be forceful. Getting a little angry helps too.
Yeah, it drove me nuts. I think one problem with these fixtures is the first couple bulbs are probably are extra tough to remove and maybe loosen up over time but I don't know. I've switched to the LED replacement bulbs which are so much brighter and isn't this glass configuration and is something I'd recommend for everyone. The light in the CFL is so weak by comparison especially when they started to get old.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, I WAS FEELING SO FRUSTRATED AND YOU JUST REALLY HAVE TO BE A MAN TO DO THIS.
GUYS LISTEN, FIRM GRIP ON THE BASE/BULB, AND PULL. THANK YOU SO MUCH
Awesome Tommy. Glad it came in handy. I was super frustrated with these bulbs too.
That works if you have room to get your hand In there but at work our bulbs dont give you room to get your hand in
Oh my gosh. What a headache. I think these units get looser the more times you replace the bulbs but, what I would recommend after you get these out of your workplace units, are the LED units that can work in these fixtures without having to do anything more than switch out the bulbs. No need to remove the ballasts. We switched ours out and they're working great and the light, to me, looks way better. amzn.to/3ycDSal
I wish I found this video b4 the other guy who said to remove it all...because I didn't need to :(
Yeah, these fixtures as a hassle with the bulb replacements, especially, when they're newer as they're extremely tight.
Don’t break it. You don’t want the mercury and glass to get all over your hands.
Yeah did not work for me. I pulled very hard, almost enough to break the plastic base. I wiggled and pulled. They are stuck. I think there might be corrosion or something. I have six of them, and they are all stuck. Worst design ever!
Are yours brand new and the first time the bulbs have needed replacement? If so, they're VERY tight. You don't just pull hard but it's more of that yank that you want that breaks it out of the fittings. Wiggling is bad too as that's the thing that breaks the glass. You want as direct a downward sudden yank as you can do.
4-pin lights are an absolute terrible design. I am dumping all my 4-pin lights for an easier and safer maintenance option. I have no idea how this horrible lights socket ever became an industry standard.
Agreed. I just replaced the cfl bulbs with the led bulbs noted in the description. Didn’t need to alter the cfl housing either. Just plug straight in. The led bulbs are easy to take out too.