[David Jones]

I had a sewer drain pipe issue that caused me to have to uncover a section of my foundation on Monday. In that section of foundation was my water supply line to the house. It will be at least Sunday before I can get the pipe reburied and right now we are experiencing some of the coldest weather we ever see down here in Alabama. On Monday when I did my digging it was a balmy 65 degrees. Chamber of Commerce type day. This morning it dropped to 15 and Friday morning they are discussing single digits. Yesterday afternoon the plan was to build a fabric tent over the water pipe and stick a shop light with a 60 watt bulb under it to keep the water happy...just let the bulb burn until it either warmed up or I could get the pipe back underground. I get home last night and get one of my shop lights out....it has a CFL in it. hmmmm. So I go to my stash of extra light bulbs and each and every one of them was a CFL. HMMMMM. I go upstairs and everything is a compact fluorescent. Finally, in an old lamp in the basement I found a 60 watt incandescent bulb.

It worked.

Old school baby.

Heat.

[PMD1969]

As of Jan 1st 2014 you can no longer purchase 100 watt bulbs at retail locations per your friendly EPA and government. Signed back in 07'. 60's and 40' will be gone by 2016 ending the 100 year love affair with the trusty incandescent light bulb.

Thank a "greenie" by punching it in the jewels.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by David Jones

I had a sewer drain pipe issue that caused me to have to uncover a section of my foundation on Monday. In that section of foundation was my water supply line to the house. It will be at least Sunday before I can get the pipe reburied and right now we are experiencing some of the coldest weather we ever see down here in Alabama. On Monday when I did my digging it was a balmy 65 degrees. Chamber of Commerce type day. This morning it dropped to 15 and Friday morning they are discussing single digits. Yesterday afternoon the plan was to build a fabric tent over the water pipe and stick a shop light with a 60 watt bulb under it to keep the water happy...just let the bulb burn until it either warmed up or I could get the pipe back underground. I get home last night and get one of my shop lights out....it has a CFL in it. hmmmm. So I go to my stash of extra light bulbs and each and every one of them was a CFL. HMMMMM. I go upstairs and everything is a compact fluorescent. Finally, in an old lamp in the basement I found a 60 watt incandescent bulb.

It worked.

Old school baby.

Heat.

Congrats on that old school tech working for you.

Idea: Knowing you're still in the healing recovery mode, weather roller coaster, etc. if you can't get it covered you might get a "Heat Tape" from an RV or Home supply co.
Not certain if used in your area - in case you don't know heat tapes are: often used on pipes under RVs & Mfg Homes to prevent freezing. Simple plug into same extension cord you are using now for the Heat Tape.

Similar to "Block Heaters" for vehicles.

[The Boss]

Next time grab a bail of hay and a piece of plastic. Break open the bail of hay and sprinkle it liberally in your hole, cover the hole with plastic and put rocks on the plastic to hold it in place. Will work a whole lot better than a bulb.

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by The Boss

Next time grab a bail of hay and a piece of plastic. Break open the bail of hay and sprinkle it liberally in your hole, cover the hole with plastic and put rocks on the plastic to hold it in place. Will work a whole lot better than a bulb.

Sounds great Chris.

I had the shop light, bulb and 2 old sheets. I will confess to using a clump of dirt and a piece of rotten limb as ballast to hold the folded sheets in place and an extension cord to transfer electricity to the bulb.

Not much call for a bale of hay on my 1/3 of an acre here in Pleasant Grove.....

[GoatDr]

You can still buy any incandescent bulb wattage, if it is a "rough service bulb". Loophole.

[Region Warrior]

Incan's are not allowed by OSHA to be used in licensed auto shops.
Can they be used in non-auto shops?

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by Region Warrior

Incan's are not allowed by OSHA to be used in licensed auto shops.
Can they be used in non-auto shops?

They work GREAT in a 20" wide, 5 foot deep trench.

[T A 70]

Originally Posted by David Jones

I had a sewer drain pipe issue that caused me to have to uncover a section of my foundation on Monday. In that section of foundation was my water supply line to the house. It will be at least Sunday before I can get the pipe reburied and right now we are experiencing some of the coldest weather we ever see down here in Alabama. On Monday when I did my digging it was a balmy 65 degrees. Chamber of Commerce type day. This morning it dropped to 15 and Friday morning they are discussing single digits. Yesterday afternoon the plan was to build a fabric tent over the water pipe and stick a shop light with a 60 watt bulb under it to keep the water happy...just let the bulb burn until it either warmed up or I could get the pipe back underground. I get home last night and get one of my shop lights out....it has a CFL in it. hmmmm. So I go to my stash of extra light bulbs and each and every one of them was a CFL. HMMMMM. I go upstairs and everything is a compact fluorescent. Finally, in an old lamp in the basement I found a 60 watt incandescent bulb.

It worked.

Old school baby.

Heat.

That's what I use in my safes to keep my bills dry. 40 watts of heat 'round the clock.

[johnsma22]

Originally Posted by PMD1969

As of Jan 1st 2014 you can no longer purchase 100 watt bulbs at retail locations per your friendly EPA and government. Signed back in 07'. 60's and 40' will be gone by 2016 ending the 100 year love affair with the trusty incandescent light bulb.

Thank a "greenie" by punching it in the jewels.

Just slightly incorrect. The 100 and 75 watt bulbs have been banned since last year. Jan 1 2014 marked the end of the 40 and 60 watt bulbs. Get them while you still can. Home Depot has stated that they have enough stock to last about 6 more months, then they're gone!

Since the bill to eliminate them was signed in 2007 I've been hording bulbs of all wattage's. I've got literally thousands of bulbs sitting on pallets in my basement. Black market, eBay lightbulb business here I come!

David brings up a great point regarding incandescent lightbulbs. That is, 80% of the energy they use is given up as heat. While at first this seems like a waste of energy, just know that the lack of this heat in someone's home during the winter months will have to be made up by the central heating system.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

David brings up a great point regarding incandescent lightbulbs. That is, 80% of the energy they use is given up as heat. While at first this seems like a waste of energy, just know that the lack of this heat in someone's home during the winter months will have to be made up by the central heating system.

On the other hand, in the warm months when you run your AC, you are paying extra to cool down the heat from the incandescent bulbs.

My daughter is a lighting consultant for one of the larger lighting dealers in Madison, WI. In the "old" days of all incandescent lighting - that showroom was almost unbearable on a hot day. The AC system was running overtime and couldn't keep up with the heat produced by an entire showroom with the lights on.

_____________________________________

Back to the "preventing pipes from freezing" topic.... Two inch thick styrofoam insulation would work better than hay - and for most people is more readily available (any Lowes, Home Depot, etc). You could use a can of spray foam insulation to seal the edges if there were any significant gaps.

[PMD1969]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

Just slightly incorrect. The 100 and 75 watt bulbs have been banned since last year. Jan 1 2014 marked the end of the 40 and 60 watt bulbs. Get them while you still can. Home Depot has stated that they have enough stock to last about 6 more months, then they're gone!

Since the bill to eliminate them was signed in 2007 I've been hording bulbs of all wattage's. I've got literally thousands of bulbs sitting on pallets in my basement. Black market, eBay lightbulb business here I come!

David brings up a great point regarding incandescent lightbulbs. That is, 80% of the energy they use is given up as heat. While at first this seems like a waste of energy, just know that the lack of this heat in someone's home during the winter months will have to be made up by the central heating system.

Trade you some 30 round AR15 mags for some bulbs

[David Jones]

Great. Now there is a black market for light bulbs....

[GT182]

David, up in the cold weather of Northern NY we lived in a house trailer. The pump for the well was in a 4 foot deep pit with an insulated cover... half of it under the trailer and half out in the cold. Mind you we got temps in the winter that would make you think we lived in Alaska... above the Circle. LOL To keep the water from freezing up in the tank, the pump, and lines, Dad put a 60 watt bulb in a work light in the pit. It kept everything warm enough so none of it froze up.... except when the bulb burnt out. Heating tapes would last a week or so and crap out, That was the reason for the 60 watt bulb coming into play. And it worked. Yer lucky you found one.

By the same token, if your furnace goes out. Several lamps with 100 watt bulbs will heat a room so you can stay warm.. not by much but it helps.

[David Jones]

Great story Gary.
All through my 55 years I've seen bulbs used to heat/warm various things.
Easy Bake Ovens simply won't work with an LED bulb.
A chapter is ending....

[PonchoV8]

Originally Posted by David Jones

Great. Now there is a black market for light bulbs....

[johnsma22]

Originally Posted by The Champ

On the other hand, in the warm months when you run your AC, you are paying extra to cool down the heat from the incandescent bulbs.

Except for the fact that during the warmer months it's light out into early evening, not requiring the extensive use of interior lighting.

Originally Posted by PMD1969

Trade you some 30 round AR15 mags for some bulbs

Man, if I didn't live in this crapfest of a masshole state with a 10 round magazine limit, I'd take you up on that! I just picked up a SW MP 15 .22LR and the factory 10 round mags are no place to be found on the planet earth!!!

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

Except for the fact that during the warmer months it's light out into early evening, not requiring the extensive use of interior lighting.

You haven't met my wife.

It's automatic for her to turn the lights on when she walks into a room...

[David Jones]

Originally Posted by The Champ

You haven't met my wife.

It's automatic for her to turn the lights on when she walks into a room...

Same here. Jeez.
My wife will flip on the TV in the kitchen, along with both sets of lights, stay a few minutes doing something and then walk out of the room leaving everything on. I'll say something about it and she'll go "oh".

[PMD1969]

Originally Posted by David Jones

Same here. Jeez.
My wife will flip on the TV in the kitchen, along with both sets of lights, stay a few minutes doing something and then walk out of the room leaving everything on. I'll say something about it and she'll go "oh".

There is a fix for this to some degree. Similar problem here in small rooms such as closets, pantry, laundry room, etc. I removed the standard switches and installed a motion detector with an internal timer. When she walks in the motion detector picks up the movement and turns on the light. Each room has the timer set for the amount of time that "I" determined it should be on. Then it automatically shuts off sans wasting any electricity.

Problem is that CFL's will work for a little while until the ballast burns out due to the circuitry. I have stashed away enough incandescents until new tech comes along to keep the systems going. Some of the bulbs are 7 years old and have never been replaced.

I have earned big points by making "magic" happen and her life a little more hands free.