Out Go The Lights??????

[KITKAT]

Hi all...

I am rather perplexed, and a bit worried.

I just heard that the president signed a bill from congress on December 19, making INCANDESCENT light bulbs illegal by the year 2014.

What will we use for basking bulbs? In fact, what will chicken farmers use for brooding bulbs, and etc? There are alot of uses I can think of where incandescent bulbs will work and nothing else will do the job!

Will we all be using heat emitters with our new flourescent bulbs that plug into our old incandescent lamps? Or will reptile companies have the only incandescent bulbs available, and thus they will quadruple in price?

I see problems forthcoming from this! And in my local Home Depot, you can already see much less aisle space for incandescents, and more space for the compact flourescent, which does not produce heat like a basking bulb!

In case you think I am kidding...

WorldNetDaily: Congress bans incandescent bulbs

Bye-bye, incandescent bulb? | csmonitor.com

Incandescent light bulbs be to shelved by 2012 in US - Engadget

A google on the subject will yield even more than this...

[Loren]

Yeah, I heard of that too. I think Ca. is outlawing them even sooner.
As far as heating bulbs, there will almost certainly be exclusions for "special purpose" bulbs, like heat lamps for brooding and stuff, but I dont know how far that will go. I would imagine that some types of reptile bulbs will be excluded as well.
I plan to stock up on the cheap incandesants like at orchard supply or walmart- 30 or 40 bucks will buy enough 40,60,75, and 100 watt bulbs to last a really long time, at less than 2 bucks per 4-pack.

[KITKAT]

I am just terribly afraid that they will spell it...

"exclu$$$$ion$$$$!!!!

I currently purchase Phillips DuraMax spot bulbs, using 50W, 75W, and 100W spots for basking bulbs. I pay a mere $3.27 per bulb, compared with the $6 - $8 per bulb that is wanted at pet establishments for reptile bulbs.

Yeah, I heard of that too. I think Ca. is outlawing them even sooner.
As far as heating bulbs, there will almost certainly be exclusions for "special purpose" bulbs, like heat lamps for brooding and stuff, but I dont know how far that will go. I would imagine that some types of reptile bulbs will be excluded as well.
I plan to stock up on the cheap incandesants like at orchard supply or walmart- 30 or 40 bucks will buy enough 40,60,75, and 100 watt bulbs to last a really long time, at less than 2 bucks per 4-pack.

[tikichick]

No need to worry, the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012 anyway

[Loren]

No need to worry, the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012 anyway

Sweet- I'll probably be ready by then anyhow.
Outside of uv flourecents, and an occasional mercury vapor uv, the only bulbs I use are the cheap ol' basic style incandesants.
I am slowly (very slowly- like not actually working on it) working on running 4" flexwatt under all of my aquarium shelves. I already have the flexwatt, and a herpstat digital thermostat.
I already did one shelf, but havent gotten around to doing the rest. I cut out and stapled 2" wide strips of 1/8" panelling to raise the tanks just high enough so the flexwatt doesnt get smashed by the tanks. Then I put 2 layers of foil down( for added safety, as my shelves are wood), held down by foil tape(the stuff they sell with flexwatt) and then the flexwatt. It works, but, since the tank's glass is actually up higher than the tank frame by a bit, I end up with too much heat loss by time it gets through the tank and bedding.
Flexwatt is supposed to be kept under 95, and at that temp, I only get mid 80's in the tank. I want high 80's to low 90"s, so I need to shim up the flexwatt under each tanks center. Hope to shim it with something soft/spongy and fireproof so the flexwatt will gently touch the glass. It should be really cool(warm actually) when I get it all dialed in. The thermostat even has a a night drop, so I can program it to go cooler at night. In the meanwhile, I keep the reptile room at 85 during the day, and low 70's at night, and only those who need it (desert animals and such) have additional heat.

Here's the flexwatt- I moved a tank for the pic.


Here's my two racks that I plan to run it on. plan to do 3 of the 4 shelves on each one, for a total of 30 feet of flexwatt, up to 27 tanks heated off one thermostat.

[zooplan]

nice set up, Loren.
Similar laws are on their way in Germany, but I don´t mind because i´ve never used heat bulbs for my snakes. Even flourescent bulbs are emitting enough extra heat for my snakes in an heated room.

[anji1971]

We are already starting to phase out the incandescent bulbs here.
Because of my limited space, and therefore limited number of snakes, I haven't really had to use heat lamps. I have both tanks on a table with a halogen desk lamp in between them, and I put the lamp on low when I get up in the morning, and it raises the air temp in the warm end of the tanks by about 4 degrees over room temp. I also have small heat mats in both tanks, and it seems to keep the snakes happy and warm enough.
I would think that if they get rid of the old bulbs completely, then there would be other areas where we will find the compact fluorescents to be unsuitable. I had the C.F's in my bathroom for a while, but the humidity was too high and they were shorting out, so I had to go back to good old incandescents. If the new bulbs don't handle moist areas well, then what am I going to use to light my bathroom in a few years??

[adamanteus]

I haven't heard anything about phasing out incandescent bulbs in the UK yet... maybe I haven't been listening! It wouldn't effect me anyway, as I use fluorescent strip lights and underfloor heating for my snakes.

[mycolorfulheart]

Here's the flexwatt- I moved a tank for the pic.


Here's my two racks that I plan to run it on. plan to do 3 of the 4 shelves on each one, for a total of 30 feet of flexwatt, up to 27 tanks heated off one thermostat.

You have so many snakes!! So cool.

I am kind of annoyed about this new law right now. I think the chicken breeders and reptile lovers should march on up to capitol hill.