Make a CLL (Compact LED Lamp) from a dead CFL(Compact Fluorescent Lamp)

Compact Fluorescent Lamp(CFL) is becoming popular day by day because of its ease of instillation and low power requirements.They have a fairly good life of about 2 to 2.5 years depending on use. I was having 4 dead CFLs and was wondering how I can recycle them. I got an idea to make Compact LED Lamp (CLL) from them. Read out my instructable to get to know how to make a CLL from dead CFL. Its easy, economic & fast. It took less than hour for me to make a CLL. So lets start.....

Step 1 What we need ?

We need the following material to make a CLL
1) Dead CFL(s)
2) Bright White LEDs having such size so that they can fit into the bore of tube of CFL.
3)Solder & Soldering Gun
4) A power supply (discussed in detail in notes).
5) Screwdriver, hammer, hacksaw, adhesive, adhesive tape, etc.

Comments

[rhoderik]

Better don't breath at all!
Oxigen will make free radicals that can (will) produce cancer...

[your_dragon113]

People here keep talking about the Mercury being released from the CFL, they would do well to remember that there is about 3 times More Mercury in that Tuna Fish that they had for lunch and chased it down with a full serving of tailpipe exhaust from the cars & trucks outside. Then there was the POORLY filtered water that they used to brush and rinse their mouths with JUST before sounding off about how it is SO UnSafe to do this project. But...you forgot to complain about the BROKEN GLASS!

Come on now....there are a LOT more project listed on this site, whick could do a LOT more harm if you're stupid with it, than this one. We've taken a CFL, which has bad stuff in it, that doesn't work anymore and put LEDs, which are Good, into it and made use of the whole unit...thusly keeping it out of the landfills.

Top Notch!

[nickstones]

Well said mate!
man! some people will just right crib about everything!
look at the brilliance behind the idea! i'd say a great use
for all those dead cheapass chinese CFLS i have lying around. (dunno why i saved them all these years!)


warning: DO NOT complain about the NOISE when opportunity knocks! (issued in public interest)

[recuat]

can i know how many watt for 1 3mm led? i want to replace my light outside my autogate i'm using 40w how many led should i use? and how do i calculate the resistor for my led? the formula please? sorry to ask because i'm new to ac project, i only do d.c. project before so i need to carefully calculate the resistor again.

[Gary Viveiros]

Too dangerous and doesn't make sense ecologically. Risk contaminating the immediate area and your person. Not to mention the light draws 1.4 watts but the voltage dropping resistor nesessary to lower the line voltage wastes 4 watts. The only thing gained is lamp life, but the light flux is lower than the CFL so this is dangerous wasted effert.

[budiyanto]

maaf boleh aku bertanya.bisakah power supply tersebut digunakan untuk amplifier atau trafo tegangan 12 volt.terima kasih aku tunggu jawabannya.

[lj0000]

Budi is asking abt using the psu circuit for amps and 12 trafo.

budi, yes, this psu circuit is the simplest way to get direct current. but its too crude to be used for amps. you will need capacitor as filters.

regardless of the voltage of the trafo, as long as its higher than 1.4 volts (each diode eats 0.7v)

[tundrawolf]

That's very cool! Probably uses less energy, too. Just a word of caution: These lamps contain mercury vapor, which is fairly hazardous to your health. If/when you break your tube open, do it OUTSIDE and wash your hands after you touch any glass portion.

[rcisneros]

While mercury vapor is harmful the levels in a cfl are extremely low. You probably eat more mercury (fish) then you can get from a cfl.

[Gravity Boy]

What are you doing about the mercury? Even though it is a small amount, it should be considered.

[electrosam]

That mercury is not going to hurt. Many factories emit tons of mercury. Mercury in CFL is negligible.

[rcisneros]

True. But you should always minimize exposure.

[hulobiral]

why we dont go for re-use this tube by charging new gas/chemical in it?

[ookid]

I really don't think that Its worth the risk

[arcnemisis]

do NOT do this.. most (a great percentage) contain mercury to excite the phosphorous (white coating in tube) .. average of 4-5 mg per bulb.. while not greatly toxic to a adult... repeated exposure and exposure to children or the unborn can have severe consequences.. some companies are lowering the concentrations but not all.. and some cheap bulbs contain great amount... try using another medium to diffuse the light

[knektek]

HOLY SH!T i inhaled the gas. but i'm still alive! and i did it in my kitchen. I think im gonna die now......

noooooooooooooo!!!!!

dieeeinggvhmb1

mercurwe  !1!1

LOL!

[nomadqq]

That's right .This is really risky. You don't have to take this risk to re light a dead CFL. It can be done, rather in a safer way. See http://makelifeeasy.yolasite.com/

[electrosam]

I'm still alive. I'm not poisoned by mercury. As I told earlier it contains very less amount of gaseous mercury.

[Dipankar]

You may be alive but you make it SHORT. Slow poison is better then a fast one, RIGHT?

[PKM]

I'm still alive. I'm not poisoned by mercury.

That's really not the most sensible approach... I'm sure the mechanics who wash their hands in petrol, and the people who smoke 40 a day, and the people who live in asbestos houses think the same thing. Yes, one CFL isn't going to kill you, but it's best to avoid anyway. If you have to do this I'd recommend breaking the tube outdoors away from people, animals and the water supply.

An easier approach might be to get a burnt out incandescent (probably still more common, and less of an environmental hazard) and some plastic tubing from elsewhere. Actually, I've got two dead incandescents I didn't know what to do with, might have to give that a go.

[Blofish]

Ive learned that everything in your life is gonna kill you one day. I ate raw hambuger as a child and I made it into my 50s. I drink 100% milk and I cook hamberger at a high temperture and I guess Im a heart attack, cancer ridden, drinker, smoker waiting for my turn.

You just need common sence when you do something stupid (oxymoron) Dont break the glass then put your nose to it and inhale it!

I broke a bulb, held my breath, got stuff to clean it up (started breathing of course) and I still have the capacity to write this reply.

We all know the dangers of experimenting. Cause if you dont take chances in life you dont go anywhere, you just fade away....

[electrosam]

Yes, I have suggested that option also of using dead incandescent lamp.

[sarge89or]

I just love the politically correct statements on this site. Guess what, it does not matter how much electricity you use. The power plant is going to make the same amount each day no matter how much you use. Energy can not be saved nor destroyed. It can be used to produce work (heat, light, power motors, etc. et. al.) The less you use the more you will pay for what you do use. The power company is in business to make money. They will make up the loss generated by your not using power by charging you more for what you do use. There is no such thing as renewable energy. All power on the planet with the exception of nuclear is generated by the sun and save by nature in one form or another. Eventually the sun will die and all nuclear fuels on the planet will decay to the point where they can not longer generate power. Therefore there is no source of renewable energy. My grandparents, parents and I grew up in houses painted with lead paint, played with toys covered in lead paint. Our water supply came from an aquifer that contained most of the lead ore in Missouri. Lead and mercury poisoning are greatly exaggerated for political purposes. Anyone able to tell me how many people died in the United States during the last year from either cause? Whatever happened to the great threats of West Nile, Bird Flu, Swine Flu and all the other pandemics? What is the government doing while they have your worried about a non-issue? Three card Monte in action. Use your brain folks instead of buying everything they say at face value. Also keep your wallet in your hand.

[knektek]

what about geothermal power? That is indeed a power source that does not depend on the Sun. I understand that most of the worlds power depends on the Sun. Coal, basically preserved trees that have been compressed. Most energy sources can be traced back to the Sun's light energy.

[sarge89or]

Geothermal power is based on the transfer of earth's internal temperture to water and then to either heating a house by radiant heat from the water similar to steam heating from a boiler in a building or by converting the energy to electricity.  When the sun dies it will first become a red giant which may or may not engulf the planet, but most definitely will boil the water from the planet.  More likely the nuclear power plant of the earth's core will decrease until the core is no longer molten metal and the magnetic field will collapse and solar radiation will extinguish life on the planet.  End result is the same -- a barren dead planet.  Thus the argument remains -- there is not such thing as a renewable energy source.  While geothermal is a viable alternative in some locations, it is hardly a replacement for coal and oil.  The costs of drilling wells deep enough to tap into geothermal in the majority of the world makes it uneconomical.  It is as with all sources of power expensive to develop, convert and maintain.  Since the last posting I made, my point has been made.  Proof of the lies perpetrated on the world by the United Nations and the so called climatic scientists have surfaced.  The climate just before the last mini-ice age was warmer than now and there has been no rise in global temperature since 1995.  Global warming has been nothing more than an excuse for attempts at social re-engineering by socialists and communists and a method to redistribute wealth from those who earn to those who are parasites on society.

[knektek]

They call it renweable energy sources because the human race will not last as long as the Sun will, so they would last for the human race. As energy has to be used to get rid off, there has to be an end to it. But they are not renweable, it would probably also be called that for people to divert to those energy sources and allow energy to sustain for some time. Since energy cannot be destroyed those so called 'renewable sources' just keep that cycle going, loosing not as much energy in every cycle. Like now, on my computer if solar cells were to cover up my screen and power my battery up, I would incur (spelling) on a loss and eventually my batteries will die out. A small scale model demonstrating how 'renewable sources' are not renweable, with a few major mistakes.

[frollard]

I must say - almost everything you said there was...to be politically correct...bunk. Just because a power plant produces giga-watt-hours of power, and that is outside of your grasp of the scale of an input output system - yes there will be some losses you cannot prevent through transmission - but if one million customers cut their usage in half - the plant would see a drop in demand, and WOULD PRODUCE LESS POWER. less production means for them less fuel used, which directly means money saved. Yes they have a bottom line and may up the charge, not saving the consumer money - but they will have used less irreplaceable fuel. "the sun will die". The 'life' expectancy of the human race is only in the tens of thousands of years. The sun is expected to keep burning for a few more BILLION years, at which point it will start fusing its larger fuel - helium, causing it to expand, absorbing the earth. If in a few billion years we haven't killed ourselves off, then we had better have come up with a way to get out of dodge. Your water has heavy metals in it - that sucks. It's not exaggerated. The effects of long-term heavy metal poisoning are just that - long term. No you wont get sick quickly, but your latter years will suck. They will suck more than you can imagine, causing many ailments the least of which are almost all neurological disorders and diseases such as dementia and symptomatic similar to parkinson disease. When you're getting older, and your mental deficit taxes your body and the health care system, get back to us on that 'overblown' Pandemics will be the end of mankind. Not necessarily this one or the next one, but it is fact that one of the few things that can truly wipe out the human race are biological, likely natural. We do need to take precautions to increase readiness, and when the big one hits, increase our chances of survival and or quality of life. Frankly, your statements are so closed-minded and naive that I find myself literally disturbed that anyone anyone could be lead so far from reason...could just be the heavy metals.

[sarge89or]

ROTFLMAO!!! Gee, I guess that the effects of all that lead that I drank and ate when I was baby and the mercury I played with as a child (let’s not forget the doctors thermometer that broke in my mouth and the mercury I ingested) resulted in a 140+ IQ. When was the last time you heard of a power plant closing? The human population of the planet is not getting smaller. Therefore, the demand for power is not going to get smaller. All the so called green and renewable energy solutions proposed so far are inefficient and the production methods expend more fossil fuel power than they will ever generate. It takes a gallon and a half of fossil fuels to produce on gallon of ethanol. The production of ethanol from corn has raised the price of corn meal so much that Mexicans cannot afford to buy one of their staple foods, tortillas. The only two exceptions are nuclear and hydroelectric. However, morons in the green community oppose those. Not to mention that the decimation of the rain forest has gone into overdrive to grow sugar cane to produce ethanol. Great for the planet! Lol… The ecoterrorists have almost exterminated the wild salmon and cut throat trout with their misguided effort to clean up the water. The fish no longer have anything to eat the water is so pristine that nothing can live in it. I remember as a teenager having trouble walking across the river without stepping on a salmon. Now they blame the hydroelectric dams, but want water discharged during the summer so the salmon fry will not get too hot and die. Gee, what happened to them before there were dams? Their arguments sound good until you look at them logically and see the results of letting them have their way. My father, mother and their ancestors have all lived into their late eighties and mid nineties. One aunt will celebrate her 100th this year. None have suffered from Parkinson’s, dementia or any other mental disorder. When I am getting older? I am already in my sixties. So I just got back to you on that! If you insist in believing the garbage the American Democrats spew, so be it. Some people just can’t use reason and believe whatever they are told. They are so busy chasing their own tail that they can’t see what is really going on around them and behind the scenes. Frankly, now that modern medicine has interfered with natural selection and the human race is growing weak from the spread of bad genes there probably will be a pandemic of measles, the common cold or some other virulent disease. Nature takes care of things eventually. Find a way to survive the eventual death of the planet? Not likely, the socialists coming into power now will use all government money to line their pockets and claim there is not enough for universal health care (which will be rationed) and will scrap any project that might get the human race off the planet. As long as people like you keep your head in the sand, the outlook for the future is bleak indeed.

[mcshawnboy]

You're a brave fellow Sarge! Anybody that suggests the Obama Kool-Aid is not true in this PC forum is the equivalent of saying "The Emperor's New Clothes " do not exist !!! I too have come out unscathed, so far from growing up in a coal town in northeastern PA where chemicals were illegally dumped in mine shafts that got into ground water. Had coal fired power plants w/o scrubbers, the municipalities dumped raw waste into the Susquehanna River. DDT was sold in my local hardware store & fertilizers & pesticides weren't regulated till the 1970's. Refrigerant gases were freely released into the air. We played with toxic chemicals in a tube from China called,"Super Elastic Bubble Plastic" that wreaked of VOC's. As an ASE certified mechanic I used air hoses to blow asbestos out of brakes & later we used MEK . Parts cleaners used benzene, toluene, xylene with bare hands it would be so cold you'd have to take breaks to feel your fingers & now I understand it's absorbed transdermally. I worked on a dairy farm as a teenager & unregulated chemicals & unsafe equipment use was the norm! Like you say we lived through many things now considered unsafe. Swings had big chains that pinched your fingers, you could go over the top if you pumped had enough & a big board seat was framed in heavy metal! The seesaw had different positions that could crush your fingers. We had yellow hard plastic in cardboard in the kitchen to keep flys away that omitted 2,2-Dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, Shell No Pest Strips! As a trucker with a Haz-Mat endorsement I'd pick up stuff that didn't need placards in the swamps of New Jersey & deliver to swaps in Oklahoma, both with nary a flying insect to be found, how odd! From the EPA website: For the second half of 2008, the DC Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) has reported that water samples tested for lead are at or below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb). George Hoskin, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Science and Applied Technology Division. Hoskin was taking umbrage at an article in Consumer Reports magazine in 1992 that charged that half the cans of tuna it tested contained "insect parts," "hairs," "fish scales," and "feather barbules." From our friends at the USDA (You mentioned "Keep your hand on your wallet!" organic foods are averaged to cost $900 extra per family of four as per Time magazine last week) : Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water. A headline I saw recently about coal fired power plants Down Under: Gorgon’s dirty secret: Western Australia’s biggest single polluter? August 11, 2009 - Tony Serve. I could go on, but why?

[JZ Price]

not ever power plant is on 24/7. many power plants only operate when it is very very hot. or very very cold. it doesn't take much to have these operate for 4 instead of 5 hours in a day. and because all/most of the temporary power plants use consumable fossil fuels you would use less energy. Also, these power plants are not just on/off. you can crank them high or low depending on what you need that day.

[frollard]

This is the part that makes very little sense - you claim to be opposed to alt-energy and reducing consumption, but you've favourited almost exclusively led lighting projects.

[frollard]

I say again - heavy metals will cause long term damage - let me know when alzheimers sets in. The human population IS increasing - also why we need to cut back on individual CONSUMPTION. I said nothing about green energy - I do not deny - yes it is 'inefficient' -- as in $ inefficient in most cases. There are plenty of non-major-environmentally disastrous 'green' fuels that don't devastate the environment or culture. Solutions need to be efficient for economy, ethics, and logistics. Would you rather use oil that is good for money and only money - or green that is good for ethics and logistics (once implemented) but less so for money? It is financially feasable to create artificial oil substitutes at over $100 usd per barrel - oil has already gotten there, so the technology is cost-wise on par with conventional energy. Just because people are blinded by 'corn ethanol' doesn't mean all green energy is a wash - just that people are stupid sheep and fall for anything once lobbyists get their hands in government. People exterminate species usually for one reason: money. (greed) Humans included (war and genocide). You are obviously very lucky in your family to have a strong resilience to your environment. Many in the gene pool are not so lucky. Also - you may have some of the highest concentrations in your area but think of the people living in toxic wastelands in the 3rd world. You cannot say those toxins are not to blame for a lot of their ailments. I'm neither American nor Democrat. Call me a communist, (metaphorically) the system doesn't work as it is now. It is not sustainable. We are not only on a slippery slope, we are falling. We are falling quickly and the bottom of the pit is not going to be a soft landing. You're right. Let's NOT build parachutes. Trouble is falling at this rate its like a moving train - you don't feel that you're moving (good ol inertia). By definition a socialist does not line ones pockets in theory. In practice humans are greedy. Same applies to all political followings. Until we can have a benevolent flawless leader immune to lobbying, fraud, and scandal...there will be no perfect utopian system. Funny though how industrialized countries with nationalized health care are faring pretty well with these health issues. I can't imagine having to decide between mortgage payment and doctors bill.

[sarge89or]

Gee, I have many interests to include LEDs to include solar power. My interest has nothing to do with conservation or green energy. I also own several rifles and pistols and enjoy hunting, fishing and camping. I can still bench 350 pounds and hike 20 miles in a day. I make my own gunpowder to make model rockets. I have provided intelligence analysis for the FBI, DEA, NSA, other federal agencies, Military Intelligence, local and state agencies. I have seen war first hand (2 and a half years in Vietnam) and the effects of violent crime. I know what I am talking about, not mouthing politically correct rubbish. Unlike you, I do my research before jumping on the politically correct band wagons. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will not be setting in because they are hereditary and not ecological diseases. According to you I must have had an IQ of 200+ when I was a child as the test I took 3 months ago for entry to MENSA was a 140+. I have 50+ years of actual life experience to back my beliefs. If you do not die of natural causes and you want to know how long you are going to live then look to your ancestors and how long they lived (those who did not die as a result of violence.) The third world population is not suffering excessively from heavy metal contamination. They will probably all out live modern societies because they still have an immune system and their genetically flawed off spring die off. You want to cut back on your individual consumption, be my guest. I however, enjoy staying warm, comfortable and well fed on the property and house that I own. Communism and socialism do not work. I remember the good ole days of the USSR and the lines around the block to buy shoes that did not fit and food that wasn’t there. China is now in trouble because they are not able to export their products to the west because of the world economy. Time you revaluated your world views. You are not going to change human nature. No one is. War and genocide are not going away. The only question is “Are you going to fight back or sit back and die?” I did not say not to build parachutes. I said the governments of the world are not willing to build parachutes. Since they are all corrupt then I prefer to live in a capitalist society. At least we are not hypocrites and more people benefit. Yeah, I guess making a doctor’s appointment six months in advance and waiting for hours on end in a waiting room is alright for you, it is not for me. Maybe you can explain if universal health care is so great, why people from those countries go to foreign countries to receive medical care. I personally do not believe in health care with the exception of pain management. I know I am not going to change what you think, so I will not be responding to you again. You are too emotionally involved to let logic guide your thinking.

[frollard]

I truly do not intend this to be simply a pissing match - you obviously do have the experience you speak of. To use the examples of the few to condemn the many doesn't work. Parts of capitalism, democracy, socialism, democracy, even feudalism work - when the leadership (by the people or otherwise) is not beside itself with greed. I sincerely apologize if I've offended you in any way - that was also not my intention. A consideration - at least some (usually most) of the components of most household items has spent some time being developed or assembled in third world countries. We crap on their countries in exchange for cheap labour, and cheaper processing techniques that you can't get away with here (for the pollution)...when really its just one planet - it'll end up back here. They used a similar term 'long' ago for this kind of situation - "mutually assured destruction".

[skunkbait]

Thank you Sarge! It takes a brave man to say "The emperor has no clothes". I appreciate your world view.

[lbrewer42]

So THAT's why everyone around here (including myself) died last month AND all of the plant life within a 200 mile radius of the house have dried up and withered away! I found one of the CFL bulbs in my guest room has accidently been broken. Stupid Hg stuff anyway!

[grue]

not in my country, the power company is state operated :)

[sarge89or]

Hmmm, supposed to make a difference? Money is going into the politicians pockets directly instead of through pay offs by the corporations boards of directors. Called political contributions in the U.S. In the U.S. the power company is a so called public utility that is supposed to provide power at the cheapest rate possible to the public, but in reality is directed by political parties in the government and does not respond to public needs but by political dictates. Oh, well, doesn't make any difference how it is done the result is the same.

[phenoptix]

Love the passion in this post.

[hemmikarl]

you mixed up the ac and dc connections on the bridge rectifier Just added a schematic that shows the right connections