Your experiences are both typical. In short, you will have poor results with “cheap” CFLs. Unfortunately cheap seems to mean almost any brand other than the two brands people have consistently had good experiences, namely GE and nVision.

Regardless of expense, I did some thorough testing for this review, including tests of wattage. The one thing that was consistent was that the listed wattage was accurate, according to my Kill-A-Watt meter.

Bottom line: what I said in the review is important for all buyers. You can get good CFLs, but you’ll have nothing but disappointment with brands that cost a little less.

Tom

As for how long they last, I don’t attract it specifically but I do know I’ve ever had any fail in the first six months and probably none in the first year. I also know a couple that I have had for over three years without a problem.

Like everything else I’m sure that the difference between manufacturers. Maybe have just gotten lucky but was that many installed I don’t think so.

If it’s any consolation, you’re not alone. CFL manufacturers, and especially retailers, blew it by going cheap.

GE, at least is a good option, and their bulbs are available in a number of hardware stores, corner stores, and drug stores.

Thanks for your comment –

Tom

After a 100 watt equivalent CFL failed, I bought a Trisonic 26 watt spiral compact fluorescent lamp for $1.99 that alleged to be equivalent to 125 watts incandescent. The color was stated as soft white. The actual color could best be described as Daylight. The actual brightness was about equivalent to a 445 lumen 40 watt soft watt incandesent bulb. This bulb was packaged in a blister pack that had the base exposed, allowing one to test it without opening the package. So, I took it back to the Indian-run dollar store that breached the 99 cent price point a year ago on many items. I brought along a power cord and socket to show the lady. The lady said nothing was wrong, because the bulb lit up! I asked to speak to the manager, who agreed to let me test a few other samples. They all were about the same. They were willing to give me store credit, but no cash refund. I kept the bulb.

The only reason I bought this unknown brand was because the store is convenient to me and my local supermarket was out of 100 watt equivalent bulbs. But over the weekend I had some time, so I decided to try to find a second Trisonic sample from a different batch. Many miles from the original store I found the same Trisonic bulb type in slightly different blister packaging, so I felt it was probably from a different batch. That bulb had about the same characteristics as the first Trisonic bulb. I then put both bulbs in a fixture in the bathroom that normally has 40 watt incandescent soft white bulbs in it. The brightness in the room appears about the same with two 40 watt incandescent bulbs as with these two alleged 125 watt equivalent Trisonic bulbs.

Clearly, anyone buying this Trisonic lamp cannot use it to replace a 100 or 125 watt bulb, even if one just buys it in an emergency and doesn’t care how long it lasts or if it falls apart after 1,000 hours of use. There is no UL or ETL label on this bulb, and no FCC electronic ballast ID#. Lower income people, after getting stung with this junk, will probably avoid CFL’s in the future.