Philips TORNADO Energy Saver 20W CFL teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2016, 01:41:31 pm
content: The tube broke, so after inhaling as much of vapour as I could manage in such a short time, I decided to open it up.It came with the flat, 3 years ago. So I have no idea how old is it. But I think it was used in the bathroom, because of the corrosion.There is no SMPS controller chip, so it is a self-oscillating. To make is cheaper, I guess.Tube wires where not soldered to the pins on the PCB, just wrap around them. Which is dodgy.5,6uF 400V 105oC rated cap is made by AISHI (Chinese brand, but is it good or not - I don't know. Please tell me if you do)It is typical name-brand product. You don't get quality, but you get a Philips badge.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2016, 02:29:32 pm
content: Those actually are a pretty good lamp, made with some care and attention to quality. Probably around 10 years old, as I bought a stock of them in around 2006.They last on average 2 years in use 24/7/365 burning base down, and running base up in an open fixture they last around 5 years running 8 hours a day 5 days a week. They are pretty good lamps, and well worth the premium you pay ( around 20 percent IIRC) over other lamps of the same light output.

author: fubar.gr
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 12, 2016, 02:30:12 pm
content: There's nothing wrong with wire wrapping. In fact, if done correctly, it can offer a more reliable, lower resistance electrical connection than soldering.This is because as the wire is tightened around the (square cross section) post, there will be immense pressure developed on the post corners and that causes the wire to locally cold weld to the post.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2016, 04:33:14 pm
content: Well, I would wrap and solder.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2016, 04:48:59 pm
content: Actually is less reliable, as it causes stress and dissolves the copper wire, plus on those CFL lamps that wire is actually a steel wire, and not solderable easily. Steel wire is used, as you can seal it through the glass making a vacuum tight seal, and it will be both reliable and cheap.Most military equipment is make with wire wrap joins, at least for that stuff where the production run is under 100 units, and the price per unit is over a half million dollars. Even satellite boards are wire wrapped in a lot of cases because it is a lot more reliable than soldering them.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2016, 05:41:53 am
content: I have seen worse. So wasteful though. All those electronics is essentially a disposable device. They do provide an excellent source for dumet wire for making vacuum tubes.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2016, 10:46:51 am
content: Quote from: Srbel on November 12, 2016, 04:33:14 pmIf you've made a good wire wrap joint, why would you then ruin its reliability by soldering?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 08:32:38 am
content: Quote from: Srbel on November 12, 2016, 01:41:31 pmBS, buy cheaper non branded lamp and you are lucky if it lasts at least a year. Build quality of this bulb is perfectly fine. BTW 99.9% of such lamps use wire wrap to attach electronics to the lamp itself. Aishi capacitors are fine.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 08:37:15 am
content: Quote from: Srbel on November 15, 2016, 07:39:16 amAre you talking about yourself?

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 09:32:04 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on November 15, 2016, 07:49:37 amI've measured 80C on the outside of several Philips LED lamps operating in the open in a room at maybe 25C. Most LED and CCFL lamps say they are not suitable for use in an enclosed luminaire, but a high percentage are actually used inside such luminaires. They get roasted pretty badly, but I assume you won't get a warranty replacement for a lamp used in an enclosed space. Enclosed spaces massively reduce the life of CCFL lamps - both on the electronics side and the tube side - because of the heat buildup.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 10:48:58 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on November 15, 2016, 07:49:37 amYes, on my XLED LED bulbs, the temperature of the plastic case (@22-23oC ambient):5W: 60oC10W: 80+oC15W: 70oC5W and 10W are the same dimensions, only the 10W one is more heavier. 15W one is bigger and heavier than 10W/5W one.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 06:26:45 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on November 14, 2016, 10:46:51 amQuote from: wraper on November 15, 2016, 08:37:15 amProvocations and insults reported.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 07:09:37 pm
content: A self-resonant topology is generally the most efficient circuit for driving a fluorescent tube. See the documents linked below:http://www.st.com/content/ccc/resource/technical/document/application_note/43/99/f4/24/48/d7/41/7f/CD00003901.pdf/files/CD00003901.pdf/jcr:content/translations/en.CD00003901.pdfhttp://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/AN1543-D.PDF

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 15, 2016, 08:13:21 pm
content: Quote from: Srbel on November 15, 2016, 06:26:45 pmYour posts were reported and deleted by moderator half a day ago(as you may guess, there is no your original post quoted by me). The only person who wrote insults were you. And it seems you like insulting people who try helping you, like here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/security-screwdriver-set/msg1063815/#msg1063815