Did you ever wonder what was in the base of one of the new compact fluorescent bulbs? The enclosure of a burned out bulb is easily pried apart to reveal a circuit board and a collection of parts.
There are 3 inductors, several nice film capacitors, a couple of unmarked transistors and a 10uF/200v electrolytic! There are also numerous small resistors and diodes.
We might as well recycle some of these parts into pedals or amps… Wal-Mart estimates they will sell 100 million of the bulbs in the next few years so there will be plenty of parts to recycle.
http://www.circuitrydesigns.com/dc/1118/fluorescent-lamp.htm
Oops, That was for a 12V circuit. The correct one is http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/strArticleID/56948/strSite/MDSite/viewSelectedArticle.asp
BE careful! Those have mercury in the actual lamp, which is a heavy metal you don’t want to have contact with…stays in the body.
You must be careful with these CFL lightbulbs though. They contain Mercury in small amounts which isn’t very good for you! Here’s an article about it:
Mercury in CFL bulbs.
Andy
While it is true the bulbs contain a tiny amount of mercury (less than 4mg) it is not even considered hazardous waste and can be disposed in the household trash, according to the EPA.
You certainly want to be careful in handling the bulb and not break it – the electronics section can easily be pried apart with a knife without damaging the sealed glass envelope of the actual bulb. There will be a couple of wires coming out of the sealed end of the bulb and they are easily snipped off with your wire cutters.
Thanks for your comments! -JACk
Great post. I would definitely support “green” pedals made of recycled parts. That’s a lot of stuff in 1 light bulb!
[...] may remember my previous article about salvaging parts from compact fluorescent bulbs that no longer function. Today a bulb blew out [...]