What is the largest watt cfl these will take? I don't want to start any fires....
1520476
I honestly don't know. One of the provided bulbs went out during a photo shoot only after using it for an hour. So I had to use a regular home bulb. If you do that I wouldn't leave it on alone and I would just check it often to make sure the umbrella isn't getting hot.
1520477
Dump the crappy CFL's and use proper photo-floods. I use 500w photo floods and make sure the umbrellas are not super close. This is a really good-value-for-money setup. It won't last a million years but if you are doing casual shooting, occasionally, it is just fine.
1468819
i can not recommend going higher then advertised wattage...however you can put a cfl bulb and get more output
1828300
I would think that as long as you stayed within the design specifications, 250 watts for dimmable CFL/LED or 250 watts for incandescent / halogen bulbs, there shouldn't be any problem.
713238
I would only use the maximum the lamps states. You might risk overheating and causing an electric short. The lamp is very reflective and should not need a 100 watt bulb.
686966
Dear debbie 60 is the maximum wattage you can use. I've used florescent lamps anyway. Good luck
341089
Sorry I returned this lamp due to shipping damage, but if memory serves me yes you can use a smaller CFL bulb in this fixture equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent. Hope this helps out!
769516
I used a standard incandescent 60 watt but you should be able to go higher if you want
2101711
That is 100 watts per socket. But since 100 incandescent are extinct, I've been using 60's and it looks very nice. Now they're going extinct too. I hate CFLs. Poisonous Mercury in them.
1785851
I believe they are a bit smaller than the plain CFL, but I never bothered to measure them. Once they warm up they put out a ton of light, quite a bit more than a regular 100 watt incandescent.
806125
60 watts max. I don't think it would be safe with a hotter bulb due to non venting. You could use a brighter pigtail type lamp though.
2060784
I have not tried on CFL's only in use on chandelier lights with 25-60W candelabra standard bulbs.
1915785
I haven't noticed a wattage rating on the fixtures. 1000w is the high estimate of the tungsten equivalent of those 5 CFL's. The dual diffusers do cut the light output somewhat, but four of these units have been working for me for a couple of years. I suppose if you're a good electrician, you could change the fixtures. Sometimes, if I have a high white ceiling, I leave the softbox off of one of them, and just put it up high, pointed at the ceiling. I then use the others normally.
1467864
You can't use that big a bulb. The opening is only 7 inches and the maximum size bulb you can use is a 60 watt. Any size bigger will catch your paper lantern on fire.
1644459
I saw 8W or 15W CFL's that size at a OSH hardware store here in California, but I do not remember if they are the colour correct type. The ones on the dickblick website have one part # for 2 different sizes?
600424
I'm not sure if you can use a 23W CFL with that lamp. We are currently using a 14W CFL bulb in ours, and we've had no issues with it to this point. I hope that helps!
1610904
Mine are Approx 20 feet, 13 watt compact florescent. Use regular incandescent bulbs if you want to use them on a dimmer. Spacing should not be an issue like with low voltage DC lites, these are 110 AC
1683458
60 watt or 13W max. CFL bulb is the highest you can use in the reading lamp.