Help with ceiling fan lights

[mozar]

Two of the light bulbs in my kitchen ceiling fan keep burning out. I've replaced the bulbs 2 or 3 times and it burns out in a day or two. My coop has a fee for service where they will send out an electrician to diagnose the problem for $60 an hour. The electrician charges by the minute. Does this sound like a good idea? I tried googling it and I got overwhelmed by the suggestions.

[CowboyAndIndian]

There is a lot of vibration.

Use the special bulbs, used for fans which can handle vibrations.

Edit: After reading your question again: Is this case where you have more than 2 lights on the fan, only 2 bulbs ever burn out? Then it must be an issue with the bulb holder. Do you hear any sparking?

[mozar]

Right, the other bulb is fine. I tried those new bulbs that are swirly and those lasted 30 seconds so I bought ceiling fan lightbulbs. I never turn the fan on. I think I did hear sparks.

[Joggernot]

Have you considered using LED bulbs?  We have switched all our fan lights to LEDs with no problem.

Second, consider using some dielectric grease on the existing bulbs.  Might prevent sparking.

Best to have someone look at the fixture to see if there is a problem that might cause a fire.

[CowboyAndIndian]

Right, the other bulb is fine. I tried those new bulbs that are swirly and those lasted 30 seconds so I bought ceiling fan lightbulbs. I never turn the fan on. I think I did hear sparks.

Sparking is not good.

If you do not put bulbs in the two bad sockets, and there is a bulb in the good socket, do you still hear sparking?

Can you open the light and see if you see any black discoloration?

If you are not using the fan, it is easy to replace the fan with a ceiling light. you will also get some headroom..

[mozar]

I'm pretty short so I'm not worried about headroom. The sparking I heard was when the light was being burned. There is no sparking now.
What do you mean by "open the light"?

[SomedayStache]

Sounds like you need a new fan to me.

Or a new ceiling fixture if you don't use the fan (though I think everyone should have fans EVERYWHERE!  They are so useful.)

An electrician would probably just tell you the fixture is bad and needs replacing.  Do you have friends or family that could help you replace a fan?  The fan itself should be ~$100ish from any big box store.  Assuming the old fan was installed correctly with a fan brace it's about an hour job to swap in a new one.

My in-laws had a ceiling fixture where half of the bulbs never worked.  I replaced it for them last year and it was all burned up inside, but they'd been using it for years. Half of the lights had shorted out, the other half were fine. So if you are okay with only half your bulbs working you could just continue your life as is.

[SomedayStache]

'Open the light'

Ceiling fans are often two entirely separate parts.  The fan part and then the light fixture part.  The light fixture attaches to the fan typically with 4 screws.  If you turn off the relevant breaker (so there is no chance of power going to the fan) and then unscrew the screws which hold up the light fixture you will be able to gently pull the fixture down.  It will still be connected by wires to the fan so you will not be able to entirely remove it.  You can look inside and see if all the wires are tightly connected or if any of them have come loose or if there is evidence of sparking.

If I was a betting person I'd bet that were you to open up the fixture and look inside you will see evidence of blackness/sparks/fire.

[mozar]

If I was a betting person I'd bet that were you to open up the fixture and look inside you will see evidence of blackness/sparks/fire.

I bet you're right. I think there was some blackness when I looked up. So that means I need to replace it? it doesn't bother me for now but if the electrician is just going to tell me to replace I would rather not hire an electrician.