Compact Florescent Bulbs contained by Rheostat? Can I use compact florescent bulbs in a rheostat controlled fixture? Will it...
Can I use compact florescent bulbs in a rheostat
controlled fixture? Will it injure them or will they
not work?
No! The standard compact florescent bulb is not dimmable.
Go to Ebay. Search for "dimmable compact florescent". You will find several vendor offering bulbs equivalent to 75W and 100W incadescent bulbs that can be used with conventional dimmers. You will not win the full range of dimming (off to 100 percent as near standard incadescents). For the record, I am not one of those Ebay seller. I am, however, a satisfied buyer.
I tried a 60 watt one on an X-10 storm lantern controller/dimmer and it dimmed slightly, but it also began to strobe and flicker and the brightness exhaustion was not smooth, it go from full brightness to dim in nearly 3 steps, making it difficult to do a fine adjustment.
BTW, I assume you mean "triac" type dimmer, and not a valid rheostat, which is just a series resistor type dimmer, which aren't used anymore, AFAIK.
Answers: I think you aim a dimmer switch, rheostats are not used to control the intensity of oil lamp fixtures in most cases any more.
You cannot use a compact fluorescent night light bulb in a fixture controlled by a dimmer switch unless the casing on the bulb specifically states so. Dimmable CFLs do exist, although some say the standard lamp quality isn't so fitting when they are dimmed.
When we moved into our current home, the previous owners had regular CFLs within a dimmer-controlled fixture. They flickered constantly and upon removing them they were scalded.
Next time you are at your local home supply centre look specifically for the dimmable CFLs.