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My oven light burnt out recently. After dismantling it I found a 40w 130v "appliance" bulb with a standard Edison connector. The bulb is slightly smaller than a normal incandescent bulb. Looking for replacements at the local stores, all the similarly sized and shapped bulbs list fans and fridge/freezer as acceptable uses. The few ones I can find that actuall list ovens as a use case the wrong shape, size or base.

So do I really need an "oven bulb", or will the fride/freezer appliance bulb work?

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3 Answers

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Gotta tell you, I tried the same thing long ago. Learn from my stupidity. LOL Seems that regular bulbs really don't like the high heat or getting splattered with cooking juices, shatter at the first contact with liquid. Think you better spend the couple of extra $$$ and not have to clean up a shattered glass mess in your oven.

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isn't this generally why there's a cover over the bulb? – ratchet freak Dec 31 '11 at 1:29
yes indeed. I have and exposed in one of my ovens with no cover and have to replace it often. That's how I figured out nothing but an oven bulb will last. Literally, a standard or fridge bulb will fail first time you touch it with any moisture. – shirlock homes Dec 31 '11 at 1:52
Oven bulbs have a special glass (maybe Pyrex, I don't know) which is also thicker. The base is also made of high heat resistant materials. A regular bulb may work in some cases, but it may also release toxins at high heat, so I would never trust it. Definitely never use a CFL or LED. – Skaperen Dec 31 '11 at 2:31
@skaperen: CFLs and LEDs?! They specifically say NOT to use them in high heat environment! – cabbey Dec 31 '11 at 3:18
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What you are looking for is a 40A15 Appliance Rated Lamp. If you can find 130V buy it but the lamp does not stay on that long to really matter. Believe or not its the same as what is in your refrigerator. I did a quick search and this is what the Home Depot Says - (I don't work for them, actually they are the competition, kind of).

40A15 Appiance Lamp

The GE Reveal 40-Watt Appliance A15 Light Bulbuses neodymium glass to filter out dull yellow rays for enhanced, vivid results. The bulb is an ideal choice for use in household appliances like microwaves, refrigerators and ovens.

Light output: 320 lumens Energy used: 40 watts Life hours: 1,000 hours Ideal for use in many household appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators and ovens Unique neodymium glass filters out the dull, yellow rays of regular soft white bulbs for enhanced, vivid results

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What tends to happen (as I understand it) is the voltage can be a bit variable. There will be voltage surges, and a bulb rated for 130 volts can handle those voltage variations better than a standard bulb. This means you will blow standard bulbs faster, sometimes very quickly.

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