Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

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keymaker
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Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by keymaker »

In a certain light socket here in the house, for some reason bulbs burn out quick fast in a hurry like this: BLAM
(A week or 10 days)<p> I thought something else might be on the same circuit which might be causing surges or something on that order, but that's not the case as far as I'm aware.<p>
I put in a 2 way adapter so I could have 2 bulbs in there, and without fail ONE always burns out within a week or two.. if I leave it at just one, that one will last a week or two. If it's two, just ONE burns out..<p>
I even thought that my home theatre system was causing this (what with the filaments being effected by certain sound frequencies) but that wasn't it either.. hell all of the other bulbs are fine!<p>So what could be the story on this?
I may not be an electronics guru or know much about it, but I'm not often this baffled and confused<p>
And the ceiling is 17 feet :mad:
keymaker
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by keymaker »

PS: I've had everything in there from 60 watt to floodlights<p> The floodlight behaved very stragely (I thought my ex wife had come back to me all over again to haunt me- HA!) it lasted about 11 months but the damned thing would sometimes go off for no reason... I thought this was due to it heating up or some such rubbish like that, but then there were times I'd come home, flip the switch and it'd not come on until I tried it later<p>
I was always playing games checking breakers - found no cause<p>That bulbs demise came when I was drunk one time I had the "bright idea" that I would just throw something up there to tap on it and see if it'd come on<p> <p>Did you know flood lights are made of plastic?
I sure found out when I woke up with a 3"x½" chunk of floodlight sticking half in half out of my leg there
*sigh*
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Edd
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by Edd »

You sort of prempted one condition when you tried the Y adapter, but you might still check out the ceiling socket for the lamp. Check the center pressure contact for oxidation that has occurred over time and typically results in only a small area making contact and the connection heating up. More common over a longer time period is the development of loss of connectivity of the lamps mogul threaded aluminum connector to its single contact that interfaces to socket wire leading . Typically brass rivets were used and they end up oxidizing, floating and arcing. As mentioned earlier elsewhere, a nice porcelain socket would be preferable for use instead of a cheaper socket..
Bulbwise 130 v rated bulbs or if conventional, I have found GE with their vertical filament with top and bottom support connections to be the least reliable. The old style with the fil hoz between 2 side supports always worked the best for me. I found brass base a bit more desirable in not seizing in the socket with time.<p>73's de Edd
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keymaker
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by keymaker »

Well the socket seems to be in fine shape, I had checked the contacts and they are shiny like new... but you're saying that there could be internal damage, right??? The good news is it is a good quality porcelin fixture<p>
Maybe for now I can just try the better bulbs you mentioned since it *looks* ok.. eh??
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haklesup
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by haklesup »

We have a socket like that at my office. Incandescent bulbs burn out in under a month. The primary culprit was vibration. This fixture was in a place that got a lot of acoustic vibration caused by a nearby road (i.e. low frequencies but quite loud).<p>We replaced it with a new compact flourescent bulb and it has been shining for over a year now.<p>I wouldn't expect a home theatre to effect a bulb unless you listened at volumes used in competitive Auto sound events even directly in front of the subwoofer<p>Any electrical surges would likly be present at other fixtures and receptacles and should have been apparent in other ways if they were large enough to be destructive to a light bulb. Electrically speaking, bulbs are tough.<p>A mechanical cause (vibration or shock) would not change as you change the wattage and may only change a little with brand. Even one of those rectifier inserts wouldn't help if that is the cause. Is this bulb on the first floor ceiling benieth a room that gets frequent use (heavy footfalls)? <p>A Y adapter or multiple bulbs would change the mechanical properties of the system at higher vibrational frequencies and thus would have some effect but probably not on any sudden shock. As for one burinig out when you use 2, probably just a coincidence.<p>Floodlights are designed for outdoor use in fixtures that may be moved around by wind, birds etc and thus have heavier duty filiments and thicker glass for the same wattage, this may explain the longer life. The intermittancy may have been a simple loosening of the bulb (as evidenced by how easily it fell and punctured your leg) in the socket due to the same vibration that killed the others. The off/on events probably coincide with the mechanical shock that was loosening the bulb.<p>My advice, either reinforce or reposition the fixture so that it is more stable or use a compact flourescent bulb in this location. I couldn't believe how cheap these bulbs have become lately. I just bought a 4 pack for $1.50 on sale! (in CA, the public utility, PG&E, subsudizes these bulbs with a built in discount, no rebate required anymore).
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MrAl
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by MrAl »

Hello there,<p>Sorry to hear that...i've had a similar problem
at one time. Basically, bulbs bite! Remember
those things were originally designed by the
same guy who thought dc line power was better
then ac line power -- i bet even HE is
chuckling loudly in his grave right now :-)<p>Buy a fluorescent type (cheap) as hakle was saying
and save yourself the trouble of replacing
those very old designed filament bulbs!<p>Please report back your experience with the
newer fluorescent type :-)<p>Take care,
Al
LEDs vs Bulbs, LEDs are winning.
Mike
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by Mike »

didnt read the whole thing, maybe somebody already said this, but if the problem is vibration, try buying one of those bulbs designed for garage doors. they are desiged to handle a lot of vibration
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jollyrgr
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by jollyrgr »

I'm glad I'm not the only one to have experienced this exact problem. In my case it was one of the lights in the basement. This one light socket (of six for the basement) would have a light go out once every other week. It was right next to the washer and dryer so I first thought that was the problem. But this light, and three of the others, were on the same circuit. The only other items on this circuit were smoke detectors. Rough service bulbs did not help. The problem light was one of five that were on pull chains. Finally I swapped the problem socket with one of the other pull chain sockets. The problem followed the light socket! I replaced the problem socket with a new one and lights started to last for months/years. <p>As for DC power for lights....
On my garage I have those DUSK to DAWN light sensors. They put out DC power to the light. Before I put those sensors in place the lighs would last maybe three to six months. In the summer of '99 I installed the sensors. I track how long a light bulb lasts by writing the install date on it with a Sharpie. One of the bulbs has been in there since before I installed the sensors. Another has been in there since 2000. And they burn from dusk to dawn every night unless there is some sort of power failure. So DC does make a difference.
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keymaker
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by keymaker »

I see..<p>
PS: The bulb didn't fall out, it broke..
I always made sure it is tight <p>
I have seen those garage door/ceiling fan bulbs, perhaps I will pick one up and also a new socket for kicks<p>
Thanks guys
toejam
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by toejam »

howabout a larger wattage bulb with a dimmer
tj
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frhrwa
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by frhrwa »

thats funny, I had a light that used to explode every month or so also.. it was in my lamp post outside.. I replaced the fixture, then the light switch, it quit finally, not sure what the problem was, but the bulbs did litterally explode..
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perfectbite
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Re: Damned lightbulb burned out AGAIN

Post by perfectbite »

Wayne. <p>BTW A buddy of mine worked in the long gone Hunter's point shipyard in San Francisco. On a ship in drydock one time a crew was putting in a new 440 to 110 VAC (4 to 1) power transformer and their 'electrician' seeing the different sized lugs thought "large lugs for high voltage, small lugs for low voltage" and connected the leads that way. Every lightbulb in the ship's passageways exploded immediately. Did you mismatch voltages perhaps? Screw type base 12 (twelve) and 24 (twenty four) VAC 100 Watt and down bulbs exist.<p>[ May 10, 2004: Message edited by: perfectbite ]</p>
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