I fitted a cheap (supermarket special, three for £1 thing) in the dining room over a year ago. Today it I noticed a slight flicker but just suspect a problem with the supply but then the flickering became really bad. When I removed the lamp the top bit of the base (the bit nearest to the floor) was all black and burnt. It hadn't started to melt and I suspect it was made of a material which has a high melting point but even so it is worrying.
I am really finding these bulbs completely pointless as they don't last any longer than a standard 100w and the light is far poorer. I know they use less electricity but in the winter the heat the old incandescent lamps produced as beneficial.
I wonder if B22 halogen bulbs would be a good compromise? Is the light they produce of better quality than the cheap fluorescent type?
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An update, the 100w bulb I replaced it with just did a massive flash and has now blown :(. The lamp holder itself seems quite hot. It could be that it hasn't been holding the bulb properly causing it to arc.
Will replace the fitting tomorrow to see if it makes a different, the holder was the original 1980 one.
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More like 30 year old light fitting nearly caused a fire I think!
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Use brass fittings with ceramic inards - they last for ever and are heat-proof.
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>> Use brass fittings with ceramic inards - they last for ever and are heat-proof.>>
I assume that these would have to be properly earthed?
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I trust you're switching the power supply orf when fiddling about with the leccie!
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I've used energy saving bulbs for years, the same ones too. They last for ages and use less electricity. Yes they do take a minute to warm up, and they are dim when first turned on.
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Switched the whole place to LED the other week. Not cheap at nearly £15/lamp, but I've calculated I'll make the money back inside 3 years and the running costs are now virtually zero.
The lamps are insanely bright; ever-so-slightly whiter than halogen, and cost virtually nothing to run.
www.bltdirect.com/product.php?pid=10955&cat=2509&nm=Enviro-Light+GU10+3+Watt+Warm+White+%28High+Output%29
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>>The lamps are insanely bright; ever-so-slightly whiter than halogen, and cost virtually nothing to run<<
That's the problem though (for me) I likes the warm (ish) light from me incandescents (whatever they are called) but ... with 5 x 40 watters in the bathroom, and 8 x 50 watters in the kitchen - I'll have to look into these ere LED's.
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On the BLT website, "white" is slightly uh, whiter than halogen (closer to daylight), and "warm white" is a dead on match. Don't go for el-cheapo ones from eBay, though. Dodgy Chinese manufacturing gives low reliability and a power factor of about .4
Last edited by: Alfa Floor on Wed 30 Mar 11 at 11:07
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>> That's the problem though (for me) I likes the warm (ish) light
They're probably not for you then, Dog. We have them in our kitchen but they're only used when the wife wants a serious amount of light, which isn't that often.
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>>They're probably not for you then, Dog<<
I'll have to do something though C/S, because when we move house in a coupe of weeks time we're on oil heating + LPG hob :( although that will be offset by a private water supply and septic tank,
I'd like to go the whole hog and go Solar & wind but ... it don't arf cost!
Thanks Alf - I'll try those warm whites from the BLT website.
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>> Yes they do take a minute to warm up, and they
>> are dim when first turned on.
Have you tried one bought recently? We have a mixture of old and new in our house - the old behave as you say, but the new take a second to get going but after that seem to be full brightness.
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I have also noticed scorch marks on the light fittings that contain energy saving bulbs.
The light fittings with normal bulbs (even 100w) don't seem to be suffering the same.
Does the base of these bulbs get hotter than incandescent ones?
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A few points. The cheap economy lamps (10 pence each around here) are subsidised by the electricity supply companies (I think an arm was twisted by the regulator during electricity cost discussions) most likely they are not of poor quality.
When you fit a lamp, make sure the spring loaded contacts that connect to the lamp base, are still springy and are working properly to make a good contact. If not, arcs are likely causing heat and that is not good --- don't poke/touch them with your fingers, to feel the springiness, you could get a nasty shock doing that.
Use a dry plastic ball point pen (like a BIC one) to press them using the blunt end -- not a metal one! ! ! You can compare your old one's springyness with a good one.
The base of these small fluorescent lamps contain many components, capacitors, semiconductors, small ferrite transformers, all of which have to have a high temperature rating. Even so, they still run pretty hot by normal component standards. If the lamp is fitted such that the illuminated part is below the base, (lamp hanging down) the rising heat causes a hotter base and a shorter component life.
Make sure the lamp has plenty of air. For example, I have shell wall lights open at the top but having no air holes below until I put some in after lamps were lasting only 12 months.
On another point, I paid £8 odd for a dimable version. Excellent light output but very poor dimming capability. Far too bright when turned down. Take care.
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rattle there a saying you get what you pay for, it looks to me you need to replace the bulb holder you can get them on any hardware shop.
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>>. The cheap economy lamps (10 pence each around here) are subsidised by the electricity supply companies (I think an arm was twisted by the regulator during electricity cost discussions) most likely they are not of poor quality.>>
Actually it was Gordon Brown, who threatened to "windfall tax" energy companies if they didn't provide energy saving measures for customers (typical Labour, get someone else to pay for it and keep what we've got for expenses etc!).
Most of the offers in my area, including the ones E-On etc sent direct to customers), were generally of well known brand energy saving bulbs - I find they last as claimed, which is why I normally reserve them for intended long periods of use in the porch, top landing etc.
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I replaced the fitting yesterday and seemed to have solved it. The wires going into the lampholder was so brittle that the wire just snapped off in my hands. Unusual for PVC!
Now going to replace all the original light fittings as 31 years was just too much for them. I suspect the heavier energy savings bulbs were just too much for the worn fittings.
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Energy saving lamp nearly burnt the house down - RattleandSmoke
