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Thread: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

  1. #1
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    My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    ... and I am tired of replacing a them. Especially given that I've been using costly energy saving bulbs. Somehow, no matter what brand/type of light bulb I use, it would end up fried after a matter of weeks or months at most (its claimed about 5 light bulbs this year - three energy savings which are meant to last several years). I did not have that problem when I was staying in another room, and I am getting pretty frustrated by this now. Would summoning the electrician help? What is the likely cause of this?

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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Oh.

    I thought you were on about Pavarotti.

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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    have you got circuit breakers? sounds like ou're getting some pretty serious power surges (takes a lot to break those ES bulbs)?

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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    I have a circuit breaker, it has worked in the past (cutting the power under certain circumstances), but nothing happened the last few times my bulbs fried.

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    Lovely chap dangel's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    That's weird - demons in the walls? BTW Netto sells those energy savers for less than a quid..
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Do they have 30W ES bulb? I do like my room *bright*. But anyway, buying 20 of them just so that I have enough for a year is not really a good long term solution. What I'd like to know is if an electrician would be able to fix it. Actually, could an excess of electrical appliances in the room increase the chance of a power surge? I thought they would be running on independent circuits - they are different switches on the circuit breaker (if I remember right).

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    ɯʎɔɐɹsɐʌʍ mycarsavw's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Sounds like power surges, does it affect any other sockets/bulbs?

    An electrician would be a good start.
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Nothing fried so far, although everything in my room runs through power surge protection adapters. It is the only light socket in the whole flat that reacts this way though.

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    If you've been ok with something on the same ring, it could well be to do with the connection to the lamp socket been dodgy. Using the technical term there.

    Energy saving bulbs are quite vunarable to having their power taken on and off at lowish frequencies.

    This is why you can run energy savers on a dimmer switch circuit (see Triac dimmer).

    Try using a regular bulb, just a cheapo from tesco, if it hums with a very low pitch, then odds are thats your problem, i had this in halls in my first year, quick job re-stripped the wire, put it into the terminal blocks properly and bingo no problem.
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    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Is this a bulb in a lamp or the main ceiling room light?

    It it's in the ceiling, it will be on a different circuit, so the amount of electronics in the room won't effect it.

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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Have you got neighbours upstairs? Could this particular lamp be right underneath their washing machine or something so it's being shaken a lot while it's hot?

    Even the spot where their kid jumps onto the floor from the top bunk could be enough to break a hot filament bulb, not sure about energy savers though.
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    It's from the ceiling room light. What do you mean by "lowish frequencies"? The last bulb fried when I switched it back on 2min after switching it off to check something on the window. But there is no dimmer here.

    Edit: I am on the top floor, so there is no one above me.

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Quote Originally Posted by stytagm View Post
    Have you got neighbours upstairs? Could this particular lamp be right underneath their washing machine or something so it's being shaken a lot while it's hot?

    Even the spot where their kid jumps onto the floor from the top bunk could be enough to break a hot filament bulb, not sure about energy savers thoug
    They tend to be rather more robust actually, think how much beating a CCFL in a laptop takes.

    But low frequency ripples, those kill them.

    Intrestingly thou, voltage spikes they tend to be better at dealing with than filliment.
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    ɯʎɔɐɹsɐʌʍ mycarsavw's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Sounds like you have a dodgy connection in the ceiling rose thingy.

    Do normal, earth killing bulbs fry as easily in the same drop?
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    I had this same problem back at my mum's house, and I have to say I'd agree with mycarsavw, because that connector thing was dodgy as, and broke just as I went off to uni. Not sure how bulbs have faired now it's been replaced, as I don't have to deal with it :>

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    Ғо ѕніzzLє му піzzLє chicken's Avatar
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    Re: My light bulb socket claims another victim...

    Our halogen lights blow every so often, along with an outside light running from the same switch, but that hasn't gone since we put an energy-saver in there.

    It's not worth fixing though because we don't know how long we'll be there and it's an old 17th Century house so it won't be easy!

    My favourite is 99Flake's landing light. It has 3 switches and they can be in any combination for it to be on or off. The best bit is when you switch one switch five times and it does nothing, return it to it's original position and the light comes on!
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