Tom Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Not exactly Industry related but what's the point of having access to loads of sparks if you can't ask a question...My kitchen is lit (badly) by six spot lights. They take R80 Spot bulbs with an ES screw - I'm using 60w. They keep blowing. I'm lucky if I get a month out of a bulb. Always seems to be in the action of turning them on that one goes with a pop. The fixtures are rated at 100w so I don't think it's heat related. Anybody got any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Need Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Are you buying cheap bulbs from your corner shop???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 Believe it or not, I have come across this exact situation before. A friend had a similar set-up in his kitchen and he told me that the bulbs didn't last very long at all. I'll be seeing him tomorrow and will ask what particular size of bulbs he used. I do know that he found no correlation between bulb make/cost and life expectancy. My friend gave up and replaced the lot with low voltage eyeball downlights (from Screwfix). He used eyeballs simply because fixed downlights were too small to fit in the existing holes. I can think of two "scientific" reasons for this: 1. Mains voltage too high where you live2. Kitchen abnormally cold hence greater inrush current when lights switched on But there might not be a rational explanation. If you fit branded lamps, you could try ringing the manufacturer's tech support line and see what they say, given that the nominal life of the bulb is likely to be 1000 hours and you are consistently experiencing significantly shorter lifes. An easy way to reduce switch-on failures is to fit a dimmer switch and fade the lights up gently. It's not too difficult to find a domestic dimmer that can take 360W, but do check as many are only rated at 250W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted January 31, 2003 Author Share Posted January 31, 2003 Nope - not cheap lamps (bloody expensive ones actually which makes this all the more enjoying), and not a heat issue I think. I might try a dimmer switch and see if that does any good. I intend to replace the lot at some point when I rip the kitchen out anyway. Thanks for your thoughts though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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