Lightbulb on dimmer keeps burning out

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Lightbulb on dimmer keeps burning out

geekIT

2419 posts

Uber Geek

#196055 17-May-2016 18:01

Got a dimmer in my lounge that was installed by a sparkie about 18 months ago.

It's driving a ceiling fitting that has two pendant 100w bulbs.

The 'shades' are just clear glass cylinders, about 120mm diameter, so there's plenty of air circulating through them.

It works ok - dims fine, switches on and off etc - but every so often one of the bulbs burns out.

I reckon we've gone through 8 or 10 bulbs over the period, but the bulb I put in yesterday only lasted 24 hours.

I haven't studied the sequence so can't recall if it's always the same socket.

The bulbs are usually supermarket-bought Philips Softone, made in India (?), but I've occasionally used Warehouse bulbs, too.

Dunno if it's relevant, but this light does get a fair bit of use. Like 8 - 12 hours daily.

Re the dimmer operation, we rarely use it, so the lights are usually on full strength.

Anyone able to comment on this?

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

1 | 2 | 3

Hmm, what to write...
1424 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554339 17-May-2016 18:42

You may be just un/lucky and have relatively high voltage at your place.. close to the transformer/ large changes in the amount of current being drawn from it etc... could be anything really.

If you want the bulbs to last longer just dim them before turning them on. The reason they blow at turn on in the large inrush current causing a magnetic field to appear around the spiral wound filament. This filament then "twangs" and the force breaks it (also the filament is more likely to blow like a fuse because of the higher current..). Once the filament is hot it has a much higher resistance and so less current flows.

I'm pretty sure holding your tongue the right way helps as well.

Matthew

geekIT

2419 posts

Uber Geek

#1554658 18-May-2016 10:45

Thanks, Mathew. Good tip, didn't know that about dimmers.

BTW, just in case anyone was wondering - I only use regular bulbs, not the long-life type. I understand most dimmers won't work properly with those lamps.

Re bulb brands, are any superior to others?

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

timmmay

20578 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554684 18-May-2016 10:52

Try a dimmable LED bulb. They probably have a little transformer in them so may be less affected.

You haven't said if you're using CFL, halogen, etc. "Regular" isn't a bulb type that I recognise.

geekIT

2419 posts

Uber Geek

#1554704 18-May-2016 11:18

timmmay, the bulbs I use in this fitting are always the old-fashioned, bog-standard type that's been around forever. They're not halogen, methane, oxygen or whatever. Not long-life or even medium-life, unfortunately usually short-life.

The boxes just say Philips Softone Standard Bulb.

I seem to recall trying a dimmable LED type but it didn't last longer than the cheapies.

I've also just remembered that I complained to Philips (Auckland) around six months ago about the non-durability of their bulbs. They didn't offer a solution, or any explanation, but at least apologized and sent me four free bulbs.

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

richms

28172 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554708 18-May-2016 11:21

Lightbulbs are just crap now. People who are not prepared to spend on efficiant lighting are clearly not going to pay the extra for quality so why bother importing it.

Particually those eco halogen ones where they stuff a capsule mains voltage halogen inside something shaped like an old style incandesent lamps. Those along with the GU10 crap downlights tend to take the dimmer out since the gas in them is at a pressure and the filiment so small that they will usually arc over spectacularly when they do go.

The longest lasting non-LED lamps I have are actually a couple of retro styled bulbs from ebay that are all styled up to look like a vintage lamp. Had them for years in the outside lights that are on a sensor so off and on all the time, which was killing LEDs in months. CFL was a waste of time outside since its so cold that the warmup is forever, and the ecohalogeny ones were dying within weeks. They use 60 watts and are about as effective as the interior light in a car, but are on for such a short time who cares.

Richard rich.ms

geekIT

2419 posts

Uber Geek

#1554713 18-May-2016 11:26

So it's not possible to buy a durable 75-100w lamp?

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

richms

28172 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554716 18-May-2016 11:32

I have not really wanted to get any non led lights for a very long time now. You could try an electrical wholesaler or lighting specilist shop for something a bit better than the 60c junk that seems to be the core incandesent light range at hardware stores etc.

Richard rich.ms

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

timmmay

20578 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554730 18-May-2016 11:46

They're probably just called tungsten bulbs, these days they're called "old fashioned, inefficient, legacy tungsten bulbs". Try a modern LED bulb that's compatible with dimmers. Your problem is you're using low quality products.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1554738 18-May-2016 12:00

When LED's are now as cheap as chips (I saw $3 the other day) there seriously is no reason to use a normal bulb.

richms

28172 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554743 18-May-2016 12:10

sbiddle:

When LED's are now as cheap as chips (I saw $3 the other day) there seriously is no reason to use a normal bulb.

If you want to dim, and you want no flicker and reliable ramping up from off, retrofit LEDs are not there yet. And when you talk to people about a dali based automation system with proper drivers on downlights they tend to freak out and say "HOW MANY thousand just for them to work properly?"

Richard rich.ms

andrewNZ

2487 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1554744 18-May-2016 12:11

It used to be possible to buy Osram lamps that were rated at 240v rather than 230v. They used to last longer in rural areas with less stable power.

timmmay

20578 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554765 18-May-2016 13:07

richms:

sbiddle:

When LED's are now as cheap as chips (I saw $3 the other day) there seriously is no reason to use a normal bulb.

If you want to dim, and you want no flicker and reliable ramping up from off, retrofit LEDs are not there yet. And when you talk to people about a dali based automation system with proper drivers on downlights they tend to freak out and say "HOW MANY thousand just for them to work properly?"

I just put in some LED downlights. Flicking can be an issue, but if you get the right dimmer and settings they seem ok. Possibly not at $3 per unit though. Definitely something that needs development and will happen. Even the lowest wattage LEDs I could find were too bright for my office.

richms

28172 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554776 18-May-2016 13:19

timmmay:

I just put in some LED downlights. Flicking can be an issue, but if you get the right dimmer and settings they seem ok. Possibly not at $3 per unit though. Definitely something that needs development and will happen. Even the lowest wattage LEDs I could find were too bright for my office.

But can you take them from 0% or off up to a tiny nightlight glow without them popcorning on or deciding to turn back off occasionally?

Richard rich.ms

Hammerer

2476 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1554785 18-May-2016 13:22

timmmay:

They're probably just called tungsten bulbs

That's right. They are also called incandescent bulbs/lamps/globes but technically that also includes halogen lamps and arc lamps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#Tungsten_bulbs

timmmay

20578 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1554791 18-May-2016 13:31

richms:

timmmay:

I just put in some LED downlights. Flicking can be an issue, but if you get the right dimmer and settings they seem ok. Possibly not at $3 per unit though. Definitely something that needs development and will happen. Even the lowest wattage LEDs I could find were too bright for my office.

But can you take them from 0% or off up to a tiny nightlight glow without them popcorning on or deciding to turn back off occasionally?

I only had the dimmer put in yesterday so not sure. They don't scale to 0%, but they go down to 25% or so I think. On some dial settings they flicker like crazy, though going to max and back down sometimes fixes it.

1 | 2 | 3