Are these light bulbs safe?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Are these light bulbs safe?

Paul1977

5047 posts

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#198603 15-Jul-2016 18:00

This may be a dumb question, but here goes.

Our house is pretty old and just has the old bayonet light fittings which we have always just used incandescent bulbs in.

My understanding is that most internal fittings like this are rated for bulbs up to 100W. I am wanting to try a halogen bulb, but it is 105W. I've put it in and it works, and is nice and bright (box says brightness is equivalent to 150W incandescent).

But is this safe in my old standard fitting?

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mattwnz

20164 posts

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#1593278 15-Jul-2016 18:07

Halogens can get pretty hot, I would got for a lower wattage, if they are only rated for 100W. But you should ask the retailer what is suitable. Why not use an LED instead?

Paul1977

5047 posts

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#1593281 15-Jul-2016 18:12

mattwnz:

Halogens can get pretty hot, I would got for a lower wattage, if they are only rated for 100W. But you should ask the retailer what is suitable. Why not use an LED instead?

I like it bright, and the 70W halogen doesn't output enough lumens. Haven't gone LED as they need to be dimmable, and i thought that was an issue with LEDs (buzzing etc)?

I only grabbed this one on a whim when I saw that it said it had equivalent brightness to 150W, and for some reason I thought that halogens ran cooler (Google has now corrected me).

EDIT: I don't know for sure that the fittings are only rated for 100W, I can't see anything on them. I'm sure I was once told this though about standard fittings.

RunningMan

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#1593286 15-Jul-2016 18:41

Some LEDs are dimmable, but you need to check the specs before you buy.

Paul1977

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#1593287 15-Jul-2016 18:45

RunningMan:

Some LEDs are dimmable, but you need to check the specs before you buy.

Thanks, but at the moment really just wanting to find out whether a 105W halogen is alright in an old standard fixture.

richms

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#1593291 15-Jul-2016 18:55

Most fittings aren't even good to 100w, plastic goes all cruncy and with a bayonet when it lets go the lamp comes flying out of it. I was a rebel and had a 42W in my desklamp rated for 40 and nothing happened.

Why not put in a multi lamp fixture instead?

Richard rich.ms

Linuxluver

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#1593332 15-Jul-2016 19:49

Paul1977:

This may be a dumb question, but here goes.

Our house is pretty old and just has the old bayonet light fittings which we have always just used incandescent bulbs in.

My understanding is that most internal fittings like this are rated for bulbs up to 100W. I am wanting to try a halogen bulb, but it is 105W. I've put it in and it works, and is nice and bright (box says brightness is equivalent to 150W incandescent).

But is this safe in my old standard fitting?

Halogens burn at up to 300 degrees C. I've banned them from my house. They are an outrageous fire hazard.

CFLs and LEDs are much better in all respects. I had my dimmers removed and changed to turning on 1,2, 3 or 4 lights if I need variable brightness.

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richms

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#1593333 15-Jul-2016 19:56

The halogen retrofits have the halogen capsule inside another lamp, the overall result will be about the same as the old style incandesent.

The hazard ones are the 300/500w uplighters that are top heavy, and have curtains etc blown into them or tip over and old ones had no tip switches in them. Seems absurd to use all the power and shine it up on to the cieling where there will be reflection losses but they were all the rage in the 90's.

Richard rich.ms

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larknz

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#1593395 15-Jul-2016 21:39

Is it just a bare bulb or is it in a light fitting? If it is just a bare bulb it should be fine

vexxxboy

4244 posts

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#1593416 15-Jul-2016 22:46

Paul1977:

RunningMan:

Some LEDs are dimmable, but you need to check the specs before you buy.

Thanks, but at the moment really just wanting to find out whether a 105W halogen is alright in an old standard fixture.

i use the 200w equivalent in my lounge and Kitchen for the same reason you do and my house is an old 1960's house and i have used them for the last 4-5 years and never had a problem with overheating or anything remotely dangerous .

Common sense is not as common as you think.

sir1963

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#1593470 16-Jul-2016 10:03

vexxxboy:

Paul1977:

RunningMan:

Some LEDs are dimmable, but you need to check the specs before you buy.

Thanks, but at the moment really just wanting to find out whether a 105W halogen is alright in an old standard fixture.

i use the 200w equivalent in my lounge and Kitchen for the same reason you do and my house is an old 1960's house and i have used them for the last 4-5 years and never had a problem with overheating or anything remotely dangerous .

The heat causes the insulation to harden and go brittle.

The heat also causes the springs pushing the terminals onto the lamp pins to loose tension causing the terminals to over heat.

That heat travels up the wires and can cause damage a good 300mm along the cables. This can mean that when damage occurs the wires can not be shortened backhand can see the circuit having to be re-wired.

There is no way I would ever have these lamps in my house.

vexxxboy

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#1593514 16-Jul-2016 12:08

sir1963:

vexxxboy:

Paul1977:

RunningMan:

Some LEDs are dimmable, but you need to check the specs before you buy.

Thanks, but at the moment really just wanting to find out whether a 105W halogen is alright in an old standard fixture.

i use the 200w equivalent in my lounge and Kitchen for the same reason you do and my house is an old 1960's house and i have used them for the last 4-5 years and never had a problem with overheating or anything remotely dangerous .

The heat causes the insulation to harden and go brittle.

The heat also causes the springs pushing the terminals onto the lamp pins to loose tension causing the terminals to over heat.

That heat travels up the wires and can cause damage a good 300mm along the cables. This can mean that when damage occurs the wires can not be shortened backhand can see the circuit having to be re-wired.

There is no way I would ever have these lamps in my house.

so how long until what you say happens , i have had a good think of how long i have used them and it's more like 6-7 years with no problems

Common sense is not as common as you think.

sir1963

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#1593526 16-Jul-2016 13:08

vexxxboy:

so how long until what you say happens , i have had a good think of how long i have used them and it's more like 6-7 years with no problems

It depends on the quality of the cable installed.

Thing is, you don't know its happening until its too late.

This is why I have installed LED lights in my house and all my rental properties

Paul1977

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#1593716 16-Jul-2016 23:34

Thanks everyone. Varying answers. I decided to play it safe and go back to a standard 100W incandescent for now. Although I suspect it would have probably been fine.