recess cans

[Dennis Alwon]

Hey surf more, what did you find out?

 

[Rewire]

here is what i am talking about thanks to mike holt

How could you place the loose neutral at the socket in series? When I am talking about a loose neutral it is at the point of attachment to the socket.

 

[electricalperson]

How could you place the loose neutral at the socket in series? When I am talking about a loose neutral it is at the point of attachment to the socket.

well a loose connection is like a resistor. you can have a voltage drop across loose connections like in breakers and stuff like that. a loose neutral connection is in series with the filiment of the lamp back to its source. if theres a resistor in series you will have a voltage drop across it. how can a lower VD across the lamp cause it to go out quickly? kind of like putting 2 120v light bulbs in series. each one will be dimmer

 

[Rewire]

well a loose connection is like a resistor. you can have a voltage drop across loose connections like in breakers and stuff like that. a loose neutral connection is in series with the filiment of the lamp back to its source. if theres a resistor in series you will have a voltage drop across it. how can a lower VD across the lamp cause it to go out quickly? kind of like putting 2 120v light bulbs in series. each one will be dimmer

heat,heat, heat, I have replaced sockets that show heat damaged wire from loose neutral connection that when replaced stopped burning out lamps.

 

[ohm]

well a loose connection is like a resistor. you can have a voltage drop across loose connections like in breakers and stuff like that. a loose neutral connection is in series with the filiment of the lamp back to its source. if theres a resistor in series you will have a voltage drop across it. how can a lower VD across the lamp cause it to go out quickly? kind of like putting 2 120v light bulbs in series. each one will be dimmer

electric, I believe you would have to have the loose connection at the SE panel or at a junction box where both phases split to have the problem you described.

 

[electricalperson]

electric, I believe you would have to have the loose connection at the SE panel or at a junction box where both phases split to have the problem you described.

i was talking about a loose neutral connection n a lamp socket. one switch one or more lights in paralell. i dont understand how a loose wire causes an incandescent lamp to burn out quicker. if im missing something please tell me.

even if you completly removed the neutral the lamp wont burn out. they used to switch the neutral in carter 3 ways.

im not talking MWBC here. a loose neutral in a MWBC will cause a higher voltage to go across the lamp depending on other loads in the circuit. a guy i was with lifted a bunch of neutrals to MWBC in an apartment and all the bulbs got really bright and blew out pretty quick. then i heard the tv pop and other lamps blow out

 

[ohm]

i was talking about a loose neutral connection n a lamp socket. one switch one or more lights in paralell. i dont understand how a loose wire causes an incandescent lamp to burn out quicker. if im missing something please tell me.

even if you completly removed the neutral the lamp wont burn out. they used to switch the neutral in carter 3 ways.

im not talking MWBC here. a loose neutral in a MWBC will cause a higher voltage to go across the lamp depending on other loads in the circuit. a guy i was with lifted a bunch of neutrals to MWBC in an apartment and all the bulbs got really bright and blew out pretty quick. then i heard the tv pop and other lamps blow out

Sorry electricalperson, I should have read your post 36 again. It seems we're both saying the same thing. It could only be a problem on a MWBC under very limited circumstances.

 

[riggenbw]

How would lose terminals contribute to lamp failure? :-?


I have heard this before and personally have felt it is likely a myth.

Cranking the bulb down really tight in the socket causes the "hot" contact to lose it's tension. This can result in no physical contact between the hot contact and the bulb contact, but will cause arcing, which definitely can lead to bulb failure.

 

[mivey]

They size the wire to the load, not to what the NEC says the load will be.:smile:

The power company knows better than anyone what the actual load of a dwelling unit it is.

But their sizing charts are based on experience.:grin:

 

[surf more]

sorry guys,i got caught up in the summer activitys for a couple of weeks!!!!!
i did go back to the house ...
this was a kitchen rewire for us on the rough in.
pulled all new hruns for kitcen outlets-range -dw-ext...

light circuit was tag off another light circuit that appeared to have just laundry --hallway--closet lights on it!!!!I was fliping breakers and my helper was testing stuff to see what was on or off.(MISTAKE)but when the boss sends help you must put them work!!!(MOST IMPORTANTLY TRUST THEM)

i only added 6 four inch can lights to the cicuit.


went back and found a freezer in the garage on that circuit,and the bulbs we installed 120v.

i did not want to go back so i pulled a new hr for lights and installed 130v bulbs.



no more blowing bulbs!!!thanks for input everyone!!

 

[hurk27]

sorry guys,i got caught up in the summer activitys for a couple of weeks!!!!!
i did go back to the house ...
this was a kitchen rewire for us on the rough in.
pulled all new hruns for kitcen outlets-range -dw-ext...

light circuit was tag off another light circuit that appeared to have just laundry --hallway--closet lights on it!!!!I was fliping breakers and my helper was testing stuff to see what was on or off.(MISTAKE)but when the boss sends help you must put them work!!!(MOST IMPORTANTLY TRUST THEM)

i only added 6 four inch can lights to the cicuit.


went back and found a freezer in the garage on that circuit,and the bulbs we installed 120v.

i did not want to go back so i pulled a new hr for lights and installed 130v bulbs.



no more blowing bulbs!!!thanks for input everyone!!

I almost every case I had with bulbs blowing, it is almost one of two things, cheep bulbs or a PQ problem, motor loads on lightning circuits can effect the life of incandescent lamps, as well as electronic ballasted fluorescent, the inductive kick back from motors, can be very damaging, and in most cases can be reduced by adding a plug in SPD to the circuit.

I had a house once that I had a terrible time with blowing bulbs, 130 volt bulbs lasted longer but still went out after a month, installed a whole house SPD, and added a few SPDs to certain motor loads and it all went away. went back for a bad GFCI receptacle about a year later, and the HO said they never had to replace any lamps yet.

 

[GeorgeB]

AC turns off 60 times a second.:smile:

FWIW ... I believe it is 120 times a second.

 

[inspector163]

Some time ago I was inspecting a generator set up when the homeowner asked me about a similar problem. They had 2 of 6 recessed which blew bulbs on a weekly basis. The ec told the ho to replace with 130v bulbs which slowed the blowing of bulbs to about 2weeks. My suggestion to the ho was to have a licensed electrical contractor of their choice to check for a loose neutral connection causing higher voltage. When I made next inspection on generator I was told that the ec had found that there was a loose neutral connection at the wirenut at the 1st can after the switch. Once the connection was made correctly the problem ended.