Light bulbs exploding

[GoldDigger]

Heavy enough filaments (such as high wattage PAR) can form a plasma arc from contact to contact when the filament fails. Current high enough to blow fuse and maybe shatter bulb from heating of gas inside the envelope

Have not seen it, but it seems possible.

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[hbiss]

Another possibility is cheap Chinese junk. I was replacing some flame tipped lamps in a chandelier that incidentally didn't last very long despite using Westinghouse 130v. As I held a new lamp between my fingers my thumb went right through the glass, actually made a hole in it. Usually when they break, they shatter. Never saw that before.

-Hal

 

[synchro]

Perhaps the client's definition of "explode" would include just a loud pop and a bright flash, like you can sometimes get when turning on an incandescent bulb when it reaches end of life.

 

[Besoeker3]

Loose neutral or open neutral causing up to 240 volts on the light bulbs

Seems probable. It isn't an issue here in UK (or EU) where at is all 230V single phase.

 

[hillbilly1]

I had a globe LED explode a few years back, clear glass globe. I was standing in the kitchen with the realtor, and heard it pop and glass breaking. Changed that brand out before I sold the house!

 

[munyua44]

I have a client that has light bulbs exploding inside her fixtures. Have not been to to her house yet but she said she had 3 bulbs explode in one night and even a LED bulb has exploded. Just asking for opinions or personal experience with this kind of situation. Never heard of this before. Thanks in advance.

i think the wiring system has a loose neutral which is causing up to 240 v potential difference. Also, you can try testing the breakers. they might be faulty causing a lot of faulty voltage leakages in case of the voltage serge.

 

[Flicker Index]

It all has to do with voltage plus available fault current. Blown bulbs can happen when 240-277v if the available fault current is sufficient and the failing filament creates low enough of a resistance.

See

At 120v, the impedance of plasma along with common wiring impedance prevents the current level from reaching high enough to prevent interesting failures. In 220/230/240 whatever voltage countries, it's actually pretty common for lamp failures to cause an instantaneous trip at the OCPD.

Other things that can cause outer bulb break through are dual bulb lamps where inner tube rupture in halogen lamps that operate at high pressure causing the fragments to break through the outer bulb.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

The only time I have seen bulbs "explode" is when there was a ceramic socket and the stem on the bulb was short. When the bulb was screwed into the socket the bulb part got scored at the stem and after time the glass would heat up and fall out. Had this happen numerous times till I figured what was happening

 

[Buck Parrish]

I had an elderly customer; she was sitting there watching TV. The bulb in the lamp beside her took off like a rocket. It landed on the other side of the room. It was still there when I got there.
I checked the power, everything was fine.
I had the hardest time convincing them that it was a bad bulb.
Her family called me from all over the states.

 

[mopowr steve]

I had an elderly customer; she was sitting there watching TV. The bulb in the lamp beside her took off like a rocket. It landed on the other side of the room. It was still there when I got there.
I checked the power, everything was fine.
I had the hardest time convincing them that it was a bad bulb.
Her family called me from all over the states.

The only time I seen a bulb rocket any distance was after a lightning strike.