recess cans

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JohnJ0906

Senior Member
Location
Baltimore, MD
Where did the lamps come from? My friend added recess in a kitchen for someone, and the lamps kept blowing... until she bought them from Lowes instead of HD. No more blown lamps. :roll:

Also, what is located above? Would it be an area with extra vibration, such as a hallway, or a kids bedroom/playroom?
 

JohnJ0906

Senior Member
Location
Baltimore, MD
Also, check to see if the tab in the socket is not pushed all the way down. This can result in a small arc, which will cause the lamp to fail quickly.
 

ItsHot

Senior Member
Check your voltage. You might need to go to a 130 volt rated lamp. The quality of incandescents has fallen off, since the big deal with cfl's. On the same topic I read recently in California somewhere that it is documented that a lamp (bulb) has been burning for 107 years!
 

walkerj

Senior Member
Location
Baton Rouge
I have Halo H7ICT cans throughout my house and they all work fine except for one directly over my side of the bed that goes out every month or so for 2 years.
I have tried everything and am on the verge of swapping it out:mad:
 
recess cans blowing bulbs(2 every 2 weeks)---anyone every had problem like this?only happening with 6 lights-4inch direct contact

There are a couple of older (3 months or so ) threads dealing with defective Halo 5" cans that had a manufacturing defect were the top of the socket shorted against the top of the can, but typically this was when using the lamp extensions.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
There are a couple of older (3 months or so ) threads dealing with defective Halo 5" cans that had a manufacturing defect were the top of the socket shorted against the top of the can, but typically this was when using the lamp extensions.


I believe those were the H99 cans not the H5. I know this because I had that experience recently.
 

B4T

Senior Member
I have been having a problem with Phillips 65w BR-40 lamps. I supply these to a business that has 7 locations. Most of the cans are Atlite A149 and at least 10 years old.

I have complained to the dealer rep. and he says nobody else is having these problems. He is giving me a song n dance, as THAT is part of his job. I am trying a different brand next week and see what happens.

I think these lamps made in Mexico are using cheaper filaments and continues to fly under the radar. When you have over 400 lamps out in the field, you can clearly see where the problem is :mad:
 

brantmacga

Señor Member
Location
Georgia
Occupation
Former Child
Using 130 volt bulbs usually solves most of these issues.

that's my recommendation.


i just relamped an entire house from a remodel I did recently; the HO called the week after moving back in and said 4 lamps blew.


I had a feeling I'd gotten 120v lamps. I should've double checked when I picked them up. But switching to 130v solved the problem and usually does.
 

surf more

Senior Member
Location
eastern NC
guess yall saying if meter reads 120vac -125vac--you should use 130v bulb???50watt indoor floods -120v are the bulbs that keep blowing..i go there this week and i will tell you what i narrowed problem down to.(later in week)
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
guess yall saying if meter reads 120vac -125vac--you should use 130v bulb???50watt indoor floods -120v are the bulbs that keep blowing..i go there this week and i will tell you what i narrowed problem down to.(later in week)

Use the 130 volt bulbs and you won't have to spend much time there at all. If they blow out then you got a problem.
 

Ohmy

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta, GA
lose terminals produce heat

Loose connections causing archs, which causes rapid heat fluctuations, which causes the element to contract and expand, which breaks the element....I have no basis for this opinion other than personal experience.


BTW, before someone brings up dimmers...dimmers are different because they turn the light off and on soo quickly that the element doesn't change temp.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Loose connections causing archs, which causes rapid heat fluctuations, which causes the element to contract and expand, which breaks the element....I have no basis for this opinion other than personal experience.

AC turns off 60 times a second.:smile:


BTW, before someone brings up dimmers...dimmers are different because they turn the light off and on soo quickly that the element doesn't change temp.

So your saying the arc causes slower fluctuations then a dimmer (which matches 60 Hz supply ............. in that case it would be very visible to the eye that the lamp was pulsing.

Still having some doubts that adding any sort of impedance to a incandescent lamp circuit will shorten it's life. :smile:
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
Still having some doubts that adding any sort of impedance to a incandescent lamp circuit will shorten it's life. :smile:

I agree. I cannot understand how this would happen electrically. Furthermore, a loose connection is no different than standing at the switch and turning it on and off erratically. I can't see how that would affect lamp life at all.
 
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