Halogen light question

[rl290]

Hi all,
Last year I had an electrician redo my kitchen lighting with halogen spotlights. The fittings are the "push fit" pin style (i.e. the bulbs have 2 pins that push straight in), and the bulbs he put in were 240V 50W. A couple of the bulbs have now blown, so I have gone looking for replacements... only to find that you can only get 240V for "twist and screw" fittings (GU10), whilst the GU5.3 style fittings I have only seem to have 12V bulbs made for them! One retailer has even told me that 240V push fitting bulbs do not meet European standards?!

Is this true? If not, where can I purchase this kind of bulb? If they are not available, what is the best course of action (can you get adaptors to convert gu5.3 into gu10?

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[jj4091]

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLGULH.html

 

[stevelup]

Are you sure they are 240V with a GU5.3 base? I have never seen such a thing...

 

[rl290]

They are indeed! I didn't realise until I tried to change them. Will endeavour to try and get back in contact with the contractor and find out where he got his bulbs from! He's a Polish guy, so this may explain why they're not seen much over here

 

[Adam_151]

1) Does the fitting conform to a standard thats been ratified by the UK? (ie: has a BSEN number?)

2) I wonder what the trading standards opinion would be on him providing a item for which consumables seem to not be easy available in the UK for...

 

[333rocky333]

can you post pic of the lamp and fitting
I have seen 240v push in lamps, they were not GU 5.3
but a wider sort of loop type pin
possibly a G9 base but i dont think they do 50w only 40 +60

There is a few lamps here
http://www.internationallamps.co.uk/

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I wonder what the trading standards opinion would be on him providing a item for which consumables seem to not be easy available in the UK for...

If you're talking about the same trading standards organisation that allows retailers to sell any number of products and not consumables or spares for them, I expect their opinion will be one of "couldn't care less"...

 

[Adam_151]

If you're talking about the same trading standards organisation that allows retailers to sell any number of products and not consumables or spares for them, I expect their opinion will be one of "couldn't care less"...

I'd assumed that an item without consumables available would be classed as unfit for purpose (but that the same wouldn't be true of spares)

I'd got it in my head that there was some kind of big commotion about this type of thing a few years back about christmas lighting string lamps, and them not being available the following year, leading to you having to purchase a new set each year after getting them out the attic becuase the design of the lamps had changed slightly...

But I don't know what they'd say, probably not much at all, as you say...