Halogen Lamps - premature burn out

Daftlad · 12 Jan 2006

Hi,

I moved in to a house about 3 years ago that had been "refurbished" and in the kitchen there are about 8 halogen spots in the ceiling. My problem is that every 4-6 months I am replacing the bulbs.

The box says these bulbs have a life expectancy of 3000 hours. I reckon I'm getting about 10% of that.

The bulbs I am buying are 240v 50w with the turn and lock connection.

I thought that if the power to those lights is governed by a transformer then that may be my problem - anyone got any ideas????

Thanks

ban-all-sheds · 12 Jan 2006

Lamp lifetimes are the time by which you can expect half of them to have failed, when not subject to any external influences that shorten their lives.

All sorts of factors can shorten their life - overheating, vibration, use of dimmers, overvoltage, frequent switching..

What make of lamps are they - good ones, or cheapos?

And you are sure they are rated at 240V are you, and not 230V? That alone can almost halve their life...

Qedelec · 12 Jan 2006

Are you making sure the glass is not soiled with fingerprints or grease, I know this is hard in a kitchen. But because Halogen bulbs run very hot, any ditritis on the glass will turn to carbon very quickly and create a hot spot which causes the lamp to run even hotter. Try regular cleaning and see if it makes any difference.

stem · 12 Jan 2006

The lamps fed via transformer are of the extra low voltage type (12v not 240V) On the early systems the transformer had to be sized to fit the number of lamps it supplied. if it was too big it burned the lamps out too quickly, too small and the brightnes was reduced. If a lamp (or lamps)failed and were not replaced this could also cause the others to burn out more quickly. More recent transformers are more tolerant.

However if yours are 240v this would not apply.

Qedelec · 12 Jan 2006

The bulbs I am buying are 240v 50w with the turn and lock connection.

However if yours are 240v this would not apply.

So why did you post????

stem · 12 Jan 2006

In his original post Daftlad asked about transformers. No one's answered him yet. So I thought I would. For all I know he could be ripping up floorboards looking for non existant transformers.

treacleman · 12 Jan 2006

6 months at 6 hours a day = approx 1000 hours. worst case scenario.
GU10 mains halogens have, generally a 1000hr life. that's a reputable brand.
and that is an AVERAGE life.
not a guaranteed life.
either you are unlucky, or using cheap unfused imported lamps.
Either way, I don't think you have a problem.
get some low energy GU10's if you want 15,000 hours. For £6 each, you will have a lovely light and peace of mind.

Daftlad · 13 Jan 2006

Thanks for your reply.

I have used a variety of replacements from tescos own! to Philips - I have not noticed much of a difference in either.

The lamps I buy are definitely 240v.

I guess I should try and see what the fittings are rated at[/quote]

Daftlad · 13 Jan 2006

Qedelec said:
Are you making sure the glass is not soiled with fingerprints or grease, I know this is hard in a kitchen. But because Halogen bulbs run very hot, any ditritis on the glass will turn to carbon very quickly and create a hot spot which causes the lamp to run even hotter. Try regular cleaning and see if it makes any difference.

Thanks, for the advice, I will try cleaning and keeping fingers off

Daftlad · 13 Jan 2006

stem said:
The lamps fed via transformer are of the extra low voltage type (12v not 240V) On the early systems the transformer had to be sized to fit the number of lamps it supplied. if it was too big it burned the lamps out too quickly, too small and the brightnes was reduced. If a lamp (or lamps)failed and were not replaced this could also cause the others to burn out more quickly. More recent transformers are more tolerant.

However if yours are 240v this would not apply.

Not sure if they are run off a transformer. I'll have to have a look-see and rip up some boards - Thanks

Daftlad · 13 Jan 2006

treacleman said:
6 months at 6 hours a day = approx 1000 hours. worst case scenario.
GU10 mains halogens have, generally a 1000hr life. that's a reputable brand.
and that is an AVERAGE life.
not a guaranteed life.
either you are unlucky, or using cheap unfused imported lamps.
Either way, I don't think you have a problem.
get some low energy GU10's if you want 15,000 hours. For £6 each, you will have a lovely light and peace of mind.

Thanks I'll give the GU 10's a try out. I'm currently paying £3 a lamp for 6 months life so if I get just 18 months from the GU 10 I'll be better off

Qedelec · 13 Jan 2006

Daftlad said:
stem said:

The lamps fed via transformer are of the extra low voltage type (12v not 240V) On the early systems the transformer had to be sized to fit the number of lamps it supplied. if it was too big it burned the lamps out too quickly, too small and the brightnes was reduced. If a lamp (or lamps)failed and were not replaced this could also cause the others to burn out more quickly. More recent transformers are more tolerant.

However if yours are 240v this would not apply.

Click to expand...

Not sure if they are run off a transformer. I'll have to have a look-see and rip up some boards - Thanks

If the lamps you are buying are 240V then please don't waste time and effort taking up floor boards I doubt very much that you will find any transformers

ban-all-sheds · 13 Jan 2006

Daftlad said:
Qedelec said:

Are you making sure the glass is not soiled with fingerprints or grease, I know this is hard in a kitchen. But because Halogen bulbs run very hot, any ditritis on the glass will turn to carbon very quickly and create a hot spot which causes the lamp to run even hotter. Try regular cleaning and see if it makes any difference.

Click to expand...

Thanks, for the advice, I will try cleaning and keeping fingers off

GU10s are sealed - it's only the quartz envelope that needs to be kept grease-free, and with GU10 lamps the envelope is behind a piece of glass...

Daftlad said:
Not sure if they are run off a transformer. I'll have to have a look-see and rip up some boards - Thanks

Daftlad said:
The lamps I buy are definitely 240v.

Then they are not run off a transformer..

Daftlad said:
Thanks I'll give the GU 10's a try out. I'm currently paying £3 a lamp for 6 months life so if I get just 18 months from the GU 10 I'll be better off

FYI - "GU10" is the format of the lamp. You can get halogen GU10s (what you currently have), compact fluorescent (CFL) GU10s, LED GU10s....

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Halogen Lamps - premature burn out

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