Incandescent light bulbs (tungsten) popping taking out fuse in fuse box?

[UseLeSsDiYr]

We bought some of these light bulbs from ebay and have experienced on several occasions that when they pop, they sometimes go with a bang and you could see something within has exploded!

More often than not, they would take out the lighting circuit on the floor it's happened, requiring the 5amp fuse on the fuse box to be replaced.

My question is whether this is likely to be a fire hazard, in terms of sparking the electrical wiring in the ceilings, or just a hassle of having to replace the fuse in the fuse box each time it happens?

 

[Taylortwocities]

It’s just a hassle. The fuse is doing it’s job. This feature is there to tell you not to buy cheap lamps from an unknown shed on the Internet.
Maybe time to migrate to LED…?

 

[ericmark]

Likely just a nuisance, it is common for ionisation to happen when a tungsten bulb blows, however there was always a fuse built into the bulb so only the bulb fuse would blow, that was part of the British standard, but it seems when we stopped making tungsten bulbs other companies abroad did not follow suit, and I have had Ikea CFL bulbs take out the 16 amp MCB and weld the centre contact into the fitting, resulting in needing to change bulb holder and bulb. Good reason to ensure only a 5/6 amp fuse/MCB/RCBO is used on lighting.

Today a fuse is rare, and tungsten lamps are rare, I do have packs of Tesco bulbs bought before the ban on their sale, and I do wonder if I should just bin them, as in the main now all LED lighting, we do use table and standard lamps when daughter visits as the LED lights gives her a head ache, but at approx 4 hours per month use, they will clearly last a long time.

At over £2 for a cartage fuse for an old fuse box, it would seem an expensive exercise to use tungsten bulbs, the use of fuse wire for fuses in the control of an ordinary person was stopped a long time ago, and getting cards of fuse wire is getting harder and harder as a result, it is a real blast from the past to find some one still using fuses and tungsten bulbs.

 

[UseLeSsDiYr]

Thank you both for your replies.

So manufacturers these days cheap out by not including a fuse within the bulb itself?

I've always viewed LED bulbs as energy drainers when you switch them on for less than a few minutes; as it warms up during the first 30-60 seconds? For example if you use is a toilet or bathroom.

Or is my logic rubbish, as it'll be energy efficient in all cases?

 

[EFLImpudence]

You are probably thinking of something else; compact fluorescent 'bulbs'?

LEDs are instant. See a modern car's indicators.

Either way, your 'logic' is rubbish.

 

[JohnW2]

.... the use of fuse wire for fuses in the control of an ordinary person was stopped a long time ago ...

Hmmmm

... and getting cards of fuse wire is getting harder and harder as a result ....

B&Q, Screwfix, Wickes .... but maybe not in Wales?

Kind Regards, John

 

[flameport]

So manufacturers these days cheap out by not including a fuse within the bulb itself?

All of the decent mainstream manufacturers of household incandescent lamps are gone. There is no market for them any more.
What's left are lamps intended for other purposes, other countries, different voltages such as 220 instead of 240, factory rejects and who knows what else.

I've always viewed LED bulbs as energy drainers when you switch them on for less than a few minutes; as it warms up during the first 30-60 seconds?

LED lamps do not do that, and never have.
Try some of these: https://www.toolstation.com/wessex-a60-gls-bulb/p51967

 

[UseLeSsDiYr]

You are probably thinking of something else; compact fluorescent 'bulbs'?

LEDs are instant. See a modern car's indicators.

Either way, your 'logic' is rubbish.

Indeed - was thing of CFL's such as Philips' Genie energy light bulbs 11w = 60w.

All of the decent mainstream manufacturers of household incandescent lamps are gone. There is no market for them any more.
What's left are lamps intended for other purposes, other countries, different voltages such as 220 instead of 240, factory rejects and who knows what else.


LED lamps do not do that, and never have.
Try some of these: https://www.toolstation.com/wessex-a60-gls-bulb/p51967

Thanks for the info - learn something new everyday!

Will check out those bulbs or similar. Looks like they're lower energy too with the added benefit of being instant!



So with CFL's, do they actually consume more energy whilst warming up in the first minute?

 

[JohnW2]

So with CFL's, do they actually consume more energy whilst warming up in the first minute?

I don't think they consume more energy per time whilst warming up than after they have warmed up (very probably less) but, if one wants 'full brightness' one obviously has to have them on for a minute or two longer than one would with an incandescent or LED.

However, the difference in power in comparison with an incandescent is so great that even if one only wanted 'full brightness light' for a minute or two (plus the minute or so of warm-up time),the CFL would still use a lot less energy - and if one wanted the light on for any appreciable length of time, the warm-up time would be insignificant.

However, CFLs are essentially a matter of (brief) historical interest, having been superseded by LEDs!

Kind Regards, John

 

[UseLeSsDiYr]

Thanks again for your advice John - appreciated!

 

[JohnW2]

Thanks again for your advice John - appreciated!

You're welcome.

Kind Regards, John

 

[AndyPRK]

Energizer leds are also worth considering.
They have a nice warm colour and are bright.

 

[ericmark]

Or is my logic rubbish, as it'll be energy efficient in all cases?

Energy efficient means we want the energy emitted. So if we want the inferred energy and the bulb only emits visible light then not very efficient, by using inferred to heat the room it means you can reduce air temperature, so a room with the air temperature at 18°C feels as if air temperature is 20°C due to the inferred from the light bulb, so air changes in the room cost less as not heating the air as hot, so during the winter months likely the tungsten bulb does safe energy, although not in rooms where you would not heat them anyway.

Since we use the bulbs more in winter than summer and rarely use air conditioning at night, over all likely the tungsten and LED bulb are around even as far as energy wasted, however it depends if you use electric for heating or not, since gas and oil heating uses cheaper fuel, so unless using electric heating LED bulbs do save money, also LED bulbs save labour, as they in the main last longer, OK I know some fire house in USA has a bulb which was before tungsten over 100 years old still burning, but not useful light, it is a dull glow.

The big down side will LED is we don't know what we are buying, some LED bulbs have a large smoothing capacitor inside so give a smooth light output, other don't so give 100 flashes per minute, and this can upset some people, but there is nothing on the bulb to say which is which. The odd thing is when I broke open a bulb to find out what was inside I found it was the cheap bulb with the smoothing capacitor and the expensive one without, so buying what we see as good well known makes does not help.

 

[BS3036]

You should definitely send back the ones that flash at 100 times a minute.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Likely just a nuisance, it is common for ionisation to happen when a tungsten bulb blows, however there was always a fuse built into the bulb so only the bulb fuse would blow, that was part of the British standard, but it seems when we stopped making tungsten bulbs other companies abroad did not follow suit, and I have had Ikea CFL bulbs take out the 16 amp MCB and weld the centre contact into the fitting, resulting in needing to change bulb holder and bulb. Good reason to ensure only a 5/6 amp fuse/MCB/RCBO is used on lighting.

I'm not sure that is entirely correct, because from distant memory, you could always specify the more expensive lamps including a fuse, or the cheaper ones without the fuse.