Baking lampholders

[Calculus]

I was sitting in the bedroom last night when I heard a POP and all the upstairs lights went out. A burning smell told me the (100W) bulb had fried in its socket. This is what the socket looked like today, glass shade removed:

Untitled

• Calculus
• 11 Oct 2012
• 1

There was a sticker on the lampholder saying 'Max bulb 100W' so it should have been OK. Maybe the globular glass shade had caused it to overheat, I thought. But downstairs is another 100W bulb that never has a shade on:

Untitled

• Calculus
• 11 Oct 2012
• 1

That lampholder also has a 'Max 100W bulb' sticker on it, but you can see it's going the same way as the bedroom lampholder despite having no shade to impede heat dissipation.

I went to B&Q to get a new socket. There was a choice of three but not one of them had any indication of maximum bulb size, either in the instructions or as a sticker. Total silence. I ended up buying one by MK called simply 'Lampholder (cordgrip)'. I fitted it with a new 100W bulb, and even as I type, it hangs above my head like the sword of Damocles. Who knows when it will melt and come crashing down on my thinning pate.

My questions are:

* Is this normal? Do lampholders have a short lifespan? Are you supposed to replace them when they start to discolour?
* Could these lampholders have been mismarked 60W types?
* Can I determine the max bulb rating of this new unmarked lampholder?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Not unusual for lampholders to get discoloured and brittle over time!
I doubt that the MK lampholder will be rated at any less than 100w.

 

[Symptoms]

Cal - why not get sucked into the great green lie debate. Fit an energy saver bulb so you can work in a dull glow and of course your lampholder won't burn

 

[dingodeano]

Dull glow? Nothing wrong with CFL lamps.

 

[Calculus]

I doubt that the MK lampholder will be rated at any less than 100w.

That's reassuring. I think the baked ones were unbranded and came from Wilkinsons, so it could be another instance of yer get what yer pay for.

No chance of me going green Symptoms. I have about 400 incandescent bulbs in the loft.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

* Is this normal?

Yes.

Do lampholders have a short lifespan?

Yes.

Are you supposed to replace them when they start to discolour?

Yes.

With brass ones.

 

[Calculus]

With brass ones.

I've seen these. But the pack always has 'half inch fitting' or 'half inch thread', implying they are a non-standard or obsolete fitting. Can I use these as a direct replacement?

 

[Monkeh]

Dull glow? Nothing wrong with CFL lamps.

Other than being dim and 'warm white' (ie. urine yellow).

 

[sparkwright]

Remember if you replace with brass lampholders you MUST earth them.

Check there's earth wires within the ceiling rose, and that they are connected to earth. The flex between the rose and the lampholder needs to be 3 core round flex.

 

[RF Lighting]

Just use MK plastic lampholders.

They have a metal bit to hold the bulb in place, and should last for a good few years.

Brass lampholders is madness. They need earthing which is a PITA, and they'd look awful too.

 

[flameport]

I've seen these. But the pack always has 'half inch fitting' or 'half inch thread', implying they are a non-standard or obsolete fitting. Can I use these as a direct replacement?

Not without fitting a flex grip into the threaded hole.
1/2 inch thread is the standard size.

Other sizes include 3/8 inch for smaller fittings, and 10mm which is designed by Lucifer himself to look virtually identical to 3/8 inch and yet be totally incompatible.

 

[securespark]

MK lampholders used to be made by MEM Delta. Or vice-versa, I could never work it out.

They were incredibly sturdy beasts, but the modern MK rose and lampholder is a cheap piece of tat with a thin bendy lamp-retaining ring.

I used to buy the same (albeit) unbranded pendant assemblies from Denmans for anywhere between 69-89p each, dependant upon quantity.

Temperature ratings are a bit of a blast from the past, but if you're a wrinkly old git like me, you will have been taught as an apprentice there are two temperature ratings for BC lampholders:

T1 and T2. I'd be surprised to see T1 these days, but they are max 60W rating (incandescent) and T2 are 100W.

If the lampholder is not rated to a wattage, look at the moulded plastic of the lampholder and you may well find T1 or T2 moulded into it.

FWIW, I think GET lampholders are quite sturdy, especially the lamp retaining ring..

 

[333rocky333]

Rather than go by the sticky label usually somewhere on the inside on its moulded bit its marked T1 or T2
T1 is 60 watt
T2 is 100 watt
EDIT
Sorry SS didnt see that was watching rossy

 

[securespark]

We're both showing our age...

http://www.electrika.com/products/m/man-0440/pdftech/09-056.pdf

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I've seen these. But the pack always has 'half inch fitting' or 'half inch thread', implying they are a non-standard or obsolete fitting. Can I use these as a direct replacement?

Pendant ones, i.e. the ones in your photos, are self contained, they don't have to screw into anything.