Hi. Tempted by the offer (£2 a piece at ASDA) I bought 6 batten lamp holders by British General. Well made. But, have I been sensible? I mean, will bayonet fitting lamps still be able to be bought in the future, or are they on their way out to Edison Screw? Thanks.
Bayonet fittings: On their way to obsolence?
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I think it's because the market for European-sized ES lamps (American ones are slightly different) is bigger than the market for BC, so more are made, in a wider variety, to gain the bigger market, and are imported here when there is a price advantage.
The UK market is still big enough for lamp manufacturers to make a decent living out of us, though, especially as the European market becomes saturated.
You may remember the pre-EU days when car manufacturers were allowed to charge UK consumers higher prices, and restricted availability of RHD vehicles in other countries, as a ploy to maximise their profits at the consumer's expense.
Luckily, UK has decided to give up such protections.
The UK market is still big enough for lamp manufacturers to make a decent living out of us, though, especially as the European market becomes saturated.
You may remember the pre-EU days when car manufacturers were allowed to charge UK consumers higher prices, and restricted availability of RHD vehicles in other countries, as a ploy to maximise their profits at the consumer's expense.
Luckily, UK has decided to give up such protections.
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I have found bayonet fittings are used more and more as we move from 12 volt to 230 volt spot lights, GU10 has become more popular and G5.3 seems to be going, as to BA22d and E27 there is a second consideration, safety, I know the BA22d is available with shutters, not seen any E27 with shutters, and you can earth the shell of a BA22d bulb.
I have noted BA22d bulbs are not marked as class II and I have wondered if they need marking, E27 could not possibly be class I so it is clear they must be class II, but BA22d could with single filament be class II.
I have seen BA15d as twin filament, but not BA22d, however that does not mean not made.
It seemed odd where I worked the 230 volt were always 230 volt and the E27 always 110 volt, seemed wrong way around, as with 230 volt shell is neutral so no shock if touched, but with 110 shell is 55 or 64 volt to earth. But our electricial engineer banned use of E27 with 230 volt so wrong bulb could not be fitted.
I though I had no standard E27 lamps, only the SON lamps were E27, but it seems wife bought a standard lamp from IKEA, on fitting a SON bulb I am told big bang, it was in garage together with some 24 volt E27 for hand lamps, suspect they would also go bang.
I no there is no national rule, but having specials as E27 and standard as BA22d does seem a safe way.
I have noted BA22d bulbs are not marked as class II and I have wondered if they need marking, E27 could not possibly be class I so it is clear they must be class II, but BA22d could with single filament be class II.
I have seen BA15d as twin filament, but not BA22d, however that does not mean not made.
It seemed odd where I worked the 230 volt were always 230 volt and the E27 always 110 volt, seemed wrong way around, as with 230 volt shell is neutral so no shock if touched, but with 110 shell is 55 or 64 volt to earth. But our electricial engineer banned use of E27 with 230 volt so wrong bulb could not be fitted.
I though I had no standard E27 lamps, only the SON lamps were E27, but it seems wife bought a standard lamp from IKEA, on fitting a SON bulb I am told big bang, it was in garage together with some 24 volt E27 for hand lamps, suspect they would also go bang.
I no there is no national rule, but having specials as E27 and standard as BA22d does seem a safe way.
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Bayonet lampholders and the lamps to fit them are not going away.
Screw fittings are rubbish.
Screw fittings are rubbish.
Why would you want 6, there normally only £2.39 in screwfix anyway, pendants are more usefull and there only £1.19
You seem to be assuming that everything has to be either Class I or Class II but, as I frequently say/ask, there must surely bbe many electrical items that are not either. Something without exposed-c-ps cannot possibly be Class I, yet may not have "double or reinforced insulation", either, so what are they - 'not allowed', perhaps??
If BA22d bulbs were Class I, that would put an enormous cat amongst the pigeons, since few lampholders have the ability to provide an 'earth' connection,, and pendant lampholders are even exempt from the requirement to have a CPC run to them.
What point are you trying to make?
Kind Regards, John
I'm not sure if this is what you are suggesting, but one problem with ES ('pendant') lampholders is that something has to be done to prevent the cover of the holder being unscrewed (potentially exposing live parts) when one unscrews a bulb - an issue which doesn't arise with the few degrees of rotation required to remove a bayonet bulb. That is probably why they are pretty rare.
Kind Regards, John
Lighting in general seems to get a pass on normal electrical safety standards.
To some extent that's true, and I suppose that is somewhat understandable, given that lights are generally 'on the ceiling', and hence not usually touchable.
Having said that, I imagine that what I recently wrote is at least one of the reasons why ES lampholders are conspicuous by their rarity.
Kind Regards, John
Afaict the main problem with ES pendant lampholders is they are too big to fit normal british lampshades.
Part of that may be down to the lampholder needing to be bulkier but I think most of of it is also down to the fact that afaict a standard ES cap is bigger than a standard BC cap (B22 vs E27).
Part of that may be down to the lampholder needing to be bulkier but I think most of of it is also down to the fact that afaict a standard ES cap is bigger than a standard BC cap (B22 vs E27).
Yes, that could also be part of the explanation.
However, if ES had come (or comes in the future) into widespread use in the UK, I'm sure that corresponding lampshades would have appeared to service what would then probably have been a very large potential market. After all, it's only a question of the size of a little metal ring.
Kind Regards, John
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IME, it depends who makes them. The ceramic ES lampholders in Thorn fittings are grand.
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