Bulbs Blowing

[1hongkongphooey]

I have just completed a rewire of a property, and everything tested out fine. However bulbs at different light fittings keep blowing. All the light fittings are 240V and are cluster ceiling fittings of 5 or 6 bulbs. The bulbs are either Edison ES E27 Small Edison SES E14 or GU10. Can anyone shed any light (excuse the pun) as to why the bulbs randomly blow? I don't think I have had the same bulb location blow twice?

Thanks in advance

 

[EFLImpudence]

Can anyone shed any light (excuse the pun) as to why the bulbs randomly blow?

Poor manufacturing ???

It would be more puzzling if they all blew at exactly the same time.

 

[1hongkongphooey]

I was thinking the same thing. Cheap bulbs supplied with new fitting!

 

[Taylortwocities]

They do that to keep the (apparent) price down.

 

[1hongkongphooey]

I have had a chance to look back over things and the fitting did not come with bulbs, so Phillips bulbs were fitted, not what I would call a cheap bulb.

 

[JohnW2]

I have had a chance to look back over things and the fitting did not come with bulbs, so Phillips bulbs were fitted, not what I would call a cheap bulb.

Did you by any chance get the (Phillips) bulbs by mail order? IME, bulbs(in small quantity) don't respond at all appreciatively to the attentions of Royal Mail (or most couriers)!

Kind Regards, John

 

[1hongkongphooey]

No they where brought from a local supermarket

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

How many lamps altogether do you have?

 

[flameport]

Possible things:

What is the voltage at the property - anything above 240 will significantly shorten lamp life.

Fittings with 5 lamps in them will experience failures 5 times as often - the effect is exaggerated when people have these multiple lamp fittings in every room.
With many incandescent lamps only having a 1000 hour average life, it doesn't take many before you are replacing lamps every day.

I don't think I have had the same bulb location blow twice?

indicates this is the most likely cause - it's just the number of lamps combined with the low average lifetime.

The bulbs are either Edison ES E27 Small Edison SES E14 or GU10.

Screw fittings are usually of poor quality, and even with good ones, the difference between not tightened enough and overtightened is minimal.
Too loose and arcing will occur, too tight and the centre contact is damaged. In either case, this results in overheating and premature lamp failure.

The answer - fit LED lamps instead.
On a total rewire with many light fittings, such things should have been specified anyway.

 

[1hongkongphooey]

Thank you flameport. There are enough lamps to light up Wembley Stadium and that's just down stairs. There are 2 fittings of 5 lamps and 2 fittings of 6 lamps. I have specified and advised LED's would be a better option, but the client chose to go with GU10's and SES anyway. The client didn't advise me what the fittings were going to be till they produced them. To be fair I don't think they knew what they wanted, the house is a total refurb so they have had one or 2 other things on their mind.
Once again thank you, this has shed some light on to what could be the problem.

 

[ricicle]

No they where brought from a local supermarket

There's another possibility - some numpty shelfstackers with the hump kicking the boxes around in the warehouses.

 

[JohnW2]

There's another possibility - some numpty shelfstackers with the hump kicking the boxes around in the warehouses.

Indeed. It certainly seems that electrical wholesalers, lighting specialists and even some of the 'sheds' somehow seem to manage to get their lamps delivered, and onto their shelves, with far less damage than is the case with supermarkets, and certainly less damage than by mail order. I used to have to buy vast numbers of incandescents (and was more-or-less in flameport's "1 failure/day" category, having inherited umpteen fittings with 3 or 5 candle bulbs!) and if I got them from anywhere other than wholesalers or lighting specialists, I reckon that 5-10% were usually either 'dead on arrival' or died within a few days.

Kind Regards, John

 

[riveralt]

The client didn't advise me what the fittings were going to be till they produced them.

If you rewired the property and everything checks out, but they supplied the fittings, I'm not sure what the problem has got to do with you.
I take the view that if the customer provides the fittings then they are responsible for those fittings.
Sorry to be so cutting but you gave them advice they chose to ignore it - end of story.

 

[1hongkongphooey]

Riveralt, you are not wrong, I just have to prove that everything that I have done is correct. If this means taking some of the lamps out then so be it. But I have to go through the process of proving a point first. Thank you though sometimes cutting to the chase is exactly what is needed.