Downlighter help

[Deleted2797112]

Is this:

View media item 70443
View media item 70444
View media item 70445
correctly described as a fire-rated downlighter, or if not, what do I look for? It's one of 6 in my kitchen and I have to replace it as the bulbholder inside is faulty/broken. There's no other identification apart from the two labels on the top.

Thank you!

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

There should be a intumescent seals around the lip of the fitting that contacts the ceiling.

 

[swampy2]

Never seen any fire rated downlights with intumescent around lip of fittings, vapour barrier i have, look inside the fitting behind lamp holder for intumescent material.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If the seal is behind the lamp, that would not make it fire-rated to prevent the spread of fire between floors, the hole made in the ceiling, must be sealed to prevent this, not the lamp from the void.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Thanks! There's nothing inside the lip that would sit between it and the ceiling, just the bare yellow metal. There's nothing inside either, the lampholder goes through the bare yellow metal top (which has what looks like ventilation slits in it). There's nothing inbetween the metal case and the black plastic box and I've unscrewed the black plastic box and there's nothing inside there either except the wires and a connector.

So, I'm guessing this is an old lamp and not fire-rated and I won't be able to/wouldn't want to replace it in a kitchen with something that isn't fire-rated? In which case, I should replace all six?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Yawn.
Fire rated fittings are only strictly necessary if the ceiling is fire-rated itself.
If your kitchen ceiling is only a single sheet of plasterboard, then its probably not a fire barrier, so there's no point putting in fire-rated fittings.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Yawn.
Fire rated fittings are only strictly necessary if the ceiling is fire-rated itself.
If your kitchen ceiling is only a single sheet of plasterboard, then its probably not a fire barrier, so there's no point putting in fire-rated fittings.

Thank you for replying. Sorry to have bored you.

 

[Deleted2797112]

I wonder if I could come back to this please as I'm still struggling to know what to do for the best. From the answers here and reading back similar threads, I think I don't have to have fire-rated lamps as the ceiling is just plasterboard (12.5mm ish I think). There is no insulation in the void, the kitchen is ground floor in a 2 storey standard 1930's brick-built semi.

I'm planning to replace all 6 fittings not just the faulty one, for aesthetic reasons. The existing fittings (mains voltage, two circuits of 3 lamps each, two gang dimmer) use NR50 28W (40W equivalent) reflector bulbs. I find these not quite bright enough for me, my eyesight isn't the best and I do a lot of close work so could do with an overall brighter solution. They have to be a straight like for like replacement that don't involve installing additional lamps or putting in a new ceiling without downlights! (budget is tight). I could replace the dimmer if it was necessary for LEDs or dispense with the dimmer altogether as I don't really use it and get a standard 2 gang switch. The kitchen is approx. 8ft x 18ft.

Any suggestions for a fitting/lamp combination to get the best out of what's there already?

TIA

 

[Taylortwocities]

OK

Measure the diameter of the hole

Google something like "downlight 75mm cut out" or whatever the dimension is.

Then you'll be presented with a myriad of styles and choices.
Get the ones you like.
MAins (230v) ones will be easiest.

Then buy some lamps to go in them. You want LED? Buy mains LED lamps that fit in the downlights. Install them, job done.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Thanks - I can get that far! It's more the bulbs I need some help with. the existing 28w/40w aren't bright enough. If I go non-LED, a 50W halogen gives about 600 lumens which is an improvement on the existing NR50s - they're Philips and I've googled them but can't find a definitive lumens rating for them but what I did find suggests under 400.

If I go LED, is 4W wide beam in the right sort of ballpark? I've absolutely no experience with LEDs and from what I'm reading you can't do a straight comparison of the lumens because the light quality is different.

 

[Taylortwocities]

In my experience, you'll need to be looking at at least a 7watt LED to get the equivalent of a 50watt halogen, but it depends on the lamp.

The wattage figure harks back to the days of the incandescent lamp.

To give some consistency, and a better comparison, lamp outputs are now given in lumens. In fact, you'll probably see the watt figure gradually disappear from lamp data..

This page may help
http://blog.nularis.com/2011/05/how-bright-is-light-bulb-lumens-vs.html