Lamps (Light bulbs)

[ebee]

Do you find they do not last as long these days and often pop with a bang?

I find this being reported a lot.

OK on one hand all the "cheap shops" are selling them of what I calls dubious brands but also the branded ones don`t seem as good these days.

Are they designing them as 230V these days rather than 240v therefore grossly reducing lamp life because we are really still on 240V and only the declared nominal voltage has changed and not the real everyday voltage?

If so then are some of our continental cousins who are on 220V findong the opposite is true? Just like the days when we got 250V sold as "Long Life"?

Another thing might be the attitudes of the many folk who handle them just throwing them around in total disregard before you get them these days! Folk used to treat them with respect years ago.

Any thoughts?

 

[ericmark]

Reduced numbers being sold and being manufactured outside the UK is likely resulting in both voltage and manufacturing standards changing resulting in more varied life of the incandescent light.

As to name I call them bulbs when they are of a bulbous shape and tube when they are that shape.

A lamp refers to the whole thing. This goes back to the days of an oil lamp which would be lit on the table then either hung or engaged onto a spigot. Many electricians I have seen try and look clever by saying bulbs grow in the ground. However that's being rather silly and if they went to any car supply outlet and asked for a head lamp that is what they would get the whole assembly not just the bulb inside in fact likely they would need to buy the bulb separately.

In the same way as we refer to computers using a commend line interface as using DOS even though DOS means Device operating System so is not really the right name. We refer to any product used to replace the bulb as a bulb even if it's a tube bent into a coil.

So if you are referring to discharge lamps as well as the incandescent unit then there are two completely different methods of control. The old method was to use a choke and a starter the choke both gave a high strike voltage and limited the current when running. The starter operated heaters to lower the strike voltage required. However this method is being replaced with an electronic unit which has a built in voltage correction and works on much higher frequency and in theroy uses less power or at least a more consent power and should last longer.

However the latter electronic unit can also fail so where combined into a single unit can result in premature failure. I found when I changed all my fittings and moved over to discharge lighting after a short time just a few months of the 16 bulbs 3 failed. However another 2 years down the line and no more have failed. I would assume it was some electronic component rather than the coiled tube which failed.

To save resources and therefore energy there are versions where the electronics and the tube are separate but due to low numbers sold these are far more expensive than the type where both bits are sealed together.

In theroy since the BA22d bulb holder is rated at 2A and the ceiling rose is rated at 6A each bulb should contain a built in fuse which will mean if when they blow ionisation should take place the bulbs internal fuse should blow stopping the main 6A protective device from opening and ensuring the bulb does not weld itself into the BA22d holder. However it seems many manufactures are missing out these fuses and I have had the so called energy saving bulbs from Ikea weld themselves to the contacts of the BA22d holder resulting in needing to change the whole lamp.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm currently in discussion with a "reputable brand" about the truly awful life I'm experiencing from a batch of R80s.

But yes - intuitively I feel that lamps don't last as long as they used to, and I suspect that John Ruskin can tell us why.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[ebee]

I'm currently in discussion with a "reputable brand" about the truly awful life I'm experiencing from a batch of R80s.

But yes - intuitively I feel that lamps don't last as long as they used to, and I suspect that John Ruskin can tell us why.

It could be down to the John Ruskin effect then! nice one

 

[ebee]

Reduced numbers being sold and being manufactured outside the UK is likely resulting in both voltage and manufacturing standards changing resulting in more varied life of the incandescent light.

As to name I call them bulbs when they are of a bulbous shape and tube when they are that shape.

A lamp refers to the whole thing. This goes back to the days of an oil lamp which would be lit on the table then either hung or engaged onto a spigot. Many electricians I have seen try and look clever by saying bulbs grow in the ground. However that's being rather silly and if they went to any car supply outlet and asked for a head lamp that is what they would get the whole assembly not just the bulb inside in fact likely they would need to buy the bulb separately.

In the same way as we refer to computers using a commend line interface as using DOS even though DOS means Device operating System so is not really the right name. We refer to any product used to replace the bulb as a bulb even if it's a tube bent into a coil.

So if you are referring to discharge lamps as well as the incandescent unit then there are two completely different methods of control. The old method was to use a choke and a starter the choke both gave a high strike voltage and limited the current when running. The starter operated heaters to lower the strike voltage required. However this method is being replaced with an electronic unit which has a built in voltage correction and works on much higher frequency and in theroy uses less power or at least a more consent power and should last longer.

However the latter electronic unit can also fail so where combined into a single unit can result in premature failure. I found when I changed all my fittings and moved over to discharge lighting after a short time just a few months of the 16 bulbs 3 failed. However another 2 years down the line and no more have failed. I would assume it was some electronic component rather than the coiled tube which failed.

To save resources and therefore energy there are versions where the electronics and the tube are separate but due to low numbers sold these are far more expensive than the type where both bits are sealed together.

In theroy since the BA22d bulb holder is rated at 2A and the ceiling rose is rated at 6A each bulb should contain a built in fuse which will mean if when they blow ionisation should take place the bulbs internal fuse should blow stopping the main 6A protective device from opening and ensuring the bulb does not weld itself into the BA22d holder. However it seems many manufactures are missing out these fuses and I have had the so called energy saving bulbs from Ikea weld themselves to the contacts of the BA22d holder resulting in needing to change the whole lamp.

Many thanks for your detailed answer