Halogen Bulb Keep Burning Out Quickly

[JoeWras]

I vote for a new fixture. I used to love these halogens, but they always have burn out problems, even if you treat them with surgical precision.

I suggest you look into some of the newest LED fixtures. Some are really, really smart looking. Not cheap, but they can work amazingly well. Technology is finally catching up. In 20 years, I think everything will be LED.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I vote for a new fixture. I used to love these halogens, but they always have burn out problems, even if you treat them with surgical precision.

I suggest you look into some of the newest LED fixtures. Some are really, really smart looking. Not cheap, but they can work amazingly well. Technology is finally catching up. In 20 years, I think everything will be LED.

+1 re getting a new fixture. There might be safety issues.

 

[jon-nyc]

I checked the voltage last time and it was fine--while I was testing at least.

FWIW, mine did too. 130v bulbs still solved the problem.

 

[TromboneAl]

Burned out today. Four years.

I'm going to try an LED replacement.

 

[RobbieB]

Those rod style halogens suck for life. I was replacing mine every 6 months. I think the prong style contacts are a big cause, you depend on spring force to maintain contact and it's not anywhere as good as screwing something in. There is always evidence of arcing by way of pitting and discoloration every time I changed one.

Just a crap design me thinks. Yeah, go LED -

 

[TromboneAl]

Worked perfectly—plug and play, baby! [BUT SEE BELOW.]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AXT9Z4E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ERD50]

Worked perfectly—plug and play, baby!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AXT9Z4E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But will it last 4 years?

-ERD50

 

[folivier]

Earthled.com offers a 5 year warranty for $5/entire order. Unfortunately they don't have this particular type of bulb.

 

[W2R]

I just grew 50 years older while reading this thread. Here's proof:

[CRANKY]

Why is it that an inherently simple task like replacing a light bulb has become so gosh awful complex in the past few years? I remember the good old days when all you did was unscrew the burned out incandescent bulb and screw in a new one. And you had plenty of the new ones in the closet, because they hardly cost anything.

It's almost like they (you know, the eternal "they") just want to make things harder for cranky old people like me who just want to replace the doggone lightbulb and get on with their other activities.

[/CRANKY]

 

[TromboneAl]

But will it last 4 years?

-ERD50

On the one hand, LEDs should last a lifetime. On the other hand, it was probably made as cheaply as possible.

>Why is it that an inherently simple task like replacing a light bulb has become so gosh awful complex in the past few years?

Partly because humans value innovation above standardization. I never would have purchased this fixture because it doesn't take standard lightbulbs.

 

[RobbieB]

The vastly reduced current demands will reduce the arcing and pitting of the contacts not to mention the way lower temps.

 

[JoeWras]

I just grew 50 years older while reading this thread. Here's proof:

[CRANKY]

Why is it that an inherently simple task like replacing a light bulb has become so gosh awful complex in the past few years? I remember the good old days when all you did was unscrew the burned out incandescent bulb and screw in a new one. And you had plenty of the new ones in the closet, because they hardly cost anything.

It's almost like they (you know, the eternal "they") just want to make things harder for cranky old people like me who just want to replace the doggone lightbulb and get on with their other activities.

[/CRANKY]

Hint: don't try working on your car.

Actually, something else came to mind... The base. You have to really be careful of the type of base these days. And the size. Some of the bulbs fit the base, but won't sneak into the fixture, especially the LED retrofits.

Ever encounter a GU24 base? It is like, "why oh why?" I guess ostensibly only lower draw bulbs are in a GU24 to prevent you from putting in a high draw incandescent in a low amperage, low temp fixture. I guess.

 

[TromboneAl]

Alas, it's slightly too dim and slightly too blue.

Shoot!

Now I have to either:

1. Buy a halogen
2. Replace the fixture with something that takes plain old bulbs
3. Jury rig it so I can put a brighter LED standard bulb in there.

 

[ERD50]

On the one hand, LEDs should last a lifetime. ....

I wouldn't count on it. That stupid LED "lifetime" spec is a crock. It isn't a number that tells you how long the LED will last, it's a measure of how long it takes before it is estimated to dim to 70% of initial output. That's done by measuring the drop over a few weeks/months and extrapolating.

Long before then, it will probably just fail, due to a bad capacitor, because, they are made as cheaply as possible.

>Why is it that an inherently simple task like replacing a light bulb has become so gosh awful complex in the past few years? ...

And then add in a dimmer control. I found some LEDs work with some LED rated dimmers, other LEDs work with other LED rated dimmers, but not all LEDs work with all LED rated dimmers. I had to add a filament bulb to the circuit to get ours to work correctly.

Alas, it's slightly too dim and slightly too blue.

Shoot!

Now I have to either:

1. Buy a halogen
2. Replace the fixture with something that takes plain old bulbs
3. Jury rig it so I can put a brighter LED standard bulb in there.

Did you get the warm white? Others tend to be more bluish. The LEDs I added to replace our fluorescent tubes were too bright! I ended up putting them in upside down, so the LEDs pointed up, and reflected back. That softened the direct shadows, and diffused it enough so the brightness was about right.

I thought you were misusing a term, but it is:

Jury-rigged vs. Jerry-rigged - Everything After Z by Dictionary.com (versus jerry-built).

-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

It said "warm white" but I guess that's a relative term. It was almost good enough.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AXT9Z4E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ERD50]

It said "warm white" but I guess that's a relative term. It was almost good enough.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AXT9Z4E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, "warm" is subjective. They include the K temperature, but I think there is more to it than that, the bandwidth and distribution of the spectrum. I think there is some other measure - Color Index, or something?

-ERD50

 

[kcowan]

It is one thing to go to Home Depot but try HD in Mexico - bewildering supply choices and chances are they are out of stock of the one you finally picked.

 

[CMA- energy]

There is another solution and not sure if anyone has tried this, Using ohms law
Find out what the current rating of the bulbs are, and place a 5 volt drop resistor in series with this electrical light,
I would suspect for a 120 volt 500 watt bulb your going to have roughly 4 amps of current,
or roughly a 1 ohm resistor required, but the wattage will be higher then calculated to keep it cool, and allow 5 times the wattage which would mean about 100 watts is necessary, or better still to stop surges use a coil or choke to resist sudden current surges, Use a large current rating wire so it does not heat,,
I have not tried this but I am plagued with the same thing, halogen bulbs burning out and I would suspect sudden changing in voltage may be the main culprit, When I get time I will install a coil to see if that helps, since using gloves and cleaning contacts does not help, and if this stops the problem then you know it is surges that cause this to happen, from poor electrical connections to hydro surges,