Spotlight bulbs blowing

auntyS

I had a light fitting in my kitchen with 6 spotlight bulbs on it. The bulbs were blowing about 2 per month so I got it replaced as I thought it was faulty. A bulb has blown in the new fitting after just 10 days. Can anyone suggest a reason why this might be happening. Could the wiring in my house be at fault? I previously had a flourescent tube fitting which never gave me any problems and have used the same wiring to instal the new fitment. Any help would be gratefully received as the cost of repeatedly replacing the bulbs is going to horrendous.

craig777

Are the bulbs GU10 mains bulbs? These things are a nightmare!! Forever blowing! It's possible to go for quite a few months with no problems, then all of a sudden, 3 or 4 will blow in the space of a month. Other members of my family have the same problem, so I doubt it's a house wiring problem.

skintandsad

Hi auntys, I had the same problem in my kitchen, which used standard R50 lightbulbs. I assumed it was the fitting, so changed it to another, which also used R50 lightbulbs, but the same thing kept happening.

I purchased some energysaving lightbulbs to use, and have had no problems since!

I can't explain why - but the energy bulbs have been in for about a year with no problems

tstodart

Since I have replaced bulbs without touching them with my skin, I seem to be getting less bulb blowing. Appartently the oil from skin can damage them, so I hold them in kitchen towel.

See
http://www.lampco.co.uk/glossary_mr16_gu10.asp

Of course, having posted I am bound to get some blowing tonight!

savemoney

We had two sets of light in my old house through lounge. One had 4 rows of r50 bulbs and another 3 in a circle type mount. I fitted them myself for a while all was fine well over a year. Then for some reason one bulb would only blow every couple of weeks. This went one for months, and then it stopped. I could never figure why this would happen.

skintandsad wrote: »

Hi auntys, I had the same problem in my kitchen, which used standard R50 lightbulbs. I assumed it was the fitting, so changed it to another, which also used R50 lightbulbs, but the same thing kept happening.

I purchased some energysaving lightbulbs to use, and have had no problems since!

I can't explain why - but the energy bulbs have been in for about a year with no problems

Steve_Groves

Cheap GU10 240v bulbs (the small halogen downlighters you see everywhere) are notoriously bad.

I have recently put in a load of these and the bulbs that came with the lights were unbranded and getting on for 50% had blown within the first couple of weeks.

I got a box of better quality ones from Screwfix when they were on offer and it is back to the usual one bulb every couple of months.

The GU10 12v bulbs are a lot better in terms of not blowing but you do need to run them off a transformer.

Low energy bulbs will be the most reliable of the bunch because they will either be LED or mini florescent tubes. Personally I think the LED give off terrible light. The mini florescents are good but you will pay £7-£8 for a normal one and £12+ if you want to be able to dim them.

ormus

the 240v es spots in my house are a nightmare. always blowing.
god knows what ive spent on spot light bulbs in the last ten years.

kunekune

We're in a newbuild rental. There are wall lights in the living room that just have ordinary bulbs in them - the only ordinary bulbs in the whole place. On average, each bulb lasts 3-4 weeks. The spotlights that are everywhere else are much better - we replace them every 2-3 months. Even the 'energy saving' bulbs in the living room have only lasted 12 months, and that's a huge pain cos they are a brand that isn't in shops, only on the internet, so there's a delivery charge.

Am curious to learn whether this means an electrical fault (5 bulbs went simultaneously the other week) or just carp bulbs.

frogglet

I have the same problem with GU10's, the ones below my daughters bedroom seem to blow more often, someone told me it was of the vibration of her jumping around with her mates in her bedroom.

auntyS

Thanks for all your replies. At least I now know it's not just my problem. Better buy a bulk pack of lightbulbs for the next few months supply.