Exploding Halogen bulb

Yolina

I would take the time to contact the manufacturer as they may well want to inspect the lamp to find out what's gone wrong, they might also make a "commercial gesture" and cover the damages (I had an electrical problem with my Polti steam-vacuum cleaner which left burn marks on my carpet - I called them, emailed them pictures and straight away they arranged to collect the defective unit, gave me a new better model and paid for a new carpet without me even asking)

cardiogirl

Thanks both Yolina & TimbuckTeeth, I will contact the manufacturer & see what they say. I'm certainly reluctant to use halogen lights at all in the house now after this. Until I started looking into it, I had no idea that these bulbs could explode. The temperature of the pieces of glass was frighteningly hot.

Ben84

Halogen bulbs can take the heat, they're actually made from quartz rather than glass to withstand the high temperature.

The glass cover serves a number of functions, to stop anything directly touching the bulb (fire/burn risk), to keep dust out (smells bad when it burns) and to filter UV (quartz doesn't). So, I wouldn't use it without. It should also have stopped the exploding bulb bits escaping as glass used in this type of situation should really be tempered glass which is tougher, resists heat better and doesn't break in to sharp bits.

Halogen uplighters are somewhat energy wasting and get very hot too. Hot enough to ignite things. I'd be tempted to replace it with one that takes normal bulbs as they emit far less heat.

ed110220

Ben84 wrote: »

Halogen uplighters are somewhat energy wasting and get very hot too. Hot enough to ignite things. I'd be tempted to replace it with one that takes normal bulbs as they emit far less heat.

Perhaps you can get an energy-saving equivalent, though you probably won't be able to if it's a special shape. That would be much more energy efficient and run much cooler too.

I'm not a big fan of halogen for these reasons, and I don't understand why it became popular. Unless the lamp is special in some way or can take a non-halogen replacement bulb, I'd junk it and get something that takes a standard energy saving lamp... much cheaper to run and safer.

Ben84

ed110220 wrote: »

Perhaps you can get an energy-saving equivalent, though you probably won't be able to if it's a special shape. That would be much more energy efficient and run much cooler too.

I'm not a big fan of halogen for these reasons, and I don't understand why it became popular. Unless the lamp is special in some way or can take a non-halogen replacement bulb, I'd junk it and get something that takes a standard energy saving lamp... much cheaper to run and safer.

An energy saver would be a good choice for safety. Our local fire department demonstrated the dangers of halogen uplighters by cooking a fried breakfast on one. Maybe handy if the cooker breaks, but not so good next to your curtains.

Leif

I have quite a few LED torches, and my running torch is about half the brightness of a car headlamp, and only needs 4 AA batteries. If you can get an LED light, it would be a good alternative, as they are long lasting, efficient, and run cool, assuming a reasonable degree of metal is included for heat dissipation. My quartz halogen desk lamps (£5 from B&Q) get very hot, even the the cover glass is too hot to touch.

Myser

An energy saver would be a good choice for safety.

An energy saving lamp (compact fluorescent) lamp can be just as dangerous if not more so if the glass tube cracks:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-506347/An-energy-saving-bulb-gone--evacuate-room-now.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7172662.stm

Energy saving lamps contain small amounts of mercury and if the fragments from a bulb are handled with bare hands, they can cause severe burns.

ed110220

Myser wrote: »

An energy saving lamp (compact fluorescent) lamp can be just as dangerous if not more so if the glass tube cracks:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-506347/An-energy-saving-bulb-gone--evacuate-room-now.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7172662.stm

Energy saving lamps contain small amounts of mercury and if the fragments from a bulb are handled with bare hands, they can cause severe burns.

The amount of mercury in the compact fluorescent lamps is negligible and as the BBC article linked points out, fluorescent lighting has been widely used in homes, offices, factories, schools etc since the 1940s without anyone being poisoned.

CFLs usually run so cool you can touch them while they're on, so the risk of burns is also pretty insignificant.

I'm afraid that a simple lamp seems to stir strange, contrary, scaremongering and ideological passions amongst some journalists!

Myser

Although the amount is mercury in the energy saving lamps (compact fluorescents) is small, I'd rather not breathe in any at all!

Many people automatically use a vacuum cleaner to clean up the debris from the broken glass without realising that the fine mercury powder can escape into the air.

I don't think it's scare mongering at all. There are many non-media websites including council ones which also highlight the same risks.

Even the Tesco website recommends vacating the room for at least 15 minutes:

http://www.tesco.com/greenerliving/greener_tesco/faqs/qa_light_bulbs.page

System

Myser wrote: »

fine mercury powder

But mercury is liquid between-38C and 350C and a gas above that. The danger from mercury is in its gaseous form