Exploding lamp - damaged carpet

mogsy72

I recently purchased a 4 spot Halogen light fitting from B&Q.
2 days after installing it, 1 of the halogen spots exploded, showering the room with tiny shards of very hot glass. Luckily my son had only just left the room, so nobody was hurt. However, the hot glass has caused several burn marks to the carpet. Are B&Q liable to the cost of replacing the carpet?

spacey2012

Who fitted the light fitting ?

peachyprice

Did the bulbs come with the light fitting?

shaun_from_Africa

peachyprice wrote: »

Did the bulbs come with the light fitting?

And if so, did you follow the correct procedure for fitting them? (ie, making sure that you didn't touch the glass with your fingers when installing them).
It only takes a tiny bit of grease or dirt on the glass to cause a hotspot and for the bulb to explode.

LilElvis

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

And if so, did you follow the correct procedure for fitting them? (ie, making sure that you didn't touch the glass with your fingers when installing them).
It only takes a tiny bit of grease or dirt on the glass to cause a hotspot and for the bulb to explode.

Never knew that about the 'hotspots' - we lost the suction thingy we used to have to remove the bulbs so OH just uses his (doubtlessly greasy) fingers. Fortunately never had one explode on us, though we have got 108 in the house so usually changing one every week or so. Currently working our way through a really duff batch from EverReady which have such sharp edges they lacerate your fingers just taking them out of the box.

Thanks for the useful info!

mikb

If you've been touching the bulbs, then it's likely you have more exploders waiting ... You are supposed to be hands-free when fitting them. If not, you must wipe them over with a soft cloth and meths/alcohol wipes, let them dry off, and then fire them up.

The greasy fingerprint absorbs more heat than the quartz envelope/bulb alone, and you get problems as you found.

cookie365

mikb wrote: »

If you've been touching the bulbs, then it's likely you have more exploders waiting ... You are supposed to be hands-free when fitting them. If not, you must wipe them over with a soft cloth and meths/alcohol wipes, let them dry off, and then fire them up.

The greasy fingerprint absorbs more heat than the quartz envelope/bulb alone, and you get problems as you found.

LilElvis is not the person with the exploding bulbs!

And is a glass object that is designed for use in a household environment that can explode as a result of coming into contact with just a tiny amount of grease or dirt really fit for purpose?

sew_what

I suspect from OPs description that it's a GU10 or similar type of lamp where the halogen capsule is enclosed in a cover which is safe to handle with your fingers (when cool)
I'd go back to the lamp supplier about your carpet, and replace your lamps with cooler running LEDs!

mttylad

And lower power!

At the minimum of 20w each thats over 2kw in power.
Although its more likely 3-4kw as most bought are 30-50w.

LED would certainly reduce the leccy bill.

Mupette

cookie365 wrote: »

LilElvis is not the person with the exploding bulbs!

And is a glass object that is designed for use in a household environment that can explode as a result of coming into contact with just a tiny amount of grease or dirt really fit for purpose?

if they were installed properly.... mogsy72 hasn't come back with answers to the questions yet, so it may have been fit for purpose, but if not following instructions then this is what 'can' happen i should imagine.

WTFH

cookie365 wrote: »

And is a glass object that is designed for use in a household environment that can explode as a result of coming into contact with just a tiny amount of grease or dirt really fit for purpose?

Yes it most certainly is. The laws of physics can't be changed by the laws of the UK or Europe - even though some on here believe they should.

Most (all?) halogen bulbs are the same, that's why there are warnings with them and they are supplied in sheaths which you are told to use for fitting.