Bulbs won’t work

ripplyuk

I have a bedside touch lamp and it needs a new bulb. I’ve now tried 6 different ones and none of them work properly. The first ones wouldn’t dim. They just stayed permanently at full brightness. The next ones flickered constantly. Could anyone help me find one that works? I was careful when I was buying online to type in exactly what it says on the label and check it said ‘suitable for touch lamps’ but they still didn’t work. I’m starting to think I’ll have to buy a new lamp. I’ve wasted more on bulbs than the lamp itself cost. 

grumbler

I guess the lamp has a built-in dimmer. 
Modern LED bulbs can be dimmable or not. And even dimmable can be not compatible with traditional dimmers.
Your best bet is to buy a halogen golf bulb, not LED.

FreeBear

grumbler said: Your best bet is to buy a halogen golf bulb, not LED.

Halogen lamps were banned by HM.Gov from September 2021. If you are lucky, there may be a retailer that has few in stock that they might be willing to sell. But once stocks run out, you won't be able to get any more.

I've stocked up on a lifetime of 24V 250W Dicro lamps. Cost me a few quid, but I reckon I can flog 'em on ebay when I don't need them.

ripplyuk

I already tried the halogen golf balls. They’re the ones that flickered constantly and wouldn’t dim, despite the box saying they are dimmable and suitable for touch lamps. 

Ectophile

Ever considered the possibility that it's not the lamps that are faulty?

Rodders53

ripplyuk said:

I already tried the halogen golf balls. They’re the ones that flickered constantly and wouldn’t dim, despite the box saying they are dimmable and suitable for touch lamps. 

In that case the first replacement bulb - that stayed on full brightness - probably :broke: the touch lamp dimmer electronics?

Probably...  but remote diagnosis is not always accurate.

chrisw

For the non-halogen 'standard' old type bulbs, search for golf ball bulb rough service.

grumbler

chrisw said:

For the non-halogen 'standard' old type bulbs, search for golf ball bulb rough service.

IMO this will be waste of time and money if a halogen bulb flickers. I'm sure it's the dimmer that is faulty.

ripplyuk

Thanks everyone. All four of the halogen bulbs flickered so I guess I must have damaged the lamp with the first set of replacement bulbs. 

I’ll just have to get a new lamp. Maybe I’ll avoid touch lamps because finding bulbs seems to be very difficult. It’s a shame because I like it very dim, not on full brightness. 

grumbler

ripplyuk said:

 It’s a shame because I like it very dim, not on full brightness. 

There are plug-in dimmers, but make sure it works with an LED bulb. That said, any will work with a halogen one that you have quite a few and that will last forever if dimmed permanently.

TELLIT01

After trying 2 different bulbs, both of which didn't work with the lamp, I would strongly suspect the fault lay with the lamp and not with the bulb.  Bin the lamp.