7w bulb in new lamp

Slinky

Bought a couple of new bedside lamps, the label says don't use higher than a 4w bulb. We have some 7w bulbs of the right type, should I be OK using them? The shade doesn't go above the bulb, and is no nearer than 2 inches away from it. I'm just wondering if the 4w recommendation is for environmental rather than safety reasons. Seems a shame to waste the 7w bulbs as they are SES and we don't have anything else they'd fit into where we could use them.  I could understand it if we were talking 60 or 100w, but surely 7w would be safe?

grumbler

I agree, 4W is a very odd restriction, but we can only guess why it's there.

Ayr_Rage

It's never a good idea to overload anything by 75%, stick to the recommended maximum.

MeteredOut

Risk is probably low, but is it one worth taking for the sake of a few quid?

What if the worst did happen and it started a fire? What if your insurance found out you'd ignored the warning?

chrisw

Try it and see if anything gets overly warm. Bedside lamps don't tend to get used for extended periods, although 7W might be a bit bright for waking up to.

casper_gutman

I've seen lamps with nonsensical labels that say things like "Max 40W bulb (5W LED)" before now. Perhaps this could be a similar situation - where someone's "converted" a maximum rating for a filament lamp by putting down the approximate rating of an LED bulb with the same light output, without considering why there would be a limit in the first place (presumably, to avoid excessive current and/or heat, neither of which will be an issue with the lower-powered LED bulb).

Slinky

chrisw said:

Try it and see if anything gets overly warm. Bedside lamps don't tend to get used for extended periods, although 7W might be a bit bright for waking up to.

I've put it in, actually it's OK to wake up to as the bulb takes a little while to warm up and reach peak light, which is good whilst my eyes adjust. It's not exactly spotlight even when at full brightness!  Can't imagine a 4w bulb being very bright. It's not getting particularly warm, nothing like the old incandescent, but it is emitting a bit of a hum.

Looking online, I could only find 4.2w bulbs, not 4w, so even then it would technically be overloaded!

cerebus

In the old days bulbs could get hot enough to start a fire/melt wiring but nowadays that's not really an issue

Have you got a link for these lamps?

LED bulbs should not take time to warm up they are instant on , are you using the old style cfl bulbs? 

Personally I wouldn't hesitate sticking in a 7w LED in there as an extra 3 Watts will make diddly squat difference to anything 

Slinky

cerebus said:

In the old days bulbs could get hot enough to start a fire/melt wiring but nowadays that's not really an issue

Have you got a link for these lamps?

LED bulbs should not take time to warm up they are instant on , are you using the old style cfl bulbs? 

Personally I wouldn't hesitate sticking in a 7w LED in there as an extra 3 Watts will make diddly squat difference to anything 

The bulbs are indeed cfl ones we've had lying around for a number of years. Can't remember what we bought them for.

This is the lamp.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/christine-ribbed-glass-table-lamp-1000200383

cerebus

Slinky said:

cerebus said:

In the old days bulbs could get hot enough to start a fire/melt wiring but nowadays that's not really an issue

Have you got a link for these lamps?

LED bulbs should not take time to warm up they are instant on , are you using the old style cfl bulbs? 

Personally I wouldn't hesitate sticking in a 7w LED in there as an extra 3 Watts will make diddly squat difference to anything 

The bulbs are indeed cfl ones we've had lying around for a number of years. Can't remember what we bought them for.

This is the lamp.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/christine-ribbed-glass-table-lamp-1000200383

You will be fine using a 7w LED in that fitting , you could stick a 40w old style bulb in there and you will be fine 

Plenty of room for ventilation and the lampshade will be fire proof too.

Would love to know how they decided on a maximum 4 watts

Are you sure it says don't use higher than a 4w bulbs? Dunelm recommends a 4w es candle bulb but that's just a recommendation 

MeteredOut

Slinky said:

chrisw said:

Try it and see if anything gets overly warm. Bedside lamps don't tend to get used for extended periods, although 7W might be a bit bright for waking up to.

I've put it in, actually it's OK to wake up to as the bulb takes a little while to warm up and reach peak light, which is good whilst my eyes adjust. It's not exactly spotlight even when at full brightness!  Can't imagine a 4w bulb being very bright. It's not getting particularly warm, nothing like the old incandescent, but it is emitting a bit of a hum.

Looking online, I could only find 4.2w bulbs, not 4w, so even then it would technically be overloaded!

Look on the very same page as the link you provided, 2 4w bulbs for £8.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/status-4w-filament-ses-candle-bulb-2-pack-1000203026

These are 470 lumens, which is roughly equivalent to 40W incandescent bulbs (and your 7w cfl bulb).

Think of all that electricity you'll save over the years