What is the light fitting and how to fix.

twopenny

So I whipped a tower off the shower rail, hit the lampshade and the bit the light bulb fits into broke. It's 25yrs old and I had no idea there were plastic ones.

Looking to fix i realised it's fitted into the ceiling.
Nothing seems to unscrew. Age? 



I'm not thinking of doing this myself but will it need the whole fitting replaced or can either the middle or inside be replaced.
What am I looking to ask for being done please?

And while I'm forced to notice, anything I can paint the extractor with? I have some Bedec all purpose that might do it but wonder if there is something better? Humbrol plastic paint?

And no , I haven't had time to fix the fire completely yet but have been looking for things to clip on. 

Section62

twopenny said:

So I whipped a tower off the shower rail, hit the lampshade and the bit the light bulb fits into broke. It's 25yrs old and I had no idea there were plastic ones.

Looking to fix i realised it's fitted into the ceiling.
Nothing seems to unscrew. Age? 



I'm not thinking of doing this myself but will it need the whole fitting replaced or can either the middle or inside be replaced.
What am I looking to ask for being done please?

And while I'm forced to notice, anything I can paint the extractor with? I have some Bedec all purpose that might do it but wonder if there is something better? Humbrol plastic paint?

And no , I haven't had time to fix the fire completely yet but have been looking for things to clip on. 

Batten Lampholder

https://www.toolstation.com/crabtree-batten-lampholder/p60962

Very easy to replace, and although it is possible an electrician will be able to source an identical one to allow just the broken part to be replaced, in practice they are more likely to replace the whole thing.

It might also be a good idea to consider a LED replacement fitting which will be less vulnerable to towels...

https://www.toolstation.com/wessex-led-bulkhead-ip65/p27331

(just an example, not a recommendation)

FrugaiMacDugal

twopenny said:

So I whipped a tower off the shower rail, hit the lampshade and the bit the light bulb fits into broke. It's 25yrs old and I had no idea there were plastic ones.

Looking to fix i realised it's fitted into the ceiling.
Nothing seems to unscrew. Age? 



I'm not thinking of doing this myself but will it need the whole fitting replaced or can either the middle or inside be replaced.
What am I looking to ask for being done please?

And while I'm forced to notice, anything I can paint the extractor with? I have some Bedec all purpose that might do it but wonder if there is something better? Humbrol plastic paint?

And no , I haven't had time to fix the fire completely yet but have been looking for things to clip on. 

Whipping in a shower sounds fun.

MyRealNameToo

twopenny said:

So I whipped a tower off the shower rail, hit the lampshade and the bit the light bulb fits into broke. It's 25yrs old and I had no idea there were plastic ones.

Looking to fix i realised it's fitted into the ceiling.
Nothing seems to unscrew. Age? 



I'm not thinking of doing this myself but will it need the whole fitting replaced or can either the middle or inside be replaced.
What am I looking to ask for being done please?

And while I'm forced to notice, anything I can paint the extractor with? I have some Bedec all purpose that might do it but wonder if there is something better? Humbrol plastic paint?

And no , I haven't had time to fix the fire completely yet but have been looking for things to clip on. 

Need a better shot looking directly into the lamp holder to say if its a BC or ES, not sure how Section62 is so certain its BC but given its age its likely to be. 

I would expect the outer bit to either unscrew or be clipped on, after removing that the screws holding the plate to the ceiling would be visible. You can get the near identical things today for sale like https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CM2794.html if it is BC, same thing is available if its a Edison screw... personally would go with ES these days as more options are available as the rest of the world didnt take to baton bulbs

twopenny

Thanks Section. I've got a completely dud hip, backs not good so me and ladders are not a good idea right now.
Been fretting about this as several things have gone to pot at the same time.

Frugai not fun when another thing breaks!

CliveOfIndia

Yep, it's a basic Batten holder.  Probably the most basic and simple bulb holder you can get.  To remove it, the outer ring should just unscrew.  You will then see the wiring, and it's probably held into the ceiling joists with a couple of screws.

To do a straight like-for-like replacement is an easy DIY job - just make sure you isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before you start.  It's not worth trying to replace just part of it - they cost pennies to buy.

If you want to take the opportunity to change it for a different fitting, that also is not difficult - though I appreciate that not everyone is comfortable fiddling with electrics.  If you're not confident then absolutely get an electrician - it's a very simple job so shouldn't cost much.

grumpy_codger

twopenny said:

...

And while I'm forced to notice, anything I can paint the extractor with? I have some Bedec all purpose that might do it but wonder if there is something better? Humbrol plastic paint?

.. 

The best way of doing this is to clean it thoroughly and use solvent-based spray paint. To do this it's better to unscrew it from the ceiling, but can be done in-situ, although the front panel is likely to be easy to remove and spray separately.

MyRealNameToo

twopenny said:

Thanks Section. I've got a completely dud hip, backs not good so me and ladders are not a good idea right now.
Been fretting about this as several things have gone to pot at the same time.

Frugai not fun when another thing breaks!

The part is under £4, it's an easy diy job if you are comfortable on ladders etc. If not then its all going to be labour unless you have a competent friend who you can pay in tea and biscuits 

Section62

MyRealNameToo said:

Need a better shot looking directly into the lamp holder to say if its a BC or ES, not sure how Section62 is so certain its BC but given its age its likely to be.

I'm not, I didn't give it much thought*, but now you mention it BC batten holders are generally the more common type in my experience.  Also BC batten holders tend to be more fragile than ES ones, especially if they have suffered heat over an extended period of time.  Hitting the lamp in an ES fitting is probably more likely to break the lamp than the fitting.

However, the reason for not giving it much thought is it doesn't really matter if the whole thing is being replaced - unless twopenny runs an exclusively ES house - since a wide range of BC lamps are still easy to source.  And as I said, if twopenny is paying for an electrician to do it then swapping to a suitable enclosed LED bathroom fitting is probably the far better option.

MyRealNameToo said:

I would expect the outer bit to either unscrew or be clipped on, after removing that the screws holding the plate to the ceiling would be visible. You can get the near identical things today for sale like https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CM2794.html if it is BC, same thing is available if its a Edison screw... personally would go with ES these days as more options are available...

As above.

MyRealNameToo said:

...as the rest of the world didnt take to baton bulbs

Not surprising really.  Tungsten filaments or LEDs give a lot more light than bread. 

WIAWSNB

Hi 2'penny.

I presume you are going to get someone to do this, and not try it yourself? In which case, all you need to do is decide if you want a like-for-like replacement, or going for an LED version which would make more sense.

I wonder if the existing one is even broken? I presume your whiplashed towel broke the bulb itself? Did the rest of the bulb - the metal part that's inserted - fall away too? 

There's a chance that the thump undid the bulb, and the holder is still ok to take a new bulb (in which case go LED too!)

Anyhoo, who do you use for these wee jobs? Worst case is a straightforward replacement of the whole fitting, and chances are the two securing screws will line up, so no great mods required.  

Just for info, the outer cover (yellow arrow) does unscrew, but it looks as tho' it's been painted to the ceiling. So, it either needs one heck of an anticlockwise yank, or else someone will need to cut around where it touches the ceiling first, to break the seal. Once that cover is off, then the wiring and the two securing screws should be obvious.

Worth having a good look inside the holder first - green arrow. Bearing in mind the contacts could be 'live'. Any signs of damage? Any bits of the bulb in there?

plumb1_2

Swop it for a Led bulkhead light,  ip44 rated, zone 2.    easy diy job