40 watt candle type bulbs blowing my wire fuses.

[nickjaxe]

Hi guys my first post....we have in our living room a ceiling light filament with 5x60 watt candle type bulbs....the type with a wire filament,

My prob is these bulbs are quite cheap at ASDA £1.50 for 4 but when one blows it also blows my fuse...we have old style wire fuses...5amp,

We also have some 50 watt halogen bulbs in the kitchen 4 to each lamp unit...again if one blows it can blow the fuse...they look like mini spot lights about 50mm dia,

When we had a single 100wat bulb in place of the 5x60 watt unit it never blew again when we had a fluorescent strip lights in the kitchen we never blew fuses,

My wife has seen some LED bulbs that screw in the same as our candle bulbs....if we replace them with LED type I wonder if this would cure our prob as I believe they have a lower power req....I wonder if this would work could we replace the kitchen halogen bulbs with something similar.

Nick.

 

[Marvo]

It's not uncommon for a surge to occur when a filament lamp blows so it doesn't surprise me that it could take the 5A fuse with it. Replacing filament lamps with LED's would solve the problem and probably save good money on your electricity bill. If the lights are on dimmers you'll need to find LED replacements that are dimmable.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Certain types of filament lamps are more prone to flashing over when they blow and taking the fuse out with them, especially cheap ones that don't have an internal fuse, and ones in compact envelopes like candles where the filament ends are close together. If you can't find a suitable LED, try to get lamps of a decent quality brand such as GE or Sylvania if they are still making these types.

 

[nickjaxe]

No not on dimmers,

I can see low energy screw ins on ebay but no screw in LEDs...these would fit my living room,

I can see LED to replace the halogen spots...that I have in my kitchen,

If I went with both of these types would that be a benefit me then.

Nick.



Thank you.

 

[telectrix]

screw in LEDs from LEDHut.

E14 LED Bulbs - CHEAPEST LED Light Bulbs and E14 LED Bulbs

 

[amlu]

and one of those to replace rewireable fuses if consumer unit upgrade is not an option....
WYLEX B6 6A PLUG IN MCB WITH BASE SHIELD. BS.3871/60898 | eBay

 

[telectrix]

had a couple of occasions with a reflector lamp in a vivarium blowing and taking out 2 1362 3A plug top fuses and the 16A MCB in the CU, all at once.

 

[Marvo]

I've had problems in the past where filament lamps were regularly damaging 2-wire 1kW rotary dimmers when they blew. We ended up installing a 1A or 2A fast in line fuse at each light fitting which blew fast enough to protect the dimmer from the surge. It wouldn't really help in this scenario because it would mean you'd still need to replace a fuse, just one in a different place, whenever a lamp goes pop.

I think either the plug-in MCB mentioned above or the LED replacement lamps would work for you. I'd probably go with the LED's because they'll save you money and you could replace the existing lamps one at a time as they go pop so you wouldn't need to spend a large amount immediately.

 

[Darkwood]

When you turn on a filament lamp and the filament breaks apart it leaves an ionised path sometimes allowing in effect a short circuit to flow in the gas (this is the flash and the ping is the ionised gas expanding so fast it breaks the sound barrier all be it on a minute scale)... in effect you create a tiny lightning bolt where the ping is the thunder....although the physics that create the flash differ the result is same just scaled different.

That is why the fuse blows/trips because it sees a short circuit.

 

[nickjaxe]

Thanks guys...would those non led energy saving bulbs be as good as LED types...they are quite a bit cheaper.

Nick.

 

[Marvo]

It's down to personal preference, best thing is to go to a large local lighting supplier and get them to show you both types running side by side so you can decide.

 

[nickjaxe]

Sorry I worded my last question badly...I should have said....will the non LED energy saving bulbs help cure my fuse blowing prob as good as the LED type bulbs.

Nick.

 

[Marvo]

I assume the non-LED energy saver lamps are compact fluorescent in which case they'd also sort out your problem but I'd personally prefer LED, which last longer and use less energy. Whatever you buy get a decent brand name such as osram, philips etc etc.

 

[nickjaxe]

Ok thanks...I am getting a good understanding now....the LED screw ins are quite expensive though.

 

[Marvo]

Yeah, you kinda get what you pay for, as I suggested I'd go and see them side by side before making your mind up.

 

[nickblake]

as marvo has said LED are beast CFL take time to warm up , don't buy cheap on ebay tel has given you a link to led hut have a look there yes they maybe expensive but they do come with a 5 year warranty from led hut so if they do fail in this time they will replace them free of charge

 

[nickjaxe]

I will have another look at the led hut...

With the compact fluorescent type am I correct in thinking that most of the energy used is in the inital startup/switch on and that switching on off is wasteful.

 

[Marvo]

No, LED's are far more efficient than CFL's even ignoring the high start current, generally LED's cost less than 50% of compact fluorescents in running costs plus LED's generally have a far higher service life expectancy.

 

[nickjaxe]

even ignoring the high start current

Does that just apply to fluorescents or LEDs as well...if thats the case are they best left switched on rather than on just to find a book for instance?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

The start-up / inrush current has no practical effect on your leccy bill, only on the choice of circuit protection. It might be a high current but it lasts only a tiny fraction of a second, so each start adds perhaps the same energy usage as one second of normal operation.