RE: Re: What the **** is going on!!!???

[<mailinglists@xxxxxxx>]

Just as a lateral thought to this problem, (next time!) would it be worth
replacing the bulbs with 'Rough Handling' types?
These are marginally more expensibe but have more/thicker supports holding
the filament, for use in suitations
like work lights on leads used under cars where the lamp gets bashed about
a
lot. I've used them and the do
seem more robust than standard cheap bulbs. Perhaps with more supports
they'd be less bits of filament flying
inside the bulb to short the power out?

Just a thought,
Lee

-----Original Message-----
From: alcinababe [mailto:alcinababe@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 17 August 2003 12:46
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: [ukha_d] Re: What the **** is going on!!!???


--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Keith Doxey" <ukha@d...> wrote:

> Its quite common unfortunately.

Oh dear....I'm not going to like this am I :(

> When a bulb blows, a small piece of the broken filament often falls
across
> the two leads that support and supply power to the filament. When this
> happens, what used to be a 60W bulb will effectively become a several
> kilowatt bulb that lasts for a fraction of a second. This is the
bright
> flash that you sometimes see as the bulb fails. This causes the fuse
to
blow
> or the trip to pop. The lamps can also arc across the broken filament
as
> well which causes similar results.

Yup....on the bulbs I've witnessed blowing there has been a bright flash.


> Unfortunately, the high current that flows for a breif period kills
the
> triac in a dimmer causing it to go short circuit which is why after a
lamp
> failure a dimmer will often be stuck at full brightness. They can be
> repaired by replacing the triac if you can get them apart.

And this....triac...is that also in an LM15?  Is it something a novice can
replace?  I've assembled a radio from a kit (and it works!), so I feel
reasonably
confident about soldeing a PCB.  I don't mind replacing a small component
every time (assuming said small component is considerably cheaper than a
new LM15).


> X10 is designed to a price not quality. Although we pay through the
nose
for
> X10 products in the UK,

Ooooh.....don't get me started on this one!

> Just as a point of interest... what way are the lamps in question
mounted ?
> Cap up or cap down?

Um...cap up.  They're in ceiling lights hanging on a little pendant
doobrie.

> Sorry it doesnt solve your problem but hopefully it explains what is
> happening

Many thanks for this information Keith. So it looks like they're going to
continue to fail every time a bulb blows.  Sigh....back to the drawing
board.  I
don't have space, or an available socket in the hallway to use a Lamp
Module
and a table lamp.  I guess it's either DIY soldering of the blown
component
(can anyone give me any pointers?) or 25 quid a pop (pun intended this
time!).  I should return this blown LM15 back to Letsautomate before the
warranty's up :)   From the bumf I take it I can't use a long life
fluorescent bulb
thing in an LM15.  Do those 10 year incandescent light bulbs advertised in
the
back of the newpaper really last that long?

Many thanks
Alcina