# Did I buy a disposable desk lamp, for which replacement bulbs are unavailable? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-buy-a-disposable-desk-lamp-for-which-replacement-bulbs-are-unavailable/610407 "2012-01-23T17:30:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-buy-a-disposable-desk-lamp-for-which-replacement-bulbs-are-unavailable/610407/1 "2012-01-23T17:30:18Z")
I tend to be most comfortable under dim lighting, and thus I should rather not switch on the big lamp in the corner unless necessary. To facilitate reading without strain I brought the lamp that sat atop my desk hutch over to the side of my display, so that I could read by that light alone; but it’s really, really bright (up until now I had the shade turned against the wall). I fished out a few possible replacement bulbs, but after removing the old bulb I was reminded: this lamp (which came with its own fluorescent) employs what seems to be a kind of proprietary connector — a flat surface with two protruding metal contacts instead of the standard screw shape. I have no bulbs that fit, and after ten minutes or so of Googling I can’t find any such bulbs for sale. The company that manufactured the bulb seems to be Sunter or Sunter Lighting but that doesn’t help. Did I buy a disposable lamp, worthless when the bulb dies or breaks? Or am I missing something? A few pictures, including (since this is the internet, after all!) one with a cat. Apologies for the poor quality, I’m a bad photographer using a bad camera in bad lighting and the cat is mostly black (and grumpy because I woke her up). [[Album] light bulb ![](https://i.imgur.com/nXWej.jpeg?fb "light bulb") ](https://imgur.com/a/mgxN4) ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-buy-a-disposable-desk-lamp-for-which-replacement-bulbs-are-unavailable/610407/2 "2012-01-23T17:39:23Z")
Never mind, I think I figured it out — it’s a low-voltage bulb, something like this ([Google Shopping - Product not found](http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=light+bulb+gu24&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1317&bih=963&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4604928620424803237&sa=X&ei=CpsdT7uYGsahtwfczImzCw&ved=0CJsBEPMCMAA#ps-sellers)), I think. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-buy-a-disposable-desk-lamp-for-which-replacement-bulbs-are-unavailable/610407/3 "2012-01-23T17:40:25Z")
Duplicate. ---
**Author:** ![Phoebestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Phoebestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoebestar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-buy-a-disposable-desk-lamp-for-which-replacement-bulbs-are-unavailable/610407/4 "2012-01-23T17:42:46Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > Never mind, I think I figured it out — it’s a low-voltage bulb, something like this ([Google Shopping - Product not found](http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=light+bulb+gu24&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1317&bih=963&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4604928620424803237&sa=X&ei=CpsdT7uYGsahtwfczImzCw&ved=0CJsBEPMCMAA#ps-sellers)), I think. YOU figured it out? Ahem. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-buy-a-disposable-desk-lamp-for-which-replacement-bulbs-are-unavailable/610407/5 "2012-01-23T18:29:30Z")
> [@Phoebestar](#): > > YOU figured it out? Ahem. Apologies. A very pretty and very smart lady figured it out, and deigned to inform me about it. 😉