OK, I’m reasonably handy on the basic stuff, like hanging dry wall and changing a garbage disposal, but I will confess to being totally at a loss with electrics.
So, in my house, we are changing an overhead light bulb (ie not a lamp or anything) about once a day. I’m wondering what would be the cause of this, and if there is anything I can do to prevent it, short of sitting in the dark. I thought at first it might be the generic light bulbs I used, so I shifted up to the premiums with no apparent benefit.
I don’t know the answer but I can add to the intrigue…
At my folks house, there’s a single bulb socket for the light over the front porch. When I lived there, I was ‘in charge’ of changing this bulb as it was frequently populated by dead insects which would rain upon a bulb changer. I was doing this about once a month, way too often for the 1000hr life for the bulbs.
I conviced my old man to switch to fluorescent bulbs, convinced they would last for years. Turns out, they last only a few months at most, giving the bug carcass layer that much more time to accumulate.
He has been keeping the recipts for these ‘10 year bulbs’ and just returns them when they go bad. Still, there’s no reason this one bulb should be burning out nearly so often.
Although it can’t hurt to check, I’m doubtful about overvoltage, as more than one fixture would be affected. First question-are you certain that you’re not putting too high a wattage bulb in the fixture? A fixture is designed with a maximum size bulb in mind and overlamping may cause problems with heat dissipation (in addition to being a fire hazard). Is the fixture subject to vibration when it is turned on? Incandescent lamps don’t like being thumped when energized. What is the condition of the socket? Clean-no evidence of arcing, corrosion, or anything else that could create resistance at the point of contact? Check these for starters.
Don’t know if this is your problem, but my brother was forever changing his porch light. He figured it was probably because it was frequently being jarred when the door was closed, put in a rough duty bulb, and hasn’t been changing it nearly as often.
Thats whats kinda wierd. Possibly a neutral wiring problem.Wires crossed and shorting somewhere.Dunno.
I couldn’t think of something I wanted to tell someone who claimed confusion about electrical problems.
FWIW
This house has been here 50+years. So have the outbuildings.
The other day we had well pump problems. The pump ran really slow. The heater in the same circuit was working and so was the safety heat lamp in case the heater quit.
However the voltage with everything disconnected was 160volts.
With all three plugged in the voltage was 30volts.
Long story short it was a neutral problem. The REC tech tied all three neutral wires together at the pole and the problem went away.
Why it worked all these years without that I don’t know.
Hmmm… When do they blow? Do they blow when you are turning them on or off? Do they blow when you are walking through the house, using the dishwasher, shutting a door or everytime you clap? (maybe there is a clapper in the circuitry and the bulbs are still good)
I don’t buy the over voltage problem because I do not see how it would happen. What about a high inductance in the circuit. Everytime you flick the switch the current would go through the roof. Otherwise vibration (ala Gorsnak) or cooling problems (ala danceswithcats) sound like reasonable culprits.
They blow more often on start up or shut down, but also blow while in regular use. All the problem ones are ceiling fans too, but there seems to be no difference whether the fan is in use or not.
I have come across this a few times and it is generally the case that there is a loose connection, usualy the neutral lead, somewhere in the system, most often at the distribution board.
Bulbs used in fans should be fan-rated. They have a heavier filament than ordinary bulbs, owing to the vibration issue that was posted above. justwannano mentions a condition in which the neutral conduction between the pole and panelboard is poor, causing voltage shift based upon load. It’s something I’ve only seen in older dwellings where the outer sheath of the service entrance cable has deteriorated and neutral conductors corroded away, but a power company technician or electrician will be able to measure and confirm.
My money is on a loose connection either in the fixture socket, in the fixture itself or in the wall behind (or above) the fixture. What can happen is the loose connection can cause a surge or an arc through the splice. The extra current draw will have to go through the filament of the lightbulb causing it’s lifespan to be shortened. Also, vibrations can cause a lightbulb to call it quits.
If I were you I would turn off that light, better yet turn off the curcuit, take down the fixture and examine the wires, splices, socket, etc. and look for loose connections, bad insulation, and hot spots (discolored anything).
This may be an indication of an arcing or heating condition that may need immediate attention. You know, fire and all that, but not to get you too worried.
