Under the pergola I have a box-like lamp, wired into a point in the family room and laundry (there's another at the other end of the house which shines onto the BFS now, but used to shine down the back).
The lamp blew a couple of weeks ago. I thought I had a spare, but must have used it. The fitting has a glass front, a seal, and is held to the body of the lamp with one philips screw. I finally bought a lamp during the week. 500 w. Anyhoo, not remembering whether the switch was off or on, I turned off the power, to be safe. Then opened the glass front (after searching in the half light inside the house with a torch for a damned philips screw driver). The light has blown on the right side the last three times it's blown. This time it's blown on the left and I can't get the debris out. The white ceramic piece of the end fitting bit of the lamp itself has welded to the white fitting of the light fitting. Usually I can get it out, but this time not. Looking it in with the torch, the single contact thing which fits in the end of the lamp looks rusty, too. I don't think that makes for a good contact?
I don't think the new lamp will fit in with this debris in the way. Other than getting out a flat screwdriver and trying to lever the debris off the bit it's welded to, which I'll try when I have more light, what can I do about the rusty contact point? Or should I call a 'lectrician?
Sometimes it'd be really, really good to have a bloke around... I could feed him and he could do stuff for me... (grins).
Ah well. Any tips would be appreciated.
I was speaking with an ex Australian Women's Cricketer the other day, lamenting living out here and the only thing missing is single men to go out with, and she agreed that the talent* here wasn't abounding.
*single, available, male
12 comments:
Kae, it sounds like you have an Edison Screw paraflood. Have a look at these pictures.
You need to completely remove the old lamp and all its bits. The centre contact would become live when the lamp is switched on (assuming it is wired correctly).
You say the centre contact is rusty which would be an indication that water has got into the fitting - but of course as you live in the sub-tropics it may be just that. The rusty contact would not be particularly great as an electrical connection but you do have 240 volts on it. However it sounds that the best thing to do may be to replace the fitting. They are cheap enough and you can buy one complete with lamp from Bunnings or similar.
Hmm - on second thoughts you may have a 500 W tungsten halogen floodlight - Here are some pictures
If it is one of these you still need to remove the entire lamp and particularly avoid touching the glass of the new lamp when you replace the lamp. The reason is that any sweat on the lamp can cause it to fail prematurely. Otherwise just clean up the contacts and the glass, and make sure the whole thing seals properly when you replace the glass. (See here under handling caution).
All easy! Any questions?
The 500W tungsten hologen one is correct, in fact the second one in the picture is the one!
It's getting the welded bit of ceramic stuff off the side of the ceramic outside of the fitting where you pop the end of the long "bulb" in. And the contact inside there looks rusty, the other one looks metallic and therefore OK.
How do I get the rustiness off the rusty looking contact? What do I use? It's not a big space to work in!
Any questions? he asks.
Yeah. Shame you live so far away, I'd ask you to fix it...
I'll try to attack it tomorrow when there's more light, at 5 thisarvo it was really dark and had been raining quite heavily, it was nearly dark in the house with the power off, I needed the torch to see inside the light fitting.
In other word, call an 'lectrician!
I truly wish I could be nearby,this sort of problem is right up my alley.
Good luck
LouMac
Thanks, LouMac
That'd be grand.
It's just annoying things like that which really annoy me.
As I may have mentioned before, my ride on was put in for work in Jan. It cost $500 (ok, $4 off $500, but I'm not quibbling about four bucks!). I've only just today had the chance with good, dry weather, and the energy, to mow. I got the mower out yesterday, backed it out of the shed, rode down the back, around the dogyard (16 x 30 approx), and across the top again to the gate of the dogyard and in the gate. Meg ducked out the gate (little monster), so I had to give her some treats and get her back into the dogyard and shut the gate. Then I noticed that the chain guard on the mower wasn't looking like it was in the right spot. Ah well, I'll just mow the yard being careful... one lap around the dogyard... well, not quite, three quarters then I had to reverse... then no go. The chain had come off. This was the problem which prompted me to get the thing overhauled in the first place.
I called a friend for help, his wife told me he was at the airport and she'd send him down (to help push the mower UPHILL back across the dogyard and into the shed). When he arrived we pushed but it was heavy as. He put the chain back on and I started it up. As soon as I reversed (I had to), the chain came off again.
We pushed the mower down the hill a bit and then he had another go and reattached the chain (awkward on the Cox). Anyhoo, after a bit of grunting and interesting words (no swearing, but), he got the chain on and I had to drive the thing forward only to get it into the shed... It's there now.
The grass is really, really long.
How do I get the rustiness off the rusty looking contact? What do I use? It's not a big space to work in!
Be inventive - but make sure you have the power turned off at the switchboard.
Some possibilities - have you got one of these.
Alternatively a good old steak knife would probably do the trick. I'd use the knife to cut or gnaw away at the bits you need to remove, then use the knife point to scrape the contact clean.
I'd suggest you remove the glass and the sealing gasket = clean them both thoroughly and put it back with a smear of vasoline or even butter on the gasket as lubricant so that it will seal properly. If the knife proves too difficult you could always use a little sand paper or even a nail file.
And no grease on the new lamp! Kid gloves there.
As I said, it's all easy.
What the hell is "one of these" #1. Is it a putty knife?
No.
But I do have steak knives... and flat head screw drivers.
Should I just scratch away at the rust with the steak knife?
What the hell is "one of these" #1. Is it a putty knife?
No, it is a tradesman's knife. I have several and they are very useful for all sorts of jobs.
Should I just scratch away at the rust with the steak knife?
Yes.
Still looks like a putty knife to me. That's what dad used his for... I think.
Putty knife
Nope. Didn't ever see dad using one of them when he was putting glass in something and using putty. But he did use the other knife, and he used it for filling the nail holes, too.
Try several of these, however, stock up on these OR, one of these should be sufficient. Just in case, make sure there are a few of these, in close proximity. In lieu of, one of these would be handy.
BTW, I have an update post (stolen from Instapundit) the Booger Bloke, in charge. WARNING! As mentioned after reading the damn thing, my breakfast isn't sitting well. :)
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