Gu10 Bulbs Blowing Too Often

[i=p/u]

can any1 tell me why my bulbs dont last.... they the gu10 .im. sick to death with them, so's the wife.

 

[telectrix]

bulbs dob't last without planting in a good compost . lamps are another matter. seriously.put them on a rotarydung heap, sorry,dimmer, they will last a lot longer.

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Have they got something stupid like B&Q or Tesco written on them?

 

[IQ Electrical]

Are they from a decent manufacturer or a supermarket/shed?

 

[i=p/u]

yes they from ****&q, you a wee tinker telectrix aint ya, (rascal) so if i put them on a dimmer or buy from electrical store, be better quality

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Buy osram or philips mate (other manufacturers are available) but stay away from high street trash.

 

[Dazza1976]

As others have said, it depends on the manufacturer,
I put some phillips ones in at home about 10 months ago, and not one of them has blown yet.
A lot of manufacturers are also starting to sell long life ones now, with expected life up to 5000 hours

http://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/categories/led-lamps-gu10-led-lamps

 

[telectrix]

philips, GE, Osram, all good makes. buy from elec. wholesaler. by using a rotary dimmer, you are switching the lamps on low power so less likely to pop. remember that the peak value of a sine wave is √3 x RMS, so if hit by the peak , a momentary 400v.

 

[i=p/u]

kkkk dudes , il stop buying cheap

 

[J@mes]

we have a GU10 fitting in our kitchen, buy Osram and Phillips lamps and have it on a dimmer set to 50%.

It still blows a lamp a fortnight!

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Have a look on ebay and there are some very reasonable looking GU10 LED lamps at pretty good prices...I've ordered some 48 led 3w jobbies for the landing downlights....about 18 quid for 6....I'll report back on whether they are any good!..........(But yes....cheap halogen GU10's are hopeless)......also check there is plenty of airspace,not covered with insulation etc...overheating will reduce the life of even the best lamps.

 

[telectrix]

we have a GU10 fitting in our kitchen, buy Osram and Phillips lamps and have it on a dimmer set to 50%.

It still blows a lamp a fortnight!

blame the cooking fat. ( this can have a spoonerism applied without causing offence)

 

[sjm]

If you decide to add a dimmer make sure the manufacturers say it will work with halogen lamps. Halogen lamps can very often blow dimmers when they themselves blow. I think Varilight dimmers state that they will work with halogens. Alternatively fit an in line fuse.

 

[Marvo]

blame the cooking fat. ( this can have a spoonerism applied without causing offence)

Halogens run very hot and are prone to early failure caused by grease. It's also a good idea to install them using a tissue or napkin to stop the grease from your fingers getting on them.

They're also very susceptible to failure from voltage instabilities and spikes. Have you tried the LED equivalents? They should give much better service life.

 

[rocker]

Have you got insulation over the fittings? Heat will be a contibuting factor.

Get LEDs or even the compact CFL ones.

EDIT: marvellously echoing what Marvo said an hour ago!