Mains or extra-low voltage downlighters?

[Phil]

+1 for mains although fitting cheap 12v ones the customer supplies and getting call backs to fix them comes in nicely

 

[Paul85]

Hi tuckermot,

I agree I have found some problems with the transformers in that a lot are really built to a price and will not give any tolerance on how many lights can be connected to them. I know that for safety the 12 volt units are better but it can be a niggle having to go back when a transformer goes down and find out why. The fire rating point is important as a lot of heat is produced by down lighters and it is important to prevent fire. The problem is that the excess heat can reduce the life of the luminaires / lamps ( didnt say 'bulbs' as I get into trouble with the politically correct brigade).

Has anyone found that the lamps in the down lighters in kitchens can fail earlier than stated? I see a lot of claims on the life of the lamp and a lot dont ever get to last the 2000 or so hours claimed. I know it is probably an average thing but it does seem that a number do fail short of the expected life. I did wonder if it was an excess heat issue but this should have affected all the lamps the same - whoops sorry changing the subject.

Best wishes

Rex

I work for a wholesaler and we have been told by a couple of big lamp manufactures that the reason that lamp never hit the claimed hours is the way that these numbers are generated.
Whenever a manufactorer wants to advertise the life of a lamp, they have to turn 500 of them on and just leave them on(so none of this turning on and off which cuts massive chunks of life!) and then the time that the last one goes out is the time they can quote, you could buy a 5000 hours lamp which when tested 499 of them failed in 1000 hours but because that last one soldered on they can quote that life... Hope this helps....

Paul

 

[RexT]

Hi Paul85,

Thanks, that helps to explain it. Seems a bit of a play on the testing process and at least I can now know why etc.

It would be better if they actually did an average test and gave a more even answer.

Thanks again,

Best wishes

Rex

 

[telectrix]

Candles everytime for me. no wires, no electric bills, free heat as well

 

[jeremy]

transformers are something that can go wrong. Why would you sell someone something that can go wrong?

 

[marksparky]

12v mr16 all the time! far better quality of light and providing u use good quality bulb and transformer no worrries! imo cfl r crap customer supplied them on a job i done a while back i informed her i didnt think they wud be suitable for a kitchen cos of the warm up time...... when i turn a light on i like to be able to see straight away, not stand in the doorway for 30 secs waiting on them warmin up! she didnt take my advice and went on about savin the planet and reducing her carbon footprint............ needless to say she called me back 2weeks later and changed them to 35's lmao

 

[cjp1]

Although I have fitted a lot of GU10 cfl lamps and quite like them I do have to agree with marksparky about the warm up time.

 

[nathandance1996]

mains....!!

no messing about with stupid 12v transformers!!

Always extra-low voltage, those GU10 things blow so often, it's more of an inconvenience changing a bulb every 2 weeks than it is to fit a few transformers here and there. I have had the same 12v bulb for years, but when I installed the GU10s I went through 5 in a month.

most GU10s are rated at 230v, but British houses are still 240v, hence the problems.

 

[Fin170]

Since this thread was created in 2010 approximately 90% of the 12v fittings since then have probably failed by now :lol:

Feels weird now back then I found quick warming CFL ones to be pretty good, glad LED has shown me the (much cleaner/cooler) light

 

[nathandance1996]

Since this thread was created in 2010 approximately 90% of the 12v fittings since then have probably failed by now :lol:

Feels weird now back then I found quick warming CFL ones to be pretty good, glad LED has shown me the (much cleaner/cooler) light

two words - toroidal transformer. doubt they will fail within a few years, or even decades.

 

[Fin170]

Toroidal transformer ~£11
Basic fire rated down light ~£10
Junction box ~.50
Decent lamp ~£2

Total ~£23.50


Basic fire rated down light ~£10
Robus LED lamp ~£6

Total ~£16

The transformer does not cover the lamps damaging the fittings (I've changed quite a few where the lamp meets the base and it's heat damaged) etc. Also much more time consuming and difficult to install in tight spaces

For the cost of a good 12v set up you can nearly afford a JCC led 7 fitting (~£28) and those come with a 10 year warranty, a basic LED set up is also cheaper, more reliable and won't murder your customers with electricity bills. That's why I steer clear of 12v

 

[t-s]

in my experience had much less chew with mains

 

[louy]

i used to fit gu10 fittings but found the lamps didnt last long, started fitting extra low voltage which has a superior light quality, but have recently fitted l.e.d. fittings which are quite expensive to purchase but in theory should last longer, and are ideal for vaulted ceilings full of insulation.