Exploding light bulbs!

[Yorkie]

Well not exactly 'exploding' - 'ejecting' might be a more accurate term.

There's been a thread running on the EPE Mag 'Chatzone' (forum in other words), about light bulbs blowing and the glass being ejected from the bayonet socket. Coincidentally, I've just had one which has ejected itself in a most spectacular fashion on switch-on. There was a flash, and the glass bulb shot out onto the floor. The glass was intact, but the filament was blown, and the two connecting wires appeared to have ruptured rather like a fuse. There's no sign of the wires inside the metal cap - they were burnt back to the glassware, making me wonder if the gauge of the wire was up to the task. I assume that once the wires fused, the cement was probably not adhering to the glass, so the bulb 'fell' out rather than being 'shot' out.

The bulb was 100 Watt 'Poundland' (say no more!) - one of a batch I bought when incandescent 100 Watt bulbs were outlawed in favour of CFLs, which I hate with a passion, especially in location such as landings and toilets where you only switch them on for a few minutes, and before they come up to full brightness, they're switched off. Oh well, undeterred by the little drama, (the most exciting thing that's happened to me today!) I've popped another of the Poundland batch of bulbs in. I think they were five for a pound, and the duff one has probably been in use for a year, several hours a day in my study.

The EPE thread is here: http://www.chatzones.co.uk/discus/messag...1340729081

Anyone else had this happen?

I can imagne anyone who isn't too clued up, trying to remove the bayone cap with fingers with the light not switched off, yet again, proving Darwin's theory of the non-survival of the stupidest

[Joe]

It happened to my next-door neighbour a few months ago. In fact it's happened a couple of times: once it was the over-head hall light and the other a table lamp.

- Joe

[Robert Darwent]

Hi David.

Something similar happened to me one morning at work about 20 years ago now which I will always remember vividly for reasons which will become obvious as I describe what happened.

At that time I was the assistant manager of a large video rental shop and opening up. As soon as the front door was unlocked and you entered the shop the alarm started counting down. You had 15 seconds to run behind the counter, unlock a heavy security door which led into the back, flick on the light, and enter the alarm code on the panel high up on the wall.

This particular morning I got as far as unlocking the security door but when I flicked on the light it exploded sending fragments of glass all over me! It was pitch black in there without the light and I was forced to hold the heavy security door open with one hand so I could half see what I was doing with the alarm keypad.

Well I managed to get the alarm switched off but forgot that the security door slowly closed by itself under its own weight and that my thumb was in the jamb. The door was really heavy with metal reinforcing sheets screwed to its bottom half. As with the bulb a few moments earlier, my thumb exploded in a similar fashion! There was blood everywhere and I needed a few stitches at hospital.

Of course I shall always remember that particular bulb, but I'd never known one to expire so violently up to then nor have I since.

Regards

[60 oldjohn]

I had one about 20 years ago in an outbuilding. A 150w bulb exploded on swich on covering me and all of my junk in pieces of glass.
John.