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Pendant light fixture trying to burn down my house.

jackaljackal Fuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse.Registered User regular
edited June 2012 in Help / Advice Forum
I bought my house about five years ago. It is a little over a decade old. In the stair well there is a light fixture that is difficult to get to. I noticed at some point that the plastic white seemed to be darkening. I ignored it for a while because I'm not very smart, so it got worse.
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This was not my finest hour. The blackened part is the top, and the lightbulb has a smokey substance on the outside of the bulb surface and some type of copper powder on the screw cap. The actual fixture doesn't seem to have any melting or anything.
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I'm worried that it could be the wiring, but think it is probably just heat from the bulbs. Either the previous owners put in bulbs that are too high wattage, or the fixture is just horribly designed. It is closed at the top and has a relatively small hole at the bottom. 3 60 watt bulbs would probably build up a lot of heat in there.
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Has anyone seen anything like this or have an opinion on whether it is probably wiring or just heat from the bulbs?

jackal on

Posts

  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    Did some moisture get in there and corrode the bulb?

  • shwaipshwaip Registered User regular
    Probably just heat from the bulbs. I might guess that the light fixture is supposed to be limited to 40w bulbs.

  • jackaljackal Fuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse. Registered User regular
    As far as I can tell there's no way for moisture to get in. I assume it must be from moisture in the air. It gets pretty humid here.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    3x 60 watt incandescent globes will build up a LOT of heat in an enclosed fixture like that. I'd go with 25 watt globes, at most. 40s if I could figure out a way to safely drill some venting holes in the top of the fixture.

    Can you fit compact flourescents in there? 3x 11 watt compact flourescents should put out about the same amount of light as 3 regular 60 watters...

  • jackaljackal Fuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse. Registered User regular
    There are six quarter inch holes that I didn't notice when I looked at it from above. It still doesn't seem sufficient for 180 watts. My father in law thinks I shouldn't try putting in smaller bulbs because the fixtures may be damaged. I'm not sure if that's being overly cautious.

  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited June 2012
    What about just replacing the fixture totally? Spruce things up a bit. It's pretty dated, and not in a good way. Plus, ease of mind about burning down the house.

    Esh on
  • jackaljackal Fuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse. Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    That's the best idea, but I'm afraid it would be costly. The problem is I'd have to hire someone because I'm afraid of heights, and it is twelve feet high and about a foot to the side of where I could safely put a ladder.

    Edit: Yeah, I'm just going to nut up and pay for it. Hopefully it won't be horrible.

    Thanks.

    jackal on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    A general contractor would be able to do that job - don't need a full electrician. Not to out them out of work, but if money is an issue, better to go with a GC than risking it.

  • finralfinral Registered User regular
    I would imagine that you could find some LED bulbs that would work nicely

  • FiggyFiggy Fighter of the night man Champion of the sunRegistered User regular
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    A general contractor would be able to do that job - don't need a full electrician. Not to out them out of work, but if money is an issue, better to go with a GC than risking it.

    Or just ask a friend who isn't afraid of heights. A new fixture can cost you as little as $20.

    XBL : Figment3 · SteamID : Figment
  • ThundyrkatzThundyrkatz Registered User regular
    I just had 8 light fixtures replaced in my house. The old ones were really dated from the 70's and all dull brass and what not. So we just got a bunch of ones that coordinated well and had them installed. all 8 fixtures cost a total of $500, including a very large chandelier for the front entrance way (split level house) A light like you showed should be around $50.

    Then we found a local handyman to do the replacement. I am also not super excited about working around electricity. all 8 lights took like 3 hours to install and cost me less then $100 bucks in labor.

    The improvement to the overall look of the house is fantastic! well worth the effort and cost. Plus we found all kinds of shady electrical work when we opened up the old junction boxes and got that all cleaned up, so peace of mind too!

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    eh, doing shit in a stairwell like that makes things complicated safety wise. i would say just find a handyman via craigslist or something and let them worry about it. i can't see it costing more than hundred

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