Exploding Lightbulb

franco_22 said:
I've changed light bulbs with the power still on many times by the way, have I just been lucky?
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So have I and there is very little risk as your holding the glass of the light to unscrew it from the socket so very very little risk of a shock. I too take lightbulbs out with the power on with no probs.

The problem the op has is the glass has shattered so he will have to touch the metal socket etc to try and get the thing out and thus a chance of a shock. Hence everyone saying turn the electrics off.
 
Globul said:
Sorry, already taken haha ;)
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:( ;)
Globul said:
But serious, my dad taught me things like this and the fuse box and things. I even know a small amount about cars, for when I eventually start driving. I find it sad a male does not know how to fix this problem :o
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Not helping! :p :D

franco_22 said:
Aod said:
actually i've had a couple of lightbulbs explode on me, i was watching one at the time... big boom!
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mind power...
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Pure coincidence but it was that i happened to be looking at the bulb just as i turned it on. :)
 
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Angilion said:
Out of interest, how dangerous is a standard domestic lighting socket? If it's live and you get a shock from it, is it likely to be fatal or just painful? Although painful could be fatal if you have an unlucky fall off whatever you're standing on to reach it.
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I once woke up in the night and the light bulb had blown, I fetch another and unscrewed the old bulb to replace it.

At this point I thought to myself 'what if the switch is on, I don't want to burn myself, I need to know if its still on' I then poked my finger in the socket to see if it was on and got a massive shock.

I then put my finger back in to double check...
 
rz30 said:
You have a bad circuit somewhere, it's poor wiring that's causing it, my living room light has it, i have about a bulb go every 2 months, it's quite a nerving thing. It's quite a bang and the glass shatters ebverywhere. I keep meaing to get an electrician but also keep forgetting. I should say that i was using 100W bulbs but dropped them down to 6oW.
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:rolleyes:

Another reason for no electrical threads.

This is not the case, if the lamp in the OP was an non-energysaver Which I'm guessing it is, they are usually filled with an gas other than oxygen to stop expansion and more importantly the oxidisation of the filament. If there is a leak, which happens occasionally with old lamps then normal air can get inside the bulb, which can, when the lamp is turned on expand via the heating by the filament which is a few thousand degrees, if the hole that the air got in through is not big enough to equalise the pressure quickly then the glass will shatter. This is rare as normally the element oxidises and breaks before this happens.

As for what to do with the bit of lamp stuck in the pendant, to be safe turn all the power off to the house by turning off all the trip switches including the main one, then go at it with the pliers :)


Edit, just read you have an old fuse board, same princie turn off the main switch then pull the individual fuses out, when you power it back up put the fuses in first then turn the main switch on.
 
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Turn off the breaker, put on some thick gloves, remove the bulb and put in another one.

Really gobsmacked that this is a problem.

Ant :cool:
 
Angilion said:
As far as I am aware domestic lighting sockets in the UK are always on the same circuit for at least an entire floor in a house (unless the house is so big that it has more lighting than could be served by one standard circuit). So as far as I am aware you could check by turning on the other lights on that floor and flicking the switch to 'off' on the fusebox - if the rest of the lights go out, there's no power to the one with the broken bulb in it. Probably. As far as I know.
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No. This is most defiantly not the case. You know what assumption is.

Angilion said:
Out of interest, how dangerous is a standard domestic lighting socket? If it's live and you get a shock from it, is it likely to be fatal or just painful? Although painful could be fatal if you have an unlucky fall off whatever you're standing on to reach it.
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Yea it can quite easily kill you. But, its luck of the draw I have had loads of shocks and am still here. My worst was off a 6a smoke alarm cct, it all depends on your surroundings, what you are wearing and which route the electricity takes, anything across your heart your dead.
Less than a 1/4 of an amp will stop your heart, then you have about 11 seconds to say your goodbyes.
 
Broken Hope said:
Painful, I was a stupid child and decided to put my finger up a socket without a bulb in place, it hurts, but I'm still here, so it's either not fatal or I got lucky.
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Done that as a child :( tho I actually thought I was being clever and turning off the switch - but didn't think to unplug it from the mains :( and actually didn't switch it off either. Didn't hurt so much but my body tensed up a lot and then I jumped back, nasty salty taste in mouth and almost blacked out for a moment.

As far as being fatal, depends a bit how the current passes through your body, a healthy adult where it doesn't pass across the heart would rarely be fatal but it can quite easily be especially if you have a heart condition, etc.
 
Rroff said:
Done that as a child :( tho I actually thought I was being clever and turning off the switch - but didn't think to unplug it from the mains :( and actually didn't switch it off either. Didn't hurt so much but my body tensed up a lot and then I jumped back, nasty salty taste in mouth and almost blacked out for a moment.

As far as being fatal, depends a bit how the current passes through your body, a healthy adult where it doesn't pass across the heart would rarely be fatal but it can quite easily be especially if you have a heart condition, etc.
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Done sort of similar to that a few times, one of them not too long ago (few years). Was seemingly a great source of amusement to friends when I recounted my experience. :D
 
Rroff said:
As far as being fatal, depends a bit how the current passes through your body, a healthy adult where it doesn't pass across the heart would rarely be fatal but it can quite easily be especially if you have a heart condition, etc.
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Pretty much, no matter how healthy you are though across the heart can be very bad news and you will be lucky to get away with it.

Sustained 6a is enough to burn you but you would be in all kinds of bother if you held on for that long.
40a cct can cause big burns, and it's not just on the point you touched it, then burn goes the whole route the electricity travels, so you can end up with rather nasty internal damage.

As long as you are careful you will be fine, but bad advice or not knowing what you are doing can kill you.
 
Guys, if ever you're fiddling with mains or HV stuff, always remember the Electricians trick;

Keep your left hand and arm behind your back at all times.
 
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