Light bulbs burning out

[james]

We have moved and added a lot of lighting in our house -- and we have had a number of new bulbs burn out very quickly. Mostly, we have added quite a few of the new 4" retro-fit canister lights with internal floor light bulbs.

Is that normal? I keep wondering if moved electricity needs to "settle down." Or, did we do something wrong.

Has anyone seen this before?
James

[CanuckJim]

James,

In my experience, no, it is not normal. The only thing I can think of is to make sure that the wattage of the bulb does not exceed, or even meet, the max wattage of the fixture. It's usually too much heat that makes the bulbs go quickly.

Jim

[RTflorida]

Jim is spot on. Also, you say you have ADDED several of these lights, is it possible there is too much on that circuit (not enough to trip a breaker but too heavy a load for the wiring in the circuit). Many people think simply by adding a larger amp fuse or breaker that they can run whatever they want.

RT

[james]

Very helpful. I will run this by the electrician (who is licensed), and see what he thinks. But now I'm armed. Thanks.
James

[rcspott]

Could be a loose nuetral wire on the curcuit, have him check to make sure all the wires are tight in the panel.

Rich

[Archena]

What kind of bulbs? Halogen are notorious for burning out fast if you mistakenly touch the bulb itself when putting them in. If it isn't a wiring issue and you used halogen that might be why.

[jeff]

James,
We had similar problems, in addition to killing a fridge and blowing a capacitor in the washing machine. Problem vanished when the supply company replaced a high-voltage fuse to the mains transformer.
I suspect that we were getting sub-voltage supply. Maybe someone can confirm or confound my thoughts.
Good luck eh.
Jeff.