ES Bulbs

[John]

Anybody have any tips for removing 50mm ES bulbs, similar to theses,

, from some flush ceiling fittings. I have tried the 'rubber glove for grip' approach but they appear to be welded fast. I need to get them out to replace them for working ones. My next approach could be take out the fitting and see if there's anything doing from that way.

Thanks

John

[Grunff]

A squirt of penetrating oil, like PlusGas, usually does the job.

[Stuart]

Try a rubber sucker . Stuart

[Roger Wareham]

Try one of the 4" square rubber sheets sold in old-fashioned ironmongers for removing stubborn jam pot covers.

If that fails, gently pull down the fitting and rotate the bulb by the narrow neck. Surprisingly, it usually comes out with no resistance at all that way!

As an aside, does anyone know WHY ES bulbs seize like this? I've suspected cold welding of the soldered end, distortion due to heat, strange electrolytic reactions between the bulb and the fitting, but once you get one out, it looks OK and will screw back in and out again with no problem.

Roger.

[sPoNiX]

I suspect that is the effect of the heating-cooling-heating etc causing expansion/contraction of the fitting.

sPoNiX

[Christian McArdle]

I don't know. They just do. I've had to smash them with a hammer and unscrew the base with pliers before. Get BC next time (or CFL bulbs). ;-)

Christian.

[John]

OP here, thats what I had to do in the end but I used a screwdriver handle (bucket over fitting and goggles on!!) and then the screw thread had to be mashed and torn out with a twisting action. I dropped the fittings from the ceiling at first but couldn't see any of the bulb stem so had to resort to violence. Hope the new bulbs work in the morning!

Thanks all anyway

John

[G&M]

I always try winding them in a little further first - using gloves in case it breaks - and don't put the new one in as tight as it will go.

[Ed Sirett]

A method that may help:

Apply a gentle unscrewing torque to the bulb, at the same time try to apply a sideway bending force to the the bulb (you have to hold the fitting firmly) as if you were trying to wrench it out of the holder. Now comes the non-obvious bit, this side force should be applied not in one direction but successively in all directions all the way right around. The direction the side force should move in is in the OPPOSITE direction to the way you want the bulb to move.

All this is very much harder to describe that to do once you get the idea. As the bulb gets looser you might know what I mean to say, you then might describe the process as "wobbling the bulb out".

This may not get the bulb out but it has worked on many bulbs which others have given up on and saved the fitting. It also works on bulb that are far recessed into the fitting where you can't apply much if any unscrewing torque.

[WhingingPom]

Sir, you are a DIY god!

I had the same problem as the OP and I too was about to resort to the hammer, bucket and pliers brute force method. However, it took about

10 secs to free the original bulb using your method.

My 5p worth - I think the problem is that the bulb thread and fitting thread become slightly misalinged due to the differing thermal contraction/expansion in the bulb and socket (different metals and different thicknesses). When I tried your method, after a bit of rocking back and forth moving around the bulb diameter gradually, the bulb slipped out slightly and then unscrewed with ease. My theory for avoiding in the future is to screw in all the way then unscrew slightly so that there is room to screw it in a litltle later - i've found if you can do this you can usually free them.

Many thanks

WP

[usenet]

Surely you don't need to break the glass. you just turn the bulb, which falls out of the cap, and then you use the pliers to remove the metal cap.