i have had a recessed ceiling light over a shower in my home for twenty years. i have always have had the light go out periodically for maybe
5 to 10 minutes. recently i remodeled the shower area and changed out the entire light unit with an "IC" rated can light. trouble is the light still goes out periodically for maybe 5 to 10 minutes. can anybody recommend a remedy?
What type and wattage of bulb are you using? Usually an IC fixture is only rated for 75 watts. It sounds as though it is going off on thermal protection.
Yeah that was what I was thinking. That black gizmo at the top of the can detects the heat and cuts the power.
The can lights are not really rated for high wattage bulbs, and you also have to look at the Baffle you use too. If its an enclosed baffle with a Lens, it might lower the wattage you can use as the hear will build up faster.
Scott
Lots of recessed lights have thermostats these days, but 20 years ago? Sounds more like a broken wire or loose connection somewhere.
Nick
In addition to the other two replies, which I agree with, your thermal sensor is most likely the cause. If when you installed the can you packed insulation material around it you may want to take the can down and remove some to allow it to better disburse the heat, the more breathing room the better.
wrote in message news:dvoibk$ snipped-for-privacy@acadia.ece.villanova.edu...
We installed a light in the overhead of our fibreglass bath tub shower unit. It was designed for 115v AC and carries a warning to only use a bulb of a certain wattage (60 watt I think?). Although it has a ceramic bulb socket; we being conservative would therefore, if it were connected to 115 volts, use 40 watt maximum. IIRC it has a small black "thermal cut out" which is wired in series with the black (hot lead). The recessed type fixture (pot light?) came with a warning to ventilate around it; i.e. not surround it with insulation, to avoid heat build up. Since our is in free space above the tube enclosure, not mounted in the ceiling itself, it is well ventilated anyway. I recall the wiring up was somewhat fiddly, due to the extra two connections on top of the fixture before inserting and mounting it up into the mounting hole. There is other wise more than sufficient light in our bathroom, but no windows. So we used our over-bath light as an emergency light; using a 24 volt, 25 watt RV type bulb powered from the two x 12 volt ex-truck batteries in our basement that power our computers during extremely rare power hits/failures. BTW. We also keep a candle/holder and matches in the vanity. Amazing how much light one candle can give with the candle holder standing in the sink, the mirror behind reflecting the lit candle out through the open bathroom door into the bedroom passageway. Candle can burn down safely for an hour or two. Meanwhile one can enjoy listening on a battery operated radio to find out storm conditions, what caused the power outage etc. and to short wave without all the disgusting RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) that today's electrical gadgets produce.
Quick fix- maybe try 15w CF bulb?
Yes 20 years ago. I was selling them at the time. 40 years no, but they came in durring the 70's if memory hasn't cut out.
Most lensed recessed are limited to 40 watts, a few at 60 and only very rarely more.
RickR
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