What happened to this light?

[alex]

Hi,

yesterday I noticed that the ceiling light fixture in the master bedroom walk in closet closet was a bit dim. I thought it was one of those lights fixtures that used two light bulbs so I unhooked the light cover and popped it off. Inside the light fixture there was about a cup or more of water.

I unhooked the light fixture and checked the electrical box and it was dry. I checked the drywall around the light and it was dry.

Where did the water come from?

The light fixture is in a small walk in that is kept closed most of the time. The fixture is in the center of the room and the ceiling is shared with the attic. The light fixture is one of those cheap ones where the light is a one piece globe that is held tightly against the ceiling with a couple of clips. It uses one 60w bulb. It has been very hot lately but I have had the air conditioner on for most of the month.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Alex

[Joseph Meehan]

A leak. roof water pipe drain pipe Condensation (A/C?)

Don't forget that water may be running down the wire or roof etc. so the source could be some distance from the fixture.

[RBM]

Don't just consider this an anomaly. Go into the attic above the fixture and trace it. I'd be especially suspect of the A/C condensate

[alex]

Hi,

I'll go into the attic and look around.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by AC condensationg. This is the only room and only light in the house that this happened to.

Alex

[RBM]

If you have a central air blower unit in the attic, it should have a pan under it to catch condensate from the unit. Usually there is a float switch attached to the pan, that will shut down the unit if the pan fills. There should also be a pipe going from the unit to some outside location, to drain the condensate. Look for an overfilled pan or a broken condensate pipe. Most likely the insulation above the light fixture will still be wet. Try tracing the origin of the water via the wet insulation

[dpb]

alex wrote: ...

...

Hot, humid air in contact w/ a cold air return may be condensing on the surface of a supply or return line and running along some path ending up there in the light. If the unit happens to be installed in the attic maybe the condensate drain line is plugged and the pan has overflowed.

Only two of many possibilities, but the water came from somewhere outside the fixture...

Plumbing or roof leaks and A/C condensate are three of the most likely sources of stray water in a residence...

--

[Bill]

The water may have leaked some time ago and the ceiling has since dried out, but still water in the globe.

Do you use this light every day? Has it rained since the last time you used this light?

Also is the air conditioning in the attic/roof? Or elsewhere?

[Terry]

Please, let us know when you find out.

[alex]

Well, today we had a pretty good thunderstorm so I went into the attic to look around,

The blown in insulation around the box was a bit moist. It looks like the reason that the drywall around the box was not wet was because between the drywall and the insulation is a layer of plastic sheet.

One of the joists near the box showed signs of dampness. It looks like there is a wet spot on the roof between two sheets of 4' x 8'. There was a bit of wetness there. I guess the water is dripping in there and falling down onto the insulation.

I was hoping to delay the new roof until next year, guess I'll be doing it this year.

Thanks

Alex

[Nick Hull]

It's the juice, a bit must be leaking when you turn the light on ;)

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

[HeyBub]

Doesn't sound like too bad of a leak. You might get by slathering on some roof-repair goop.

I did that on a flat garage roof, trying to buy some time. That was over five years ago and it hasn't leaked since.

[aemeijers]

Hey, look at this way- better to figure it out in August than in January, when a thawing icedam on a sunny day drops enough water in there to bring entire closet ceiling down. You got off pretty lucky, with only trivial interior damage. Once roof is replaced, along with any compromised insulation. (don't forget the bleach spray in attic), I'd change that fixture out just for the hell of it. Corrosion isn't always obvious in the socket, or where the tabs inside the socket attach to the wires. Closet ceiling fixtures are cheap. If there is any slack in the feed wire to the light, I'd strip an inch or two off to expose clean copper, if you see any discoloration at all.

aem sends....

[mm]

I put a 8 foot by 16" board underneath a leak I had, and put the end of the board just above the soffitt screening, and put a box under the other end so the drip ran down the board and went outside. Worked pretty well I think, and what I should have done is used a wider board, or made a ridge at the sides of it to keep the water from falling off the sides. Or I could have used a sheet of vinyl stapled to the rafters to make a funnel that would pour inthe soffitt screening.

In other words, if you want to wait until next year, I'm sure you can.

Because of a tub that leaks occasionally (maybe when guests take showers, I'm not sure.) I've had water in the globe on my ceiling fixture. It has to run down a 3 foot chain to fill the globe. Once in there, it will stay for months or years without evaporating, because there is so little air circulation. I've made an effort to empty the water before it reaches the 150 watt lightbulb. I'm afraid the water will cause it to break, but I'm not sure.