"Don Klipstein" wrote in message
...
In article , Dimitrios Paskoudniakis
wrote:
I have a two-story family room, with two indoor flood lights in the
ceiling,
so it's a pain in the butt to replace them, bringing in my extension
ladder.

I'm using the kind of bulb that the previous owner had, a 120V 65W indoor
flood light bulb, which has a several inch diameter almost flat top. The
bulb housing has a spherical cover with an opening for the bulb so that
the
bulb top completes the sphere. The housing can be rotated for directional
lighting.

For one of the two lights, I've noticed that a replacement bulb keeps
burning out within a couple of days of replacing. I just replaced the
other
one for the first time after we've been here 21 months, and it was there
before that.

Any advice on how to resolve the one light fixture with a new bulb burning
out within a couple of days would be appreciated.

First, I would try a different brand of bulb, especially if you are not
using a "Big 3" one (GE, Philips or Sylvania).

I'm using Philips. I replaced the other good one last week also, and it is
still fine, whereas the other one lasted a day or two. This tells me it is
not the bulb.

See if you can find the original bulb (that lasted 21-plus months) or
remember what brand and model it was.

Given the above, doesn't matter. Also, I pitched it, and it didn't have any
obvious markings.

Second, see if the problematic fixture is being shaken by children
jumping or bouncing basketballs or dropping heavy objects upstairs.


The fixture is under the master bedroom, and given it is on an A-shape
ceiling before the highest point, there is a gap above.

Third, if the fixtures are on different circuits, see if the problematic
one has excessive voltage or is prone to unusual variations in brightness
or is fed by a subpanel. Lightbulb blowouts are a common symptom of
an neutral in a line feeding a panel, which can cause some circuits in
your house to get overvoltage while others get undervoltage. This is not
a common problem, but it is serious and if you actually have that it needs
to be fixed urgently.

Yikes. I didn't notice variation in brightness. Only when turning on a day
or two later, nothing. I'll try a web site suggestion that a previous bulb
was over-tightened so that there is no contact, causing an arc to the new
bulb, and that the tab needs to be pulled up to ensure contact.

Fourth, see if water is somehow getting into the fixture and dripping
onto the bulb.


No water when I replace the bulb.

- Don Klipstein )