Evening all,

I have some flush mounted ceiling lamp fittings in my kitchen ceiling.
I hope you know what I mean - I think "recessed" may also be another
term used to describe this sort of lighting.

Anyway, they use ordinary incandescent bulbs (60W - reflector type -
screw fitting) and every time a bulb dies I have an enourmous struggle
to remove the dead one. I don't know why they are so difficult to
remove.

I asked an electrician, who was round to do some other stuff, for his
opinion and he reckoned that this type of fittings are not so good as
far as the life expectancy of the lightbulbs are concerned (which also
seems to be true) possibly due to the reduced heat dissipation but was
at a loss to account for the difficulty of their removal.

It's not like they weld themselves into place - there's usually a
little bit of play - but it's difficult to get them beyond this slight
movement when trying to unscrew them completely. The only means of
applying pressure is via the exposed flattish front surface of the
bulb - I don't want to apply too much pressure since I am mindful that
I may shatter the bulb and cut my fingers - but in any case more
pressure doesn't seem to make much difference since my fingers just
start slipping - I don't think I have particularly greasy fingers
(?!?!). I've also tried removing the fitting from the hole in the
ceiling (also a pain in the backside) to see if I could get a grip on
the bulb from its stem but this is covered by the lampholder casing.

Short of smashing the bulb and using a pair of pliers to remove the
screw cap from the fitting I can't think how to get the spent bulb
out. The fittings themselves look like some sort of DIY shed bottom of
the range variety (maybe that is why they are so cr*p) and I am
considering replacing them with something or other - to be decided
when we have planned what we are going to do with the kitchen - in the
meantime I am reluctant to replace them temporarily.

I would be interested to know if any newsgroup members have
experienced similar problems and in particular know of a solution for
the removal of these stubborn bulbs.

My kitchen is getting darker and darker.

I hope someone can offer some suitable advice.

Yours, annoyed and frustrated,

Gary.