David Lock

I have dozens of those little 12v lights rated at 50w throughout the house. When I went to get some spare bulbs the guy in the shop suggested I use the longer lasting 35w bulbs which gave the same light output as the 50w bulbs but used less juice. He was selling them for £12 for 5 bulbs.

But do they really look as bright as I don't want gloomy rooms? Any experience.

Whilst posting anyone know a good source for the transformers. Every bulb has its own transformer tucked above the ceiling plasterboard. They don't last for ever, are a pain to replace and quite expensive (£7 - £14).

Cheers, dl

bobsabuilder

Sounds like you're paying top prices. . .

Try your local electrical factors, they often have special offers on.

Or places like HERE have the transformers that are dimmable with resistive and inductive dimmers, has 1.5kW surge protection, soft start to extend lamp life with overload and short circuit protection at £4.95 each or 5 for £23.44

And HERE you have 35w bulbs at 79 pence each or 20 for £13.95

I myself have replaced all the 50w in our kitchen (x12) with 35w which saves 180w (equivalent to turning off 3 x 60w bulbs!)

35w are not as bright, but there's not a lot in it TBH.

Bob

Chip

David
I changed mine to mains powered halogens in the kitchen and the bulbs do seem to last much much longer than the LV ones I had before.

Chip

bobsabuilder

Another point, l find a standard 35w bulb generally lasts longer than 50w, so no need to pay over the odds for "long life" bulbs.

In fact, I can't remember the last time I had to replace a 35w!!!

I find that if you have correctly installed mains wiring and are using decent quality transformers (more money doesn't always mean better quality though!) then your bulbs will last >2years at least.

Just my own opinion, others may not agree?

Bob

bobsabuilder

I agree with Chip, and where reliability is of the upmost importance, I would fit mains halogen over LV ones.

Bob

David Lock

Thanks guys - that really is most helpful.

What does changing over to mains power involve?

In the ceiling there is the round enclosed "switch" which I take it is 240v in and out and 2 wires come out and then into the little transformer and then to bulb.

Is it just a case of doing away with the transformer and getting suitable 240v bulbs of a similar size and connecting to the "switch"?

And can I do them individually, say when they need replacing, or do I have to do the whole lot at the same time? Thanks again. david

Supplementary questions!

1) If changing to mains is as simple as above why do people bother with 12v in the first place? Lower consumption, better lighting?

2) If I did go to mains what wattage bulbs would I need to match the current 50w?

ricardo

In our kitchen I put 6 of the 50w 12v bulbs but run from a proper wire-wound transformer. Not a single one of those has gone in 5 years.

In a different room there are some where each electronic transformer drives 3 bulbs. They tend to go quite frequently, and if one goes even a few hours of use on the remaining two seems to shorten their life considerably.

Regarding 'why 12v' it may be partly because 12v was in wide use for display lighting that needs to be changed around - it is safe to have bare wires (think of Scalextric and model trains). It then became commonly used in houses in fixed installations. It is only recently that there are mains-voltage versions of many of the small spotlight bulbs, perhaps the filament and bulb designs needed diferent technology to use AC rather than DC power.

Chip

I was going to answer that one but think I'd better leave it to the professionals. It is very easy though

Chip

David Lock

And Chip - you were doing so well

Thanks Ricardo. That makes sense. House is about 9 years old. Each light has its own transformer so I guess there is a reason for this rather than having one big jobbie and running out a dozen 12v supplies from this.

Still need advice on switching them back to mains system pretty please. d

bobsabuilder

Converting to 240v probable will mean changing the whole light fitting unless you can buy just the bulb holder on its own? Not sure that you can at a reasonable price?
If you look in the yellow pages for your local electrical wholesalers (City Electrical / Newey & Eyre etc) and pop in to see them they may me able to help.

Bob

PS 240v bulbs are more expensive than 12v but I'd still go for 35w bulbs over 50w

David Lock

Thanks Bob. In fact we have an electric factor locally (WF Electrical) but they are usually more expensive than my local shop! I'll go and enquire but even that's a challenge as they are not allowed to give advice on electrics in this mad PC world....... I just hold onto the red wire and hope In the meantime I'll try some 35 w 12v chaps.

bobsabuilder

Unless you wanted a different style of fitting then I think going with the 35w bulbs is the most sensible option (just don't pay £12 for 5 bulbs as thats ridiculous)

From a price point of view, electrical factors quote a retail price, but then give whopping discounts off it or else the trade guys wouldn't use them.
You want to ask them for their best cash price for 'X' amount.

If you weren't so far away I could have got you some cheap.

Good luck

Bob

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

ive just changed 4 of mine, they all went one after the other. mine were 35w

bobsabuilder

Just thought of somethng else . . .

The bulbs that come supplied with the light fittings are the most prone to fail. But the fittings I normally purchase, you have to buy the bulb extra, so maybe thats why I don't have a high failure rate?

Think I've said far too much on this subject now, so I'm off.

Bob

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

my light fittings are Smac-Lite's each with their own transformer. only had them in for about 18 months and a bulb went, then a few days later another went, carried on till 4 of the lights had blown. the funny thing was that they were all in a row

David Lock

Sara - that the "Bus Syndrome"

Bob, Thanks my friend. Just for interest this is one the top Google listed internet suppliers selling 35w bulbs!!

Sylvania ES50 GU10 35W 25° flood - Lightbulbs Direct - Your source for buying domestic light bulbs!

PS. The light fitting is just clipped into a circular hole in the ceiling plasterboard and the bulbs are held in place with a spring type thing so I just need to get the bulbs on their own.

boomer

Isn't His Royal Tonyness going to ban incandescent (such as halogen) lights within two years (to help with his self-imposed tree-hugging targets) - so you might as well rip the whole lot out and fit some of those fluorescent snail lamps instead

mb

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

feels more like a taxi rank

PG

Don't skimp with lamps. Cheap lamps are cheap for a reason. Osram 50w, 60 degree lamps are what I use. (the throw of light is just as important as the wattage.)
It depends on what type of light you want. A 12v lamp will give a bright white light whereas the 240v will give a more subdued, yellow light.
9/10 people that want downlighters I recommend LV with individual, soft start transformers.

David Lock

Thanks. I wondered about the angle. The "default" shop one are 36 degrees.

I replaced the transformer yesterday but what a bloody pain. I'm not very good at fiddly stuff but the whole design/concept seems Victorian. There's a round connecter/switch in the ceiling which is only just comes through the cut-out hole and you need midget fingers to connect up!! Aaaaaagh.

I found out that the equivalent 240 v bulbs, although they look the same will not fit into my current light fitting so I'm staying with lv.