How to make household lamps work long and reliably

In principle, it is not so important, ordinary incandescent lamps you use or halogen lamps or even compact fluorescent tubes - in any case, the lamp must be in good condition! I had the opportunity to contemplate the insides of many fixtures, I repaired many and I can say that most of what is sold today is terribly far from ideal ... But first things first.

The main problem of modern fixtures is wiring accessories and, often, wiring (internal wiring in the lamp is meant, not the one in the walls). Regarding wiring accessories it can be said briefly that over the past fifty years they have become, alas, worse and worse.

With regard to fixtures, this applies primarily cartridges (as well as switches, including those built into luminaires), and they not least affect lamp life. On cartridges it is worthwhile to dwell in more detail.

In domestic fixtures in our country, mainly lamps with Edisson threaded sockets of normal and small sizes (E27 and E14, respectively) are used. Start with cartridges E14because Minion lamps are preferred by many because of the elegance of the lamps in which they are used and the variety of such lamps produced in a variety of flasks.

Looking ahead, I can say that I avoid lamps with E14 cartridges, because there are good cartridges for this cap practically not on sale, and those that come across can not always be installed in existing fixtures.

The fact is that in the sold designs of the E14 cartridges (as well as in the E27 of almost all modern varieties), the current is supplied not to the threaded sleeve, but to the contact pressed to the base housing. This contact in E14 socles is usually one and it does not always provide a snug fit to the body. The result is a massive burnout of lamps with an electric arc, sometimes it just looks like an “epidemic”. In this case, the bulbs often crack out, since the heating of the base is such that the mastic burns out.

And now about the types of cartridges E14 in more detail:

1. Plastic cartridges with mechanical fastening on M10x1 thread. Fixing the body halves on plastic latches, as plastic initially has sufficient flexibility. The fastening of the wires is usually done with spring clips, less often screw.

There are such cartridges of different colors as simply "hanging" and with union nuts and a special mount. They put them in almost all new fixtures including and quite European production (as well as Belarusian and domestic). Their quality changes from mediocre to terrifying. There are no good ones, because the plate passing in the cavity of the plastic thread is in contact with the base case anyway.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that this plate is brass (it is almost never tinned), and the base is aluminum or galvanized and oxidizes at the point of contact, the plate itself also oxidizes with time, but there is no normal compressive force in contact!

Over time (usually not immediately), the bulbs begin to burn out in such a cartridge with a lumbago of the cap, then they constantly crack out, because the base heats up due to poor contact. Gradually, the plastic, initially quite flexible, hardens and brittle, dries out, often cracks - the lamps begin to swing in such cartridges and this worsens the contact, you can hear buzzing during operation. Well-done cartridges literally crumble in your hands!

It is noteworthy that spare shops are not always available in electrical goods stores - those who repair lamps are such a thing - but are in no hurry to buy.When repairing such cartridges, it is very advisable to replace them with something more reliable, unless, of course, you are an ardent fan of "flying" bulbs.

Cartridges of this type are not recommended for use with lamps more powerful than 40 watts, but even from them this junk quickly becomes worthless.

2. Carbolite cartridges of the "Soviet" type. There are the old model, with a skirt and side contact of the ring shape and new cylindrical and with a simple plate side contact. With union nuts, both types are cylindrical.

In general, medium-quality cartridges (depending on the plant and batch), much more reliable than those described in paragraph 1. The thread is made of body material and can be of poor quality - you need to select. In the vast majority of cases, these cartridges are suitable for replacing the above without alteration. It should be borne in mind that they have a larger diameter nut and are not always suitable for existing shades (you can grind them on emery).

The key point for these cartridges is the quality of the liners, on which it depends: whether contact with the base will be normal or not. It is better if the inserts are carbolithic with tin-plated well spring contacts. Since the liners of different cartridges are compatible, it is quite possible to assemble one of two cartridges, say good liners from hanging cartridges to rearrange in cartridges with union nuts.

They work normally with lamps up to 60 watts (minions are never more powerful).

3. Ceramic cartridges of the "Chinese" type. These are not the cartridges that the Chinese put in their chandeliers, but the ceramic cartridges sold in stores for installation in lamps for mirror lamps. Cartridges of this type are cylindrical with fastening on a plane with two screws. Not collapsible. It is better to choose those in which the contact plates are attached to the terminals with screws and not rivets and are liquefied.

Contact with the base in these cartridges is perhaps the best of what is produced. The thread in the cartridge is metal and well centers the base. The central contact of good cartridges is spring-loaded, the side of the caked brass plate is large in thickness and well springy.

Unfortunately, these lampholders do not fit well with existing household lighting fixtures (except for recessed fixtures and others for mirror lamps). Their use requires transitional structures for attaching cartridges and shades to the lamp. The fastening of the wires is very convenient.

Attention! There are cartridges very similar to those described, only low-quality with "foil" burn-out contacts. By God I just can’t understand how it is possible to make cartridges of such low quality, when the above retail prices are 10 rubles !? But apparently, if you try very hard, then you can ... If in your lamp, suddenly, there was such a misunderstanding - urgently change the cartridges to normal, they will work without any alterations.

They work normally with lamps up to 60 W, incl. and mirrored (for mirrored lamps, the base heats up more).

4. Ceramic cartridges of the "Soviet" type. These cartridges have a collapsible case of their two halves on the thread and a contact insert, similar to carbolite, only made of electrophore (including the insert, of course). The end mount is similar to plastic and carbolite ones, but there is no thread, i.e. to clamp them, a threaded sleeve or nuts are required. I met only such, i.e. suspended, I did not meet other executions.

The cartridges provide good contact and heat-resistant, but you need to select - the thread under the base is poorly molded and the lamps are loose. They work normally with lamps up to 60 W, incl. and mirrored. Almost eternal - can only be broken.

5. Reactoplast lampholders for recessed luminaires and for mirror lamps. Quite heat resistant and provide good contact with the base. Mounting is like a Chinese ceramic or special - under the slots. Their disadvantage is rivets in which contact often disappears (to eliminate this drawback later).The base is screwed into a metal threaded sleeve - the base is well fixed. They are quite rare and are not suitable for most fixtures without alteration. They work normally with lamps up to 60 W, incl. and mirrored.

There are other types of cartridges, but they are rare on sale separately from the lamps they do not exist.

Now about the E27 cartridges of modern types:

1. Plastic cartridges in design similar to the E14 cartridges described above and the same unsuitable. The same problems with contacts, only slightly less pronounced due to the large size of the contacts. Plus, in these cartridges, the contacts are sometimes slightly spring loaded with flat steel springs, which, however, helps only until the cartridge starts to heat up - then it is released.

M10x1 thread, as on E14 cartridges. Sometimes these cartridges are made integrated into other parts of the luminaire and then their replacement is complicated - it is necessary to avoid buying such luminaires. If such cartridges are installed in your lamp, then I recommend changing them to more reliable ones.

Cartridges of this type more or less normally work only with lamps no more powerful than 60 watts, and even then not too long. From hundred-watt lamps burn out in 1-3 years.

2. Carbolite cartridges of the "Soviet" type. Available in a collapsible housing made of carbolite, porcelain inserts. There are four types of enclosures: suspended, suspended with a flare nut (two nuts), wall (oblique) and ceiling (straight). We are mainly interested in the first two types, because the latter are usually not built into luminaires.

There are a huge number of modifications of these cartridges produced and manufactured by many factories, so some generalization is necessary. The quality of these cartridges ranges from very good to satisfactory.

The best qualities are possessed by old Soviet cartridges produced until the late 70s - early 80s with a "skirt" (except for cartridges with a union nut) and shaped porcelain insert. Now these are found less and less. If your lamp has these cartridges, then you need to change them only when they are very worn out, and in other cases it is better to repair and leave.

Modern cartridges in cylindrical cases without a skirt are equipped with a flat liner in which the central contact is not spring loaded, and the "whiskers" of the side contacts have elastic properties. These parons are worse, but they can be good at this in more detail.

When buying cartridges, you should pay attention primarily to the inserts. Contact lamellas should be made of gart brass. If you come across white lamellas, then check them - with a high probability they are made of steel - refuse such a purchase. Also avoid using liners with one side contact instead of two.

In addition, pay attention to the method of fastening the wires - choose cartridges with inserts equipped with screw hooks with square nuts, and not those in which the wire is fixed simply with a screw with a washer. Cartridges with plastic inserts sometimes come across - I advise you to avoid.

Suspended cartridges of this type are fixed in most cases on the M12x1 thread, and not M10x1 thread, like plastic cartridges, which causes some inconvenience when replacing, however, they are quite easily removable (more on this below), but occasionally cartridges with M10x1 thread also come across.

If you come across cartridges with an M10x1 thread, it doesn’t matter just hanging or with union nuts (the “butt” is interchangeable with them), then I advise you to buy them for future use immediately - they will come in handy. The threaded nuts from the cartridges of the modern release do not fit the old ones, therefore, when the nut breaks, they have to be completely replaced. But overall, new cartridges are well interchangeable with old ones - standard, however.

In addition, I want to note that recently such cartridges not from carbolite, but from thermoplastic plastic (based on vinyl resins), which must be used with caution in closed fixtures with lamps with a power of 100 W or more, melt.The liners of these cartridges are usually of very good quality, and the union nuts are strong.

The cartridges work normally in open fixtures with lamps up to 200 W and serve in such conditions for at least 15 years (except for frank marriage). In very open fixtures, they work satisfactorily even with 300 W lamps. In closed luminaires from lamps more powerful than 100 W, they quickly become worthless.

3. Ceramic cartridges of the "Chinese" type. Everything said about them for the E14 variant is also true for the E27, except that the E27 cartridges are even better. They have a bifurcated lateral contact, and the central one is almost always spring-loaded and provide excellent contact with the base, as far as possible for cartridges with a non-conductive threaded sleeve. End-mount for two screws, as for E14 cartridges.

The main disadvantage of these cartridges is hollow rivets, which are also found on E14 cartridges. On cartridges E27 they are almost always. On fixing this shortcoming below. Sometimes there are such cartridges in suspended design with fixation on the M10x1 thread - a rarity, I advise you to buy in reserve.

The cartridges are compact and can be built into many fixtures in the presence of crooked hands. This is perhaps the best of what is now released under E27. They work normally with lamps of almost any power produced with E27 socles, including discharge ones, in any fittings.

4. Ceramic cartridges of the "Soviet" type. The liners of these cartridges are the same as those of carbolite, and the body is collapsible porcelain from two halves. In the cartridges of the new release, a threaded sleeve made of metal is pressed, which is good, because the carving in china was not particularly accurate.

There are hanging (without thread), end (fixing to the plate with screws), hanging street "with ears" (wires are supplied from below, to protect against splashes), wall (oblique) and ceiling (straight). They are mainly interested in the first two types, as suitable for use in lamps. Everything was said above about the inserts, but otherwise these cartridges do not have any features.

Cartridges, although reliable, are hefty and will fit a limited number of fixtures. They work normally with lamps of almost any power produced with E27 socles, including discharge ones, in any fittings.

5. Reactoplast cartridges of the Chinese and European production. They are rarely sold separately, but they come across in lamps. Heat-resistant - up to 200 degrees. Mounts, like those of china china and are interchangeable with them.

Good ammo, but rarely come across. Contacts are generally well spring loaded. Problems with rivets take place to be similar with other types of cartridges. Normally they work with lamps up to 150 W in closed fittings (it is still better to 100 W, if the base is up, it is more durable) and up to 300 W in open.

There are other types of cartridges, including and very good cartridges of the old release, but this is rare, so I will not describe them in detail.

Now a few general tips for mounting cartridges:

1. Always tighten all screw connections in the chucks well.

2. Hollow rivets often crack and spark - solder them. It is even better to strip the ends of the wires more authentically, to bend and solder them directly to the contact lamella - there is nowhere more reliable (our goal is to make the lamp so that the next time it would be necessary to repair it very soon). Use a good active flux: ZIL-2, TAGS, F38-N, FIM, LTI120, etc., which then need to be washed off with water (and dry the cartridge). Solder is better than POS-40, POS-30 or even POS-18, but you can also use the usual POS-61, if the mode of operation of the cartridge is not too intense.

3. It is also advisable to solder the contacts in the inserts of the carbolite cartridges and solder the wires.

4. It is useful to service the lamellas - the contact is better and less heated.

5. Cartridges with M12x1 thread are not difficult to convert into M10x1. To do this, glue the end face with epoxy (most conveniently with quick-hardening epoxy plasticine), drill a 9 mm diameter hole in it and cut the M10x1 thread (taps are freely sold in stores).

Unfortunately, changing cartridges with threaded nuts to others is not so simple. If you are not satisfied with carbolic, then you have to be smart to make transitional structures. But there is nothing impossible and almost always it is possible to replace such cartridges with ceramic ones.

Short now about wires for indoor wiring in fixtures. It is highly desirable that they be heat resistant, as they are exposed to heat from lamps and have strong insulation.

The currents in the household lighting network are small and the internal wiring made with 1.5 sq. Mm copper wire. or aluminum 2.5 sq. mm. does not experience any complications. But the internal wiring in the luminaires works, often in an intense mode and, especially near the cartridges, it burns and short circuits occur. Therefore, I recommend using wires in insulation made of silicone rubber ("silicone"), fluoroplastic, or in fiberglass insulation. With such wires and good cartridges, the lamp will serve you for many years and will not spoil bulbs and nerves.

Regards, SanTix.