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I’ve had the problem with several ceiling fan light kits where the bulb refuses to be unscrewed from the socket. Instead, the whole socket rotates on the threaded shaft. There’s no way to hold the socket to keep it from turning. Sometimes, even breaking the bulb and doing the poato trick or even using long nose pliers fails to loosen the bulb.
Any ideas how to keep the bulb from seizing in the first place? (The bulbs are of the rated wattage for the fixture).
Thanks,
Al
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Replies
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use anti-seize compound. found at your auto parts store for spark plug use. Works for me.
*My suggestion would be Carbon Conductive Grease, such as made by MG Chemicals.
*Spray a little WD -40 on it. :-) that will fix anything , at least from my wife at home alone perspective. (I am a WAHAP) .
*A quick rub around the threads with candle wax. Clean, cheap, effective.
*Candle wax and wd-40 will both 'go away' with time, and heat from the bulb. In the right conditions, they can both contribute to a fire, as well.Anti-sieze compound is good. Silicone dielectric grease is as well. You can get either at an auto parts shop. The anti-sieze is cheapest, but the silicone dielectric will leave the whole works a lot cleaner. Cleaner = less heat buildup problems. Also, the anti-sieze can really begin to build up in the socket over time, and several bulb changes.Be careful not to get either on any surfaces that will be painted later.
*Hey Luka, I feel a little silly contributing further to this as it's not real high on anybody's "crucial" list but here goes:1. dielectric = insulator. You don't want an insulator in a light socket and, 2. anti-seize compounds usually contain large amounts of powdered metals, usually zinc, a good conductor. You don't want any amount of mobile conductors in a light socket and anti-seize is mobile when warm. By the way, thank you very much for your help with my computer problem.Ron
*Did what I told you, work ? I was just wondering about that this afternoon.In the case of the anti-sieze, absolutely agreed. In the case of the silicone dielectric grease.... This grease is made to allow the passage of electricity, but not to conduct it. If that makes sense. If it were an insulator, it would not be used on millions of automotive electrical systems. It is used in places where you want to get the absolute best contact, and flow of electricity, and to keep the elements from corroding those contacts. They used to use white, (lithium), grease for this, but the silicone dielectric is worlds better.
*I use a dab, and I mean just a dab of Vasilene, and usually wipe the threads fairly clean. Enough of the grease remains to keep the threads slick.
*When relamping entire facilities during scheduled predictive maintenance, we spray screw-in bulb bases with silicone lubricant. A light bulb salesmen I used to deal with sold spray bottles of "bulb ease" or some such nonsense. MSDS sheet gave the secrete formula away as just silicone lubricant.When changing just one or two bulbs, we use nothing at all.
*Luka,Good one--"This grease is made to allow the passage of electricity, but not to conduct it."I got news for ya--if something passes current, it's a conductor.And you should also know that a dielectric is an insulator.A dielectric (usually some kind of grease) is used to keep a splice or terminal from corroding, mainly by keeping water out. If you want something that electrically enhances a connection and keeps the water out, you want a conductive grease. No-al-ox is a common trade name for one, used to prevent oxidation on aluminum conductors.And it's not a good idea to use anything conductive on the threads of a lamp, as others have pointed out.Cliff
*Thanks for bringing this up, Al. I have several old lamps that I don't turn on all that often, thus, when the bulbs burn out, it's been a while since they have been turned in their sockets. Some have seized up.Based on this thread, I'm still not sure if I should do "preventative maintenance" by spraying the bulb threads w/something (or what that something should be) before I put them in an appliance.Did I miss something? TIA
*Cliff,Tell ya what, whyncha take some silicone dielectric grease from an auto parts store and do some experiments ? I guarandamntee ya that if you make a line of the stuff, and try to run current through it, it won't conduct the current. But if you put a thin film of it on any metal, and touch that metal to any other metal, the current from one piece of metal to the other won't be the least bit affected. I don't care what the word dielectric means in some dictionary sense. I don't care what any technical manual says. I only know what I have experienced in the real world. What I have been told about, and what I have read about the properties of the stuff is exactly what I have seen and experienced to be true in real life conditions.
*IMLE, light bulbs seizing in sockets is an electrolysis problem that is solved by coating one, or both, surfaces of contact: either the thread of the light bulb or the thread of the socket. Because the protective layer is so thin, even a dielectric gel will appear to work and won't promote a "short" if you're sloppy and it migrates. Conductive greases are specifically made for this application. I would avoid flamable lubricants
*Astrid:FYI: you can use WD40 for just about any lubrication need, butb onlyif you can find the word i "lubricant" on the can.It turns "gummy" and collects dust and grit and junk and quickly becomes an "anti-lubricant."WD40 is a penetrating oil
*OK, OK! Calm down everybody. You are talking about products that I designed in a previous life.b First--Cliff is partially right, in that they sell what are sometimes called "conductive greases". But in reality they are sold in two formats, "creamy" and "crunchy" style. Both are used by the power company when they make electrical connections.The "crunchy" style has a grit in it. When making compression connections that will have tension on them, the grit helps increase the pullout strength, big time. However, for a light bulb, only use the "creamy" style.But in either case, the grease keeps corrosion out by keeping the water out. This is especially important when aluminum and copper conductors are connected.Many better hardware stores have electrical greases available. Electrical supply houses certainly have them. And, I certainly recommend them especially for those main service drop connections. (My favorite product was one made by Penn-Union: Cu-Al Aid to keep copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) connections running cool [Get it: Cool Aid? or Kool-Ade?])b But, doesn't the grease prevent metallic contact? Not really. Even extremely accurately machined surfaces have maybe 50% of the area touching. The rest has voids. A typical electrical connection may have as low as 10% contact area. The grease is designed to be soft enough to be pushed away from the contacting area, and fills the open areas.b Second--Silicone "greases" are nothing more than a mixture of silicone oil and very finely ground silica. The thickening comes from the powder added. I have seen time and again where the oil has bled out, leaving a dryish powder/paste behind. In the case of light bulbs, it should not be a problem, as it is typically soft enough that the motion of screwing in the bulb will push it away.But, I would recommend nothing more than the silicone spray. It will work fine, and cause minimal problems with any plastic parts. And, use it sparingly. It doesn't take much to keep the water away.
*I've used the spark plug anti-sieze for years on light bulbs with no problem. The point is, don't use huge sloppy globs of it, just a thin film coating is enough to do the trick. As for conductivity, John D above confirms my theory that screwing in the bulb puts enough pressure on the threads to squish the goo out in some places and give you enough metal to metal contact. If you really wonder, you could probably stick your ohm meter probes in the goo and get some idea how conductive it is. I doubt that any of the various goos would have a dangerously low resistance over a significant distance, say 1/8" or more. You just want to avoid any product that might burn if you screw a bulb into a hot socket and get a little spark when the tip makes contact.-- J.S.
*Scooter - Did you know vaseline can be useful for sex ???You put it on the doorknobs so the kids can't get in................(-:
*Luka,Good idea! I'll do a little testing and post the results.And I understand your point, if the stuff is labelled "dielectric grease" then that's what you call it (even if the manufacturer's use of the word is incorrect).I'll report back....now off to the la-BOR-a-tory...I-gor, get the high voltage probes...nyahahahahah!And a good Thanksgiving Day to all.Cliff
*Luka, Nope, didn't make any difference. I had been doing more or less what you suggested anyway. I remain grateful for your time and attention.Ron
*Luka, You are right, I've used anti-seze for about twenty years now on just about any aluminum to aluminum contact with excellant results. the only draw back is the mess if you are careless and sloppier than I am. dielectric grease works very well on most electrical connections I've made where there is a lot of heat involved. About a decade ago I used to use it on my spark plug connections where the rubber(sic) boot comes in contact with the sparkplug and is brought to a nice toasty 1500 degrees by the headers. I used to use anti seeze on the threads of my spark plugs where they went into aluminum heads. It made the plugs easy to change. then I put an engine on the Dyno and found that I could lose as much as 9 hp. under some conditions. (use of MSD ignition helped get most of that back) The stock lucas Ignition system was marginal enough to cost that horsepower differance. I notice The NASCAR teams don't use any anti seeze on their plugs so I've since stopped using it. The point is I'd use Dielectric grease over anti-seeze where I was worried about absolute zero resistance. Since a light bulb socket isn't one of those areas, I'd use the much cheaper antiseeze. Actually I look for lightbulbs with brass bases rather then aluminum and seldom have a problem if the wife changes a bulb.......
*ROFLOLPlease do that. And post the results. The only 'testing equipment' I have is an old 9 dollar volt-ohm meter, (analog, not digital. radio shack brand.), and it's not in too good a shape. I'd like to know what some real tests of the stuff show.The silicone dielectric grease is fairly expensive, at least in my book. But it has always done well enough by me to be worth the cost.
*You did get it done, though, right ? What did you do ? Just format and start over from scratch ? (Something that I need to do very soon.)
*I Like To Use A High Grade Of Silicone Spray it Sure Works Good For Me, I Have A Maintenance Contract With Two Hospitals And A School A Zillion Bulbs Latter And No Problems it Works The Nuts For Outside Bulbs Where They Get All Kinds Of Grit Dirt And Gunk....
*I didn't get it done. I now have two hard disks running in this machine. The old one is emitting a very high pitched noise which is getting worse. I have saved everything I can fit on floppies. Next week, I'm taking this thing to a pro to transfer edverything to the new drive. In the meantime, I won't be hurt if the old one fails. Ron
*They are both running ? You can access both drives ?
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I've had the problem with several ceiling fan light kits where the bulb refuses to be unscrewed from the socket. Instead, the whole socket rotates on the threaded shaft. There's no way to hold the socket to keep it from turning. Sometimes, even breaking the bulb and doing the poato trick or even using long nose pliers fails to loosen the bulb.
Any ideas how to keep the bulb from seizing in the first place? (The bulbs are of the rated wattage for the fixture).
Thanks,
Al