electricians- help me

[wood_nymph]

as someone who has zero idea about electrical fittings and doesn't know anyone in the biz i have to ask:
is it possible for a ceramic light fitting to break/short circuit?
in my snake enclosure i have a standard screw ceramic light fitting which was installed by the person who built the enclosure almost 2 years ago. i went to change the bulb this morning and now no bulb works in this fitting. i'm stumped and not looking froward to trying to explain to a standard electrician that i need him to tinker in a snake tank......or the bill for that matter.

 

[dangles]

is there a thermostat connected to this socket? if so maybe thermo has clapped out

 

[Jungletrans]

The fitting can crap out , the little spring contact in the centre can bend with heat and not touch the globe . BEFORE you do anything , DISCONECT THE POWER LEADS FROM THE WALL SOCKET . have a look into the fitting , the contact should be sitting up to touch the globe , anything more you should find someone experienced to help . BE carefull .

 

[hallie]

It sounds like its either a thermostat fault, ie: thermo not working or a faulty lamp and/or lamp base

Get the output voltage of the thermostat tested at the lamp holder and the lamp you are using tested with a multimeter.

Test the heat lamp in another light socket in your house to see if it works to eliminate that as a fault..

 

[dangles]

Test the heat lamp in another light socket in your house to see if it works to eliminate that as a fault..

most reptile style globes/emitters are screw type not bayonet which makes this a little harder

 

[cris]

They can be cooked, but it requires very high temperatures. The only time i have ever cooked a ceramic fitting was by having a 275 watt infra-red in direct sunlight. If the enclosure is poorly ventilated you could probably cook them with lower powered heating. Dodgy wiring is also likely to cause problems, considering it was a custom made ecnlosure i think this is most likely the problem.

What power was the heating you were using?

 

[PicklePants]

i was having troubles with ceramic heat lamps not working in my fittings, took me the 3rd bulb to figure out that the electrodes weren't making contact.
compare the shape of the screw section of your bulbs and see if they are the same, you may need to bend the electrodes out a little so they make contact and complete the circuit.
make sure you unplug it before hand though. 240 volts leave a little more than an odd tingling feeling in your arms and hands. found that out with a knife and a toaster when i was 10.
then again with a drill motor when i was 17. third time will probably do me in.

 

[TWENTY B]

i'm a sparky in syd.
if your not to far away i could have a look, and repair as required,
don't charge a fortune either..
pm if interested.

 

[Snowman]

i'm a sparky in syd.
if your not to far away i could have a look, and repair as required,
don't charge a fortune either..
pm if interested.

What a top bloke! Best solution there is IMO. (why risk it?)

 

[syeph8]

i'm a sparky in syd.
if your not to far away i could have a look, and repair as required,
don't charge a fortune either..
pm if interested.

i agree with snowman, top bloke! and that avoids that akward conversation of having to tell them about your snake.

 

[dangles]

yep 20 is a good bloke

 

[wood_nymph]

thanks guys but i'm not quite that useless the thermostat was the first thing i disconnected . i've only ever used 40W bulbs in this fitting so not very high at all, nothing appears melted. it's in a fairly solid enclosure that's not easy to tip and peer into but at the end of the day i'm no sparky looks like professional help is needed. this just comes at an very annoying time more then anything else, i just got though attempting to claim warranty on a microclimate thermostat (end of the story is the supplier gives you the run around for almost a year).

 

[bowdnboy]

Just something u said in that last post - "the thermostat was the last thing I disconnected". If youve disconnected the thermo, then obviously the light wont work. I may have misinterpreted what u meant.

Another thing is sometimes the ceramics can go a little funny over time. Ive had trouble with some where Ive screwed the globe in and its stopped, as if its in all the way, but in actuall fact, by carefully turning it some more, its still got further to go in before hitting hte points. Just have to be carefull of breaking the globe.