Are guarantees on "longlife" light fittings meaningless?

[seahermit]

I have a rather harsh fluorescent light in my kitchen, 4ft long and quite old I think. The current element/fitting came from B and Q, is labelled as "15,000 hours, 3350 lumen, energy saving, cool white" and the guarantee is for 15 years.

For the second year running, the element (after several weeks of flashing ominously when switched on) gave up the ghost - just over a year after purchase. Are the guarantees a lot of rubbish or is it possible that something is making this old-style light burn out very quickly?

The technology is not my field. I would prefer a much softer, more modern light but don't know how easy it would be to install a replacement!

[Richard]

Try installing a new starter - the small, round white plastic can-like object that fits under one end of the tube.
Look for the ratings on the starter and replace like for like.
It is very cheap and not a big deal if that fails to produce results.
Worth trying as a first step.

The middle of the tube won't light but the ends are lit
Check the starter.

The function of that starter, as the name suggests, is to feed enough energy into the tube so it lights it up.
Starters are only found in fittings that are 15 years old or older.
They cost as little as 20p - the easiest way to test a starter is to buy a new one and replace the old one.

[seahermit]

Thanks, Richard, that's interesting. But I think this must be a different (or more recent?) model of light fitting - no starter, just two round plastic holders, one at each end. The ends of the tube plug into them via a couple of pins, similar-looking connection to the two-pin plug still used for electric shavers.

I have passed it to the landlord. The light fitting is partially blackened with the heat, so getting old and probably in need of replacement. I probably know enough to wire up something myself but, if it doesn't work, I'll get it in the neck!

[Richard]

It should appear milky white throughout the entire tube.
Is the tube blackened at each end?
If so it has probably failed and needs replacing.
Try warm white next time as cool white is rather harsh.
Also try 'Philips' bulbs, expensive but more reliable.
'Osram' from R. Dyas perhaps.
Keep the receipt incase of failure.

You seem to say the tube is relatively new but not the rest of the apparatus.
In which case the wiring could be faulty or the ballast inside the apparatus could have failed.

I have had energy saving bulbs which fail within weeks.
The regulations only require 50% of a bulb’s sample to achieve the claimed lifetime.

[Richard]

Or you could try my cheap local electrician:

Colin Wilkinson 07866 714466

He only charged me a fiver to come out and fit the wiring on a new light switch.
The sort with a whole spaghetti-bunch of wires coming out of the wall.

He's a wiry sort of guy!

[seahermit]

Thanks again. That electrician might be handy later .. depending on how this develops.

I took the tube back to B and Q, got a refund and got a replacement. Only "cool white" was on sale. But when I put the new tube in, still no joy. Then suddenly after ages, must have been over a minute, the light came on! It used to take about 20/30 seconds, so maybe there is still a fault, or a loose connection. The ends of the fitting (not of course the new tube itself) are blackened, so presumably that is a sign of age.

I have told the landlord's property agent, so I don't know whether they will regard it as a fault or not. The long delay in lighting up is a nuisance. It also seems potentially dangerous - could be a hindrance in an emergency? Without the fluorescent light on, the kitchen is as black as a coal cellar, so for now I have plugged in a table lamp, but that doesn't seem very stable or safe in a wet kitchen!

[seahermit]

Thanks for your input, Richard.

An electrician is visiting this weekend to, I gather, fit a starter to the light fitting. But I can't work out why the light worked fine before without it, but has now got "tired"!

[seahermit]

You were right on this, Richard, and I have proved myself a dummy.

There was indeed a starter - a small round nob protruding underneath. I did press and fiddle with it but it didn't seem to do anything - I had no idea that it just pulled out and could be replaced!

I did also question B and Q about the failed light fitting but they were completely useless, told me nothing at all. It should have been obvious to them! Especially as they could see it was an old-style light fitting.

All for the sake of a new 20p component.

[Richard]

It's amazing that an LED tube can work at all in a fluorescent unit designed to work with a ballast, to control the electrical current safe level, and a choke to allow a massive surge of power to get the lamp to come on in the first place.
Like the thing you see in hospital where a patients heart is jump-started by placing two pads on someone's chest and standing clear!