Garage Lights

[ksurfer2]

Random question of the day....My garage door opener has two regular 75 watt bulbs in in. Over the past year, I have noticed they need to be replaced far too often, and when I go to replace them, not only are they burned out, but they have exploded. Saturday morning, I was working in my driveway and the garage door was open. The lights in the opener were off and one of the bulbs just exploded. Why do they do this???? The only thing I can think of is temperature changes....when the garage door is closed, it stays nice and cool in the garage, but when the door is opened, it heats up to what it is like outside (Florida). Could this be why???

 

[wldgtx]

Hmmmm... never heard of them exploding. I assume you are using standard bulbs? The only thing I could think of is that the opener is only rated for a lower wattage bulb.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Ahhh….no. Stick a voltage meter in the light sockets and see what's coming in.
Vibration is a good guess. Try a "rough service" bulb, usually sold for the work lights that you hang under the hood of your car.
You can also try a 130V bulb; cheaper bulbs are rated at 120V, and so don't tolerate line voltage fluctuations as much.
Another option is an LED bulb. A 40W-equivalent is in the $10 range, and they are supposed to be very vibration resistant.

 

[YY1]

Around here we have two different electric companies (actually three counting a municipal co)

One runs higher voltage and 120v rated bulbs don't last and can explode.

I was told a long time ago by a seasoned building maintenance guy-

"If you have Florida Power (now Duke), get 130V rated bulbs",

I never knew they had different voltage ratings, but that solved the problem .

 

[Ghostrider 67]

People don't generally know that it CAN fluctuate widely. The 130V will likely solve his issues.

 

[danf_fl]

I also believe that the max wattage to be used is 60W.

What I've done in my house is rewired the setup to turn on LEDs that I have mounted away from the opener itself.
I tried to use LED bulbs in the opener, but one side was not wired correctly from the factory.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I have (5 )four foot sections of over head led lights.

 

[moparedtn]

They do make special light bulbs for garage door openers.
They are 60w (or less) and are "rough service" type.
My two Chamberlain 3/4hp openers came with that type bulb in them; knock wood,
no failures in several years now (and we run the gamut of temperatures out here).

 

[66383]

Using LED's, no problems. Also took off covers for more light.

 

[68gtxman]

I rented a blow-in insulation machine years ago to use on my home. As I was in the attic, blowing in the stuff, and the machine was varying between doing a great job blowing and then a crappy job blowing. I left the attic to ask my helper what the heck was happening and he said the machine would speed up and then slow down for no apparent reason. I then went and got my voltage-ohm meter and tested the outlet we plugged into for a few minutes. I saw 105 volts and then it magically jumped up to 166 volts! The machine obvious sped up when it saw the higher voltage.

I immediately called the electric company and demanded they send a crew out ASAP. The guy tested my outlet and saw it for himself. He then went up the pole to my transformer and made some adjustments to solve the problem. I never learned what caused it, but I imagine that it had to something to do with corrosion on the neutral connection.

Maybe you are having a similar problem?

 

[ksurfer2]

All seem like good suggestions. But the bulbs are exploding when they are off. Can changing the type of bulb being used fix this?

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Hmmm....the light features are controlled by a logic board. I suggest that you Google "Overhead Door" company and have a online chat with a tech. or whatever brand yours is.

 

[vman01]

In Chicago weather the bulbs outside are freezing cold when they come on at dusk and then get hot while on till they are turned off and then they chill again. If you have not tried another brand of bulb I suspect it could possible be an inferior quality issue from that brand? I would not think it should be the weather.

I would go with an LED bulb as most come with a transparent plastic rather than use glass which should solve the problem of breakage and not look back.

 

[Darter6]

My Genie door opener has in the manual not to use LED bulbs only use bulbs that state "for garage doors." ??? Has to do with the remote signal. I don't know.

 

[Hey-O]

A friend told me use 220 volt bulbs. They burn half as bright, but last forever.

 

[Hey-O]

He also told me they use 220 volt bulbs in hard to reach areas and some were over 30 years old. The filament in the bulb is twice as big around as 120 volt. You will need to use 120 watts to get 60, but it will be the last time you replace them. By the way, he was an electrician by trade and was told this trick by an old electrician when he was an apprentice..... to this day nothing has burned down, just saying... LOL.

 

[tonysrt]

I use "Rough Service" light bulbs and they hold up. I usually buy them at the swap meets and are available 60 watts. They are also used in drop lights and aren't as fragile as standard bulbs. Some openers don't recommend 75 watt bulbs because of the heat on the plastic shield.

 

[kiwigtx]

Ahhh….no. Stick a voltage meter in the light sockets and see what's coming in.
Vibration is a good guess. Try a "rough service" bulb, usually sold for the work lights that you hang under the hood of your car.
You can also try a 130V bulb; cheaper bulbs are rated at 120V, and so don't tolerate line voltage fluctuations as much.
Another option is an LED bulb. A 40W-equivalent is in the $10 range, and they are supposed to be very vibration resistant.

Damn...you have the knowledge of the Gods.

Rough Service are called as such as they are generally rated for at least 20 percent higher voltage than regular supply.
Over here the RS lamps are rated at 275 Volts, when we are supplied at 230V.

Possibly vibration, and possibly cheaper quality replacements were used.

Garage opener lamps are normally for courtesy lighting anyway...never designed to illuminate the entire garage.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Please use my formal address when speaking to me next....

 

[kiwigtx]

Please use my formal address when speaking to me next....