Why did my light bulb explode?

Question

incandescent bulb, 1 of 3 in a ceiling fan, on a dimmer, other 2 replaced 24 hours ago and are compact flourescents

ok, no more compact flourescents, got it. i'm not sure if explode it the right word, but the bulb did break and glass ended up everywhere. We just moved into the house, and the one of the bulbs i replaced on the same fixture appeared to have done the same thing, and there weren't any flourescents in at that time?

Answer 1

In 23 years as an electrician, I’ve only seen light bulbs actually explode from lightning strikes. If you mean that you turned the fixture on and the bulb “popped” and burned out, it’s because fluorescents have a transformer that changes the voltage from 120v input to 400v-700v output. This will throw a harmonic down the neutral that blow the bulb. Remember compact fluorescents will not work with a dimmer. You start to dim them and all they will do is start flashing.

Answer 2

There are a few things that can cause an incandescent bulb to actually explode. One that comes to mind is a sudden temperature change, such as from water hitting a hot bulb. If there's a tiny leak in the ceiling, and melting snow gets in, all it takes is one drop landing on a hot bulb to make it explode. Physical impact is another issue. It's possible that something on the fan could have bumped the bulb. Perhaps you accidentally moved a fan part when changing the bulbs? Burn-outs and blow-outs are a different matter, and result from incorrect voltage. But it'd take a huge surge in voltage to actually explode a bulb. Unless you've been hit by lightning, or have been messing with the wiring, I doubt that's the cause. Think back on everything you did when changing those bulbs yesterday. SOMETHING is different today from what had been, or you'd have had exploding bulbs before.

Answer 3

ive had the small candel bulbs pop b4. blow glass all over.. and yes these are the cheap bulbs.. you get what u pay for. no dimmer for flour bulbs as the other poster said.. thats true. dimmer for lights ok but you have to buy a heavy duty dimmer for the fan.. regular dimmers do some weird things after a while. I also had this one apartment that kept blowing bulbs (no shatter) just that bulbs wouldnt last... the tenant had said the place got hit by lightning and has done that ever since.. i replaced the fixture and havent had a problem since

Answer 4

Your bulb also might have one of those 29 cent ones, poor quality, cracked to begin with or a number of other reasons.
1- Dimmers don't go good with fan-lights.
2- In the heavy duty line, pick out the wattage you want to use, go to an electrical supply house and ask for their "Rough Service" bulb or some are labeled "vibration duty" bulbs.
3- Most bulbs are aluminum base as well as the sockets they are screwed into. I put a fingertip into a Vaseline jar cap (very small amount) and wipe that across the threads of the bulbs before putting them in too. I have had many bulbs break off in my hand trying to unscrew them after they have been in service for a long time. Good Luck !

Answer 5

My incandescent bulb just exploded all over the room. The base is still in the socket with shards of glass attached. I had turned it off about five minutes earlier. The fixture it was in was quite old. The fixture had been on the ceiling but an electrician had moved it to the wall. The bulb had been in the fixture for several months. What do we need to do to be as safe as possible?

Answer 6

Don't put compact fluorescent bulbs on a dimmer! You will shorten their life-span and can damage surrounding property and or people.