The hateful experience of buying bloody lightbulbs

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

Years ago there were:
Pear or soft white in screw or bayonet in various wattages. If you were really lucky you could buy coloured ones. But it was EASY!

But now😭😭LED, Halogen, thousands of different others, Lots of different random wattages and fastenings and styles. My stomach fills with dread whenever l have to buy them.

I've stocked up with the old style incandescent bulbs online. I can't use the low energy ones as they give me headaches which is a shame as I'd love lower electricity bills! So there's a whole heap of 40w, 60w and 100w in a cupboard. Hope they last forever...if they run out it's back to gas lamps and candlelight

I was saying this to DD the other day! I bought a lamp that had a code on but not a single bulb in the shop had the same code, where can you learn the codes?!
I asked the man at the till and he was clueless, he just said the one I picked wouldn't be very bright and to bring it back if it didn't fit

Oh god don't get me started on light bulbs. We needed new kitchen lights recently. We went to B&Q. Stared at them until we had spots in front of our eyes. Finally found some we both liked. Picked up the box and they have some random coloured light feature so we can have red green or blue or if we feel that way inclined some kind of 80s disco feature and them all alternating. Plus the actual lights have warm or cool lighting and 4 levels of brightness for each so that's 8 levels just for normal lights without adding in the disco lights. We sold the house recently and I showed the 11 year old twins who loved them whilst the mum just looked at me like . We've literally never touched the settings since they were put in (they have remote controls!). I thank the lord we won't be here when one of those fuckers needs the bulbs changing

I loathe current bulbs. It used to be easy to buy a 60 watt bayonet or 40 watt screw bulb but I haven't got a clue these days.

What I need is a massive supply of the bulb in my kitchen ceiling light. It's larger than normal but the most amazing thing about it is that it was in situ when I bought this place seventeen years ago and is still working. . I think I need to have words with the Guinness Book of Records.

My bed side light is a small screw and needs to be dimmable. The first time I looked for a bulb, there were none in the cheaper shops. I went to a small local shop and ended up with a halogen bulb. I haven't had the lamp for a year yet and the bulb gphas blown twice. Hopefully the non halogen bulb I have now will last longer.
As long as I know what bulb I need or can produce the last bulb that died I'm OK.

This website is handy for working out what the codes mean:

www.thelightbulb.co.uk/resources/caps-bases/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwYP2BRBGEiwAkoBpAjXfl6deYXPoOmGAKN06lyY3o_taz2x1fzoKA7Eqx0cLldWKFoVl2RoCixMQAvD_BwE

I agree. I am waiting to find a good bulb then I am only buying that one forever. What gets me is they are SO bright these days. It is no wonder we are all insomniacs.

To be fair the hotel light problem isn’t a modern lightbulb issue. I used to do a lot of business travel a quarter of a century ago and all the rooms were “lit” by twenty four separate light fittings, each of which gave out the same glow as a single birthday cake candle which had just been told sad news about its pet rabbit.

@TheOneTheOnlyPedroPony the mum’s reaction was a bit weird I reckon. Smart lighting that can change colour like that such as Philips Hue (and competitors) are quite popular and I think I’d be a bit chuffed if a prospective house already had some installed!

I agree - it's turned into a big drama every time I need to get more as I can never remember what I got the last time.

@NameAChange

I agree. I am waiting to find a good bulb then I am only buying that one forever. What gets me is they are SO bright these days. It is no wonder we are all insomniacs.

I find the opposite problem. They aren't bright enough for me.

Of all the things my husband does because he is a worrier, making me take a photo of the lightbulb we need before I go to Homebase has probably my saved the life of more than one unsuspecting staff member.

Same. The bulbs in the dining room....aka my wfh office have gone one by one until none left. I’ve been begging dh to buy some and he kept saying to me to go do it.

Eventually I had to. He told me, bayonet cap, thin ones. So I spent £15 on bayonet cap thin ones and put them in to find they all flicker like mad. Dh was like wtf did you get LED ones......it was all they had! We have a dimmer switch and they’re incompatible.

I lost my shit with dh at that point and he’s now changed the lightswtich rather than the bulbs as that was cheaper!

Well, when we leave the EU we can go back to the old ones can't we ?

[quote MargaretHooper]This website is handy for working out what the codes mean:

www.thelightbulb.co.uk/resources/caps-bases/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwYP2BRBGEiwAkoBpAjXfl6deYXPoOmGAKN06lyY3o_taz2x1fzoKA7Eqx0cLldWKFoVl2RoCixMQAvD_BwE[/quote]
Brilliant link, thanks!

Oh travelled I am a very strong Remainer. Always have been and always will be.

Are you saying that brexit May or could or even might get us back to those heady balmy carefree days when light bulb purchases were simple ???

So Brexiteers May have had a brilliant point all along. Why didn’t they run with that as their campaigning message ? Could have done away with a lot of the heartache of a split vote and all the infighting and dramas.
All those demos and marches and flags and getting spat at in the street for carrying a flag and being kettled and watching all of the debates - all for nothing when I may have been on the wrong side after all.

Core values being shaken here.

This thread needs to be converted into a stand up act or an episode of dragons den. Possibly both.

I actually did a screen shot of that lightbulb info chart. It’s way back in 2017 photos I think. I certainly never have it to hand when I am at the ‘wall of bulbs’ nightmare

Thanks for the link MargaretHooperAnother screenshot. May even have it as my wallpaper or get a tattoo done.

Final lightbulb moment - considering chucking passport birth certificate etc out of my fireproof doc box and just having light bulb chart in there.

It used to be you couldn't handle the glass bulb of the long life bulbs - who knows if that is still the case??/
It used to be you couldn't chuck these new types in with the general rubbish - due to gas?? poisonous metals??? but now it seems no one cares!

@DilysPrice

To be fair the hotel light problem isn’t a modern lightbulb issue. I used to do a lot of business travel a quarter of a century ago and all the rooms were “lit” by twenty four separate light fittings, each of which gave out the same glow as a single birthday cake candle which had just been told sad news about its pet rabbit.

This is the best thing ever written on Mumsnet. I chortled.

@BIWI

I was going to write this exact post!

Bought a new lamp from Next that was delivered yesterday. Their website said if needed a halogen bulb (G9, whatever thAt means, and 28w).

Sold out on the website so went to Dunelm and finally found the right bulbs. After standing staring hopelessly at the fixture for at least 10 minutes.

Got home, unpacked lamp. Label on the lamp said it needed a LED bulb. FFS!

Halogen one works fine. Thank the lord

Just a word of warning, the halogen bulb might melt or burn your lamp shade if you leave it on for a long time. The reason for requesting LED is that they give off less heat.

@Straven123

It used to be you couldn't handle the glass bulb of the long life bulbs - who knows if that is still the case??/ It used to be you couldn't chuck these new types in with the general rubbish - due to gas?? poisonous metals??? but now it seems no one cares!

No it's all fine now because they are mostly LED rather than whatever the gas was. The old energy saving bulbs were like a kitchen tube light all folded up.

Couldn’t agree more. Last year I needed to replace our oven hood lightbulbs and change from halogen (kept overheating) to LED. I’m sure they do their best in B&Q but it took me a good 20 mins to do it, even when holding the old bulb. Mind you the sense of achievement when I got home and it was the right ones was huge 😀

I don’t understand them. My lamp says it needs a 60 w. They don’t exist now.