to just want to buy a flipping light bulb

[SlightlyJaded]

... that isn't Vintage or Retro with visible elements. Or LED or halogen or colour changing or mood enhancing or neon or any other such new fangled cleverness.

I went to homebase today to replace some lightbulbs for side lamps in our living room. In old money, they were 40W bayonet bulbs and historically the only choice i had to make was clear or cloudy glass.

Now... NOW I don't even understand what the new money equivalent of that is, and I couldn't find one fucking bulb that wasn't any of the new fangled newness of above. Or didn't have some new wattage, sorry 'lumens' number that I didn't understand.

I left with a good old Farrow and Ball paintchart instead

agreed worrying and the 1000 hours bulbs dont last.

Go to a specialist electrical light store they are around youll get better bulbs may cost you more

I went to try and buy a replacement halogen spot - one of the prongy stabby ones rather than the ones with the little bobbles on the end. Nowhere had any! I now have a dark zone in the kitchen right above the sink. I'll be blaming that for any missed spots on the dishes rather than my half assed washing up because I hate doing it

Don't get me started on lumens. I don't understand them!!

Home and Bargain (homebargains) do great energy saving ones for £1.99. All sizes, wattage and fitting in daylight or cream light.

The packaging normally gives a equivalent wattage compared to the old bulbs.

www.thelightbulb.co.uk/resources/lumens_watts/ does this help

I get my led gu10 bulbs from home bargains for around £1.99

You are not alone, OP. I am currently unable to buy a new bulb for my bedside reading lamp and am reading in the gloom. I did buy a bulb which looked appropriate, but it didn't fit. I'm flummoxed now.

Wickes is my goto - along with taking the old one with you so you don't buy the wrong thing.
Also for non lightbulb related queries there is usually a tradesman on hand with much better advice than Johnny no stars.

Do you have an old fashioned hardware shop near you? They often sell the old fashioned 40W/60W ones with either bayonet or screw fittings. They are often marketed as "Rough Service bulbs".

this is one of the things that makes me furious..light bulbs

yogurt is another.

washing powder/washing up liquid is another

there is just no need for all that choice, not one iota of need for it.

When I am QueenOfTheWorld it'll be bio/non bio for washing powder, green or yellow for WUL and a single range of yogurt in a restrained range of flavours and lovely lovely thick greek yogurt.

Light bulbs will all be the same fitting and a small assortment of brightnesses.

OOOOHHHH and chargers too, everything will have the same end/socket.

fucking lightbulbs

Op.... you have a choice of halogen ( old) or LED (new)

Which bayonet fitting? The small (B15) or large (B22)

They are often marketed as "Rough Service bulbs".

I'm not sure I like the sound of that. I want them for reading, not 'rough service'.

Haha. We had a similar experience in b&q. It’s like a whole part of life has altered without warning. I wanted a lower wattage/brightness without it being cool or warm. Impossible. I fancy an app controllable one and they only seem to have one type in normal or with warm/cool or colour which is easier strangely.

New energy saving bulbs don't last do they? And they're so much more expensive to start with .... promising you a saving of £1.23 per year in electric but costing £4 up front and blow inside 3 months. Hrumph!

I feel your pain.

My issue is, that having poor eyesight, I need bright lights in the house. Also, DD and I are prone to a bit of SAD and need bright lights to keep our spirits up.

We really need the equivalent of 150 watt bulbs in the kitchen and bathroom, but they are so difficult to find.

Haha, Dahlietta! The idea is they are for areas like garages etc, but they are really just old style bulbs, quite suitable for normal lighting purposes. We have a selection of 60W and 100W bulbs for our old fashioned light fittings!

The traditional filament bulbs were withdrawn for consumer purchase ages ago! By law. They are not energy efficient.

However, as PP have pointed out, you can buy the traditional bulbs from your local hardware shop by saying you need them for commercial use.

www.easy-lightbulbs.com/light-bulbs/industrial-lamps/gls-bulb/bayonet-22mm-diameter/gl150bc-rsf/?gclid=Cj0KCQiArYDQBRDoARIsAMR8s_QLI4U3wr8qqyvPb-q1jneVw82gn-Ec8BbIgM86LfVLlrTcza-3RHUaAkNkEALw_wcB

For Lonicera

My led ones have lasted 3 years in the kitchen apart from one that went a bit dull recently. The previous non led ones used to blow all the time

Blame the Eu for changes to lightbulbs! It’s them who have insisted we phaseout halogen now in favour of LED( which will last if your fitting supports the new LED style, or else they blow)

How is this confusing? GU10, MR16/GU5.3, MES, E50. The type of fitting hasn't changed only the source type. Toolstation and screwfix offer good ranges. I'd avoid the larger diy stores or faddy lighting stores as they'll be expensive. If you Google the fitting type you'll find pictures and diagrams.

The fittings don't cause Leds to fail. It's right to phase out incandescent bulbs, why on earth burn 10 times the power for the same light output.

We've got some nice bright LEDs in the hallway which are great as long as I don't move too quickly as it feels like I'm in a strobe.

I miss the simplicity of a good old filament bulb. I shudder when techy DH ventures off to ogle at lightbulbs... It's normally a long wait for him.

I felt exactly the same last time I went shopping for bulbs. I asked the woman working there and she didn’t have a clue either. So I just bought some an dhoped for the best.

Yanbu

It's not that I object to a more energy efficient bulb, I just have no clue what's compatible with the various light fixtures around our house, and so many of them seem to be gimmicky.

We have spots in our kitchen and bathroom (nobbly fitting rather than sharp stab by fitting) and no matter what I have tried to fit, they last about a month or two at the most.

All Homebase had in my side lamp fitting (large bayonet) was a retro style bulb, glass tinted sepia with a showy filament. Nice but completely wasted within a shade.