Is it safe to touch an LED bulb without gloves?

MM

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Feb 16, 2018, 3:12:32 AM2/16/18

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The rule is, don't touch *halogen* bulbs with the bare fingers. Does
this also apply to LED MR16s or GU10s?

MM

FMurtz

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Feb 16, 2018, 3:17:14 AM2/16/18

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No, the halogen have quartz envelopes that the oil in fingers soak into
reducing their life.

Martin Brown

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Feb 16, 2018, 4:03:01 AM2/16/18

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On 16/02/2018 08:14, MM wrote:
> The rule is, don't touch *halogen* bulbs with the bare fingers. Does
> this also apply to LED MR16s or GU10s?

No. Bare halogen bulbs have a special high temperature stable glass and
if you touch them the oils and dried sweat on your fingers adds enough
sodium to the surface to destabilise the glass lowering its melting
temperature and potentially exploding when hot.

Better halogen fixtures have a separate hardened glass shield to prevent
red hot fragments escaping. Some halogen bulbs have a double glass
envelope with the sensitive one fully encased in a normal glass one.
That is how most of the mains halogen lamps are done now.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Brian Gaff

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Feb 16, 2018, 4:31:46 AM2/16/18

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Erm yes touch away... unless you find it too hot after its been on awhile.

I guess you can touch it with your tongue your foot or indeed any other part
of your anatomy.
Halogens give off a lot of heat, but leds do not as they are more
efficient.
Brian

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Brian Gaff

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Feb 16, 2018, 4:33:33 AM2/16/18

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It can also bake on and cause local stressing. Projector bulbs have a
similar issue.
I remember a UV lamp that somebody just brused against its bulb while
moving it from a cupboard and it went off after about ten mins.

Brian

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tabb...@gmail.com

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Feb 16, 2018, 8:52:52 AM2/16/18

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No, but there are LED lamps you should never touch when on, specifically the Chinese ones that have bare surface mounted LEDs with unisolated supplies. You shouldn't find them in the shops, but buying from China can easily get you those. Most commonly a problem are corn cob LED lamps. Small spotlights can also be of this construction.

NT

whisky-dave

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Feb 16, 2018, 11:26:05 AM2/16/18

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On Friday, 16 February 2018 13:52:52 UTC, tabb...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Friday, 16 February 2018 08:12:32 UTC, MM wrote:
> > The rule is, don't touch *halogen* bulbs with the bare fingers. Does
> > this also apply to LED MR16s or GU10s?
> >
> > MM
>
> No, but there are LED lamps you should never touch when on, specifically the Chinese ones that have bare surface mounted LEDs with unisolated supplies. You shouldn't find them in the shops, but buying from China can easily get you those. Most commonly a problem are corn cob LED lamps.

Yep avoid leaving them on sofas and the like when walking around naked, just in case you fall on them like some fall on all sorts of things, and they end 'up' in A&E.

jim

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Feb 16, 2018, 12:05:46 PM2/16/18

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FMurtz <hag...@hotmail.com> Wrote in message:

Istr oils from fingerprints create hotter spots on the quartz
which lead to premature mechanical failure due to heat stresses &
gradients.

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Jim K

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ARW

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Feb 16, 2018, 2:38:16 PM2/16/18

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+1

I suspect that MM is referring to his MR16 50W halogen to 5W LEDs swap.

--

Adam

ARW

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Feb 16, 2018, 2:40:12 PM2/16/18

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On 16/02/2018 08:14, MM wrote:

> The rule is, don't touch *halogen* bulbs with the bare fingers. Does
> this also apply to LED MR16s or GU10s?
>

No.

--

Adam

Brian Gaff

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Feb 17, 2018, 4:26:27 AM2/17/18

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Personally I've never seen an LED bulb wearing gloves.

Brian

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jim

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Feb 17, 2018, 5:16:07 AM2/17/18

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I see what you did there... ;-)

"Brian Gaff" <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> Wrote in message:

> Personally I've never seen an LED bulb wearing gloves.
>
> Brian
>

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MM

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Feb 17, 2018, 5:14:35 PM2/17/18

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Yep. Now completed. 29 bulbs.

MM

ARW

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Feb 18, 2018, 5:06:39 AM2/18/18

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:-)

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Adam