Faulty lighting fixture?

[Frostlord]

Hi, a while back my basking lamp went out, I bought a new bulb but it didn't work so I just assumed my old lighting fixture needed to be replaced.
I bought a new Exo Terra one and the bulb worked fine for a couple of months.

Now the bulb died on this one and I bought a new bulb, I got home and the bulb isnt working in the 2 month old Exo Terra lighting fixture.
I have no idea what the problem could be.
I dont want to keep buying new lighting fixtures every month

Has anyone had the same problem?

 

[brownie64]

If it's not the light fixture, or the bulb the only thing left is your receptacle. But I'll bet it's your light fixture you've just been unlucky.

 

[Frostlord]

If it's not the light fixture, or the bulb the only thing left is your receptacle. But I'll bet it's your light fixture you've just been unlucky.

So its just bad luck?
There is no other reason that it died, like the wattage of the bulb was too much or anything like that?

 

[Lathis]

I've found dome reflector fixtures to be cheaply made and to have short life spans. I had a comparatively expensive reptile-branded dome go kaptuz in less than a month. Now I buy the $7 home depot domes. I've had one cheap dome with a faulty ballast that went out in a few months and another that lasted two years. I did stop putting grow lights in them - the grow lights would burn out in a very short time span and I didn't want to waste a $6 bulb every few weeks. I suspect it's because the fixture does a very poor job of regulating power to the bulb. I moved to fluorescent grow lights and I will never go back. You also don't need to buy the special reptile basking bulbs - you can use a regular house bulb. You may have to try several wattages to get the temperature correct since the new bulbs are far more efficient (and thus produce less heat) than the old style incandescents.

Definitely keep domes on a surge protector if you don't already.

 

[wodesorel]

You do need to check to make sure that the bulb you're using is rated for the fixture you've chosen. Most of the 5.5 inch domes are only rated for 75W bulbs or lower. There'll be a tag on the inside of the dome that says what's safe. In theory it could melt the wiring to use more.

I've also had issues with knocking the wiring loose when removing and replacing bulbs. The ceramic based ones come in two parts - the outer part where the wire comes out, and the inner part where the socket for the bulb is. The inner part screws into the outer part and the dome sits sandwiched between. The wires pass loosely through the outer part are screwed onto the inner part and those screws can sometimes get knocked loose and make a bad connection. Really easy repair so long as the ceramic threads don't slip and get caught.

Always check bulbs in a second fixture to make sure they aren't the ones that are broken. I only buy from local shop because they test the bulb before they send it home. Easier to do that than have to keep running back to the chain stores for replacements, which I have had to do three times in a row before! It's harder now with the new lower wattage lighting, but any older light fixture in your house should be rated high enough to give an incandescent a quick test.

Check the outlet as well. I had a bad outlet in my living room that was causing the lights to burn out quick because the connection was loose. We replaced the outlet and it stopped immediately. But still, that was blown bulbs and not a bad fixture!

 

[Frostlord]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll have to check into it before buying a new one

 

[York1]

I have had the same problem with 2 different fixtures. The first one was caused by a timer gone bad and the second was an extension cord gone bad. The dome lamps are very simple and rarely go bad.