The Light Burned Out

It's hard to believe that it has been five years since my last light bulb socket post.  It seems like only yesterday.

Linda had to eat her breakfast under natural light yesterday morning.  She flipped the switch to turn on the light ("open the light" is the phrase used here) and poof!  She saw a flash of light in the fixture followed by darkness as the circuit breaker blew.  The bulb had been flickering occasionally since we arrived this year.  Tightening the bulb in the socket relieved the problem temporarily.  I am never one to rush into a repair that can be put off until later.

This is a companion fixture to the one referenced in the post linked above.  The fixtures were never designed for electricity and probably do not have adequate ventilation for the 100 watt bulbs that we use in them.

I dismantled the fixture and looked over the socket.  I guess the poor contact was generating the flickering and some heat.

I notice that the socket has the dreaded "Made in China" label.  It is generally believed here that the Chinese make a different grade of goods when the order is destined for Egypt than when destined for Europe or the U.S.

Fortunately I had a spare socket in the electrical shoe box and even had brought some tiny wire-nuts along on this trip just for such emergencies. 

We are now back in business.