The heat bulb in the sun room has been turning on and off over the past few days. My guess was the cats knocked it about a bit while jumping on and off the platform it’s hanging from. I’d give it a bit of a wiggle, and the bulb would turn on again.
This morning, I gave the cats their kibble and warm water, as usual. Then, as I was going back into the sun room, I realized the bulb was off again. It was on when I went past, maybe a minute or two earlier.
So I did the usual wiggle, and it didn’t turn on. I turned the switch off, checked the lamp and the shade (which was loose), then turned it back on.
The metal lamp shade has a small round opening near the neck. When I switched the light back on, I thought I saw something through the hole, so I turned it on and off again. Was that a flicker of light at the bottom of the filament, visible through the opening?
So I shut it off and took the bulb completely out. The filament looked perfectly fine. I decided to screw it back in and try again.
I changed my mind.
I’d say, we found the problem!
The socket looked clean and clear, though.
I ended up putting back one of the ceramic bulbs that these warmer heat bulbs replaced. It’s heating up as it should, though it’s only 150w, instead of 250w, so it’s not going to be as cozy for the kitties.
The temperatures have warmed up, though. As I write this, we’ve been at 1C/34F for some time, and it’s expected to stay above freezing for a few more hours. Oh! I just double checked the weather app on my desktop, and it now says our high is supposed to reach 2C/36F today! We’re also supposed to get a mix of rain and snow later today, too.
Looks like the driveway isn’t going to be done today, either. Aside from the winds that picked up again, the warmth will make the snow sticky. From experience, I know how quickly that jams up the auger.
The driveway is passable, though, so not clearing it won’t be an issue. The area in the yard that I cleared instead was more of an issue, as the truck was having difficulty in the turn around areas.
With the warmer temperatures, the less warm ceramic bulb in the sun room should be okay. We’ll have to make sure to get 250w versions for next winter, though. I prefer them to the ones that are actual lights for this. The only down side is, if they stop working, we can’t tell without actually checking them for heat.
We should also pick up a few more smoke detectors. One for the isolation shelter and one for the sun room, at the very least!
Just in case.
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 
Make sure the lamp socket is rated for use with a 250W heat lamp.
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Yup. They are specifically for such heat bulbs. I made sure of that when I ordered them.
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It looks like the bulb’s base overheated. Is the bulb hanging downward so the socket is at the top?
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Yes. The holes in the shield are there to allow heat to escape by the socket, while also reflecting heat downwards. Hanging downwards is how these heat bulbs are normally set up. They’re usually used to place over baby chicks or reptiles in a terrarium.
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It sounds like a defective bulb…it looks like the solder melted on that center contact button.
I have some bulbs here that specifically say to install with base at the bottom.
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These incandescent bulbs were the ones I got at the feed store, so they’re specifically designed to be hung over baby chicks. The fixtures, however, are from Amazon, and not exactly high end. It’s working fine with the ceramic heat bulb, though. Not as many cats hang out under there now, since it’s not as warm as the incandescent one.
So far, the one in the isolation shelter is fine.
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