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uniqs
3836

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

Changing bulbs out of reach

Anyone have any experience with those poles that grab the bulb and unscrews them? I used one of them in the early 90's but I noticed (BAR30 and PAR bulbs) that if someone put them in too tight I was unable to get them out..

Maybe they have improved by now? Some of these lights are about 15 Ft up on a wall on stairs.

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO

nunya

MVM

Not much has changed. They are very tricky. I consider them a weapon of last resort.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

dandelion to Subaru

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Hanging lights or ladders seems to be the best answer.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru to nunya

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to nunya
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One of the fixtures uses a screw in ballast with a 4 pin CFL bulb.. they are so dim for a stairwell..

I found one laying down someplace one day
Subaru

Subaru to dandelion

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to dandelion
What do you mean hanging lights? These are wall mounted but they are mounted in a way that it's high up on the wall plus between the landing a step.

It has a middle light which is sort of in the middle of the stairwell :-/

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

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I missed the part of "wall" on stairs sorry.. I was talking of hanging pendant lights which would be reachable to change »www.houzz.com/handing-li ··· pendants

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

LOL those are well within reach, I don't mind heights as long as a ladder is sturdy.. but being on steps I had use of a pretty bad wooden one which was missing some bolts so it would twist going up :-/

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

1 recommendation

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Build a platform to put on the lower step to keep the ladder's legs on it even with the legs on the higher step. Best if you could inconspicuously screw the platform to the riser above the step its sitting on. Screw in the platform, setup ladder, change light, remove ladder and platform.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

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Honestly... I'd get them moved. Not worth the trouble to change a bulb...»www.houzz.com/staircase-lighting

jrs8084
Premium Member
join:2002-03-02
Statesville, NC

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I used to have to use those when I worked at a hotel in HS/college. The snatchers and flood suckers do work, but how well depends on, as you noted, how tight the bulb was/if it got to hot in fixture.

I always had people watching me change them-hated that. The original install bulbs always were stuck/broke away from base-that was fun getting them out with a wooden stick (and you don't know what breaker the lamp is on)

I put light lube on replacements and didn't tighten with an air wrench, and and then had mostly good luck.

I don't now how well they would work with non traditional style bulbs.

Now I have access to a scissor lift where I work, but I don't go up because of fear of heights that has increased with age. I didn't like changing those mogul metal halide lamps because somebody else believed in tightening them like head bolts-always scared the thing was going to shatter in my hands. Close my eyes and twist.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

we are going to have to get a scissor lift but the thing is where the other bulbs are in another area has 3 steps and the floor is ceramic tile.. I would assume a scissor lift is a few hundred pounds..

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

A scissor lift will break the tiles. You need something like this:

»www.genielift.com/en/pro ··· -series/
bkjohnson
Premium Member
join:2002-05-22
Birmingham, AL

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I've used a couple of those pole systems, and the one trade named Giraffe has been the best for me. I have one room a sixteen foot ceiling and four floodlights. I changed to CFL's in 2009 and then to LEDS in late 2013 to take advantage of the longer bulb life. The CFL's were still working OK, but I was growing tired of the warm-up time on cold days.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

Lol I'm out here in the home depot parking lot debating if I should get the pole or not my concern is the light shown above and other lights I would still need a ladder for.

Tursiops_G
Technoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL
ARRIS TM1602

Tursiops_G

MVM

Check out the "Little Giant" Multi-position ladders...
They are a bit pricey, but they are able to do the job safely on uneven ground & stairs, etc...

Would pay for itself vs. just a couple of rentals of a man-lift...

-Tursiops_G.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

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Yeah but to be really useful the one I need is almost $1000 and just thinking about where to store that lol

I was thinking about getting a 10 footer
psiu
join:2004-01-20
Farmington, MI

1 recommendation

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Those damn Genie lifts. Company I worked for (incompetent boobies) was doing sound at a gym. Had it wired. Waited until the day they started laying in the new floor to send me and another tech out to install the speakers. Those are one man lifts, and boy, are they one man lifts. They are not "one man, and room for a giant speaker" lifts. So you had to hold onto the damn thing the whole way up, realize it was so flimsy that even though you were directly under it on the ground, it was twisting 6' off to the side, come back down, scoot over some more, back up, furiously try to mount the thing before your arm gave out.

GOOD TIMES :P

Um, on topic, good luck OP. Are these regular bulbs, or do they have bonus mercury included?

I think if you can get them out with the pole, just make sure you are the ONLY person dealing with the lights and you will know no one else is tightening them in too much.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

A school uses the Genie lifts but they always looked unstable to me, I've seen a guy one a one man lift to take down some HVAC stuff.. I guess the air handler was a easy 200 lbs it looked a bit awkward.

Oh and the lights (hard to reach) are CFL's the easy to reach are incans.

I ended up buying the pole
bkjohnson
Premium Member
join:2002-05-22
Birmingham, AL

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For me, it helps to use the pole from a 6 or 7 foot stepladder.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

1 edit

Subaru

Premium Member

Someone left one but I think it's about 6ft still short for the key stuff but might be able to do the stuff on the stairs...

I'm hoping for a sell on the BR30 bulbs since those would be best in those and not the CFL's

Tomorrow I will try and get the Br40 bulbs down from a light can.. I was tempted to buy the Phillips bulb but I don't know if it would be bright enough with a 13 watt 65W equivalent as it's up about 13-15 Ft

But I have this one at home and it's nice the instant on..

»www.homedepot.com/p/Phil ··· Z1z0vvrj

One funny thing I notice about it is it make a little click when you turn it on about 3 seconds after the LED lights.

As much as I don't want to order from 1000 bulbs (shipping is overpriced) I might have to do it for some stuff.
iknow_t
join:2012-05-03

1 recommendation

iknow_t

Member

said by Subaru:

Someone left one but I think it's about 6ft still short for the key stuff but might be able to do the stuff on the stairs...

I'm hoping for a sell on the BR30 bulbs since those would be best in those and not the CFL's

Tomorrow I will try and get the Br40 bulbs down from a light can.. I was tempted to buy the Phillips bulb but I don't know if it would be bright enough with a 13 watt 65W equivalent as it's up about 13-15 Ft

But I have this one at home and it's nice the instant on..

»www.homedepot.com/p/Phil ··· Z1z0vvrj

One funny thing I notice about it is it make a little click when you turn it on about 3 seconds after the LED lights.

As much as I don't want to order from 1000 bulbs (shipping is overpriced) I might have to do it for some stuff.

you might need 100W equivalent from that distance.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

Yep about what I was thinking between 75 & 100
Subaru

Subaru

Premium Member

Well crap.. I went to the area in question with the bulb above and the whole fixture pulled right out of the brick.
Subaru

1 edit

Subaru

Premium Member

Click for full size
First one I got
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View from first landing
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Light was not in the brick good to start with and at the time I did not know the holder would not fit around the huge ballast ba
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The first one I captured.. btw I found they had a suction cup one too but the one with the 10 or so little small one and it sticks on a pole

Now I know they have about 10 75W incans and a mix of 30 and 50W at the main door..

since I had a ladder I decided to check the fixture right outside the door.. BAD MISTAKE! it friken sparked as I was removing the cover.. it's a 50W MH light fixture and the ballast is about to fall out and the mogul socket looks like it had some pretty bad burn marks..

At least I can change it for that nice sleek LED fixture I saw

Also the bathroom light has T12's but do they have a more pleasing looking fixture for above the mirror? it's just a cover over a 4 Ft fixture but has to be something better now. Most of the stuff seemed small.
Subaru

Subaru

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I can't find my other thread but picked up the Bosch 140ft laser measure and floor to ceiling is 27'

I like my new toy

I did not know that it would make a sound however.. That was not in the reviews