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Barn light protector

P

PJH

Well-known Member
About a week ago, INCase had a glass barn light cover that was apparently stuck and couldn't be removed. I've ran into the same problem. After they've been on for ten or more years the glass can be real hard to remove. Anyhow - I didn't want to hijack his post, so here today is a picture of a simple protected barn light that I have made. My wife donates the wide mouth canning jar, sealing flat and ring, and they are mounted on an octagon box cover. The porcelain light sockets are salvaged from old buildings that I have torn down. The electrical terminals are exposed on those old bulb sockets, but they are covered by the fruit jar. There might be a dozen of these mounted in the old buildings around here. They are NOT UL approved!
cvphoto142878.jpg

machine shed light protector
 

I just changed a bulb in one of mine a few days ago. Glass globe screwed into a porcelain base suspended by wires. The glass was pretty stuck to the porcelain but with some careful tapping all around the base with a wooden handle it was enough to loosen it up. Maybe I should have put grease on the threads when I put it back together.
 
That is not an explosion proof setup. I see its a led bulb so probably less change of fire with it or the bulb breaking and starting a fire in the straw. Them glass globes have been changed to plastic , even in the 1980s oil rigs used all plastic globes. And the wiring is all in conduit and the sockets are explosion proof also. Same deal with the electric motors.
 
Moldy pickles!



The dairy inspector would never let that pass and the
electrical inspector would open his book!
 
highjack away. more feedback the better.

I did get some pictures of mine last weekend (attached) but their not very good. Did not have time to get the ladder out to take a closer look. Probably won't for a couple weeks yet. If anyone recognizes this type/brand of light please chime in.

My uncles dairy barn had one or 2 lights in the haymow that had jars over them. looked like mason jars (been 35 years ago since he sold the farm so hard to remember) not sure how they were attached. I'm sure they were more to keep the hay/chaff from getting hot on the bulb and causing a thermal event.

I do know around our place (130+ years old there are some light fixtures that are smaller diameter than usual so a jar could have fit over them more easily.
cvphoto142919.jpg
 
Two potential problems. First is surges or transients such as a large motor or welder while the light is on. A surge suppressor device is the best way to fix this. The second, especially for the LED is heat if the LED is enclosed in a glass jar. Special LED bulbs and light fixtures are available for this, but may be difficult to find anywhere other than an electrical supply house.
 
(quoted from post at 07:08:31 12/15/22) We have several at work that look like that. I'll try to get the info on them when I get back to the shop
Click to expand...

POSSIBLY ''Appleton'' or ''Killark'' brand.
 
A vivid memory from my teenage years is stuffing the last bales right up in the peak of a big barn in our neighborhood. It was ''crawl on your belly'' work, and one of the boys bumped his head on an exposed light bulb. The bulb broke and the hot filament dropped into the hay. The kid was frantic and the barn didn't burn, but it made me more aware of old barns and vulnerable light bulbs. The irony in my memory is - the barn had the nice fixtures, but the glass cover on that particular one was missing.

I don't have square bales in my old barn anymore, but I still like having a layer of protection over an exposed bulb.
 
The barn that this picture was taken in housed a grade B dairy about 75 years ago. There hasn't been a milk cow here in the 60 years that I've been involved with this place. Also - what is this thing you call electrical inspector?
 
I had one brand new LED bulb that flickered on startup. I switched it for another new LED bulb and it was trouble free. Sometimes a new LED bulb will be a failure right out of the box. Life is not perfect.
 
I remember that post, but just now thought-would an oil filter wrench work to remove the light bulb covers? Mark.
 
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