Easy way to change bulbs, or new lights

[smmccotter]

Hey everyone, new here and have a question on a problem we are having with our lights.

We have recessed lighting, and our ceiling is about 30' high. Whenever a bulb goes out, we have to place planks of boards on top of our pews and put a huge ladder on those boards, get up to almost the top step, reach up high and replace it. Very dangerous to say the least. So we are looking into a way to change bulbs from the ground possibly by some kind of tool that will reach up and do it (don't know if these exist lol), or changing our lights that will make it easy to replace the bulbs with some kind of tool.

Just wondering if this is at all possible or if our best bet is to install a catwalk above or something. Our ceiling is a suspended ceiling btw.

Thanks!

Shane

[boltd]

If you can move your pews (we have a bunch of guys pick it up and set them on the four wheel furniture dollies that mover use) then the safest way is a hydraulic lift. If you have concerns on the weight of a lift, then the next best way is properly constructed scaffolding. We went this approach because some of our lights cannot be changed from the floor with a pole-mounted tool.

Whatever you do, be careful. A year and a half ago I was pulling CAT-5 cable at church through a drop ceiling on a 6' ladder which tipped over. Broke my tibia. You do not have to be very high off the ground to get seriously hurt.

Dave

[prochlea]

Light Bulb Changer - They have them at Home Depot or where ever... I'll admit - I've never used one, but for the relatively low cost, it seems like it's worth a shot.

[Mustangnaz]

Originally Posted by prochlea

Light Bulb Changer - They have them at Home Depot or where ever... I'll admit - I've never used one, but for the relatively low cost, it seems like it's worth a shot.

We use one of those and it works pretty well.

[waynehoskins]

I'd try the pole tool first if it works with the lamps in those cans. It's cheap. Failing that, I'd go with scaff. If relamping the houselights or refocusing your stage lights is a relatively frequent thing, it may be worth it to buy your own scaff; if not, you can always rent. I'm a fan of aluminum scaff myself.

Catwalks are very nice, and if your fixtures can be relamped from above, it makes even more sense, but it's not a trivial thing to add to an existing structure.

[smmccotter]

Thanks for the replies guys,

The poles would work, except we have a layer of glass that covers the bulbs. When we get up there, we have to slide the pot down, and then reach up and grab the bulbs. Do we need that glass there? Because they are removable, and then we'd be able to get to the lights.

The bulbs are halogen bulbs and are about 1/2" in diameter, so not sure if those bulb grabbers would be able to get a hold of them.

I'm trying to get our church to get a whole new light system, if we were to look into that, what kind of lights would you guys recommend? We would probably need ones that would fit into our current placements of the lights. But it'd be great to go to energy saving lights that we could easily change with the poles. The bulbs we have now are 500w.

[waynehoskins]

Originally Posted by smmccotter

The poles would work, except we have a layer of glass that covers the bulbs. When we get up there, we have to slide the pot down, and then reach up and grab the bulbs. Do we need that glass there? Because they are removable, and then we'd be able to get to the lights.

The bulbs are halogen bulbs and are about 1/2" in diameter, so not sure if those bulb grabbers would be able to get a hold of them.

In that case, yes, the glass is necessary. Since those are quartz halogen lamps, it's a safety hazard without the safety glass; the bulbs of halogen lamps can break and fall in certain types of failures. Usually the whole bulb doesn't go, usually it's small pieces from a fingerprint failure.

Since you're dealing with 500W halogen lamps, it's probably a good idea to discuss the fingerprint failure method. If you're not familiar with it, you may find your lamp lifetimes are significantly shorter than they should be. The short version is that the oils from skin, if deposited on the bulb of a halogen lamp, weaken the glass, eventually causing a rupture in that spot. If you don't already, you should always be careful to never touch the bulb; always wear gloves.

[smmccotter]

Yeah we use rubber gloves when dealing with them, but unfortunately they still seem to go out. We usually have one go out every two months, if not more frequent. We've had four the past month go out.

We've never had any break/bust, but if they ever did during a service I can see why you'd need the glass.

The pews aren't movable, and we haven't found any scaffolding that has worked since there's only a small space in between the pews.

[Richard Tarr]

We have a special scafolding section similar to this http://www.scaffoldingdirect.com/ScafInv.fm$Retrieve?RecNum=15&html=Catdetail.html&layout=fiche

that lets us move scafolding over chairs

[smmccotter]

Thanks, we'll look and see if that kind would work.

Has anyone every heard of any kind of drop down lighting system where they would drop down and you could replace them?

[Steve Vanciel]

What is the identification code or lable for your bulbs. There might be a long life substitute available. Another trick for getting longer life from a lamp is to limit it to around 90% output.

SteveV
Orlando, FL

[RickR]

There are many makers of systems for lowering light fixtures. The usual issue is cost. Single fixture winches are several hundred $ each. Systems to do several at once are difficult to price out without the fine details and engineering. But think several thousand as a starting place.