# Down lights



## BurtonReptiles (May 26, 2011)

What's everyone views on them for tanks as heat and uv? Anyone else seen them used?


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## Bez84 (May 26, 2011)

Alot of people use them, i use them in my diamond enclosures.
Downside it they produce a ton of heat above the bulb and if you have them mounted in a ceiling with wood close above them then the will smolder the wood and if theres not enough air flow around where there installed i find they melt the wiring..
But apart from that there cheap to run, give a ton of heat and you can get them in red or blue etc..
As for uv they have a glass uv filter on them to stop any uv they produce...some people have said to break the sheild out but i wouldnt as ive had these bulbs explode and the glass shield is the only thing that stops the bulb inside from going everywhere.


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## saximus (May 26, 2011)

Bez84 said:


> Downside it they produce a ton of heat above the bulb and if you have them mounted in a ceiling with wood close above them then the will smolder the wood and if theres not enough air flow around where there installed i find they melt the wiring..


 Wow I had no idea they got that hot. I suppose if you could set it up to utilise that heat as well it would be even better.
Also, I'm assuming you're talking about the 240V ones not the 12v ones that require a transformer?


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## BurtonReptiles (May 26, 2011)

saximus said:


> Wow I had no idea they got that hot. I suppose if you could set it up to utilise that heat as well it would be even better.
> Also, I'm assuming you're talking about the 240V ones not the 12v ones that require a transformer?


I was looking at using 110w ones there so cheap at bunnings


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## Defective (May 26, 2011)

cheaper doesn't mean better


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## FusionMorelia (May 26, 2011)

good gear isn't cheap, and cheap gear isn't good,


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## petesmith81 (May 26, 2011)

Are you referring to the GU10 Downlights? If so the 240V ones are better. i currently use 2 x 50W in 4ft wooden enclosure for my Gillens (UV provided separately) I have them set up like pendant lights and not mounted directly to the celling of the enclosure. 

As far as i knew the max wattage you can easily obtain is 50Watt, however i have seen some 75watts one on eBay from Asia


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## Just_Plain_Nuts (May 26, 2011)

Bez84 said:


> Alot of people use them, i use them in my diamond enclosures.
> Downside it they produce a ton of heat above the bulb and if you have them mounted in a ceiling with wood close above them then the will smolder the wood and if theres not enough air flow around where there installed i find they melt the wiring..
> But apart from that there cheap to run, give a ton of heat and you can get them in red or blue etc..
> As for uv they have a glass uv filter on them to stop any uv they produce...some people have said to break the sheild out but i wouldnt as ive had these bulbs explode and the glass shield is the only thing that stops the bulb inside from going everywhere.



Basic precautions have to be taken with all lighting and heating and after much research and testing the 12V dichroic downlights have less chance of burning timber above it compared to using heat lamps of equivalent effectiveness. There are certain models that have more reflective coating on the back and therefore produce more heat forward with less heat back, the red versions do this and you can notice the difference. Also there are purpose made UV reptile dichroics out there that we use, these have no glass front cover and supposedly produce uv. There has been some debate about this and I am looking to purchase a uv meter to put this to rest once and for all. As far as them physically blowing up..I have never seen any bulb do this, I reckon the only way it would if you splashed water on it when hot.


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## Firedrake (May 26, 2011)

How much heat would a small halogen light produce and how hot can a 275W heat lamp get? Also would a heat mat or heat lamp be better for a stimson?


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## Laghairt (May 26, 2011)

I use them for small monitors and they work great, even a 240v 35w produce a huge amount of heat. I wouldn't use anything else now.

I also use the 12v lights with a transformer to provide more gentle heat in other parts of the enclosure.


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## liney (May 26, 2011)

I use the 12v version downlight but have changed from the typical halogen globe to a LED globe from ebay. 9Watts gives off great lighting but virtually no heat and bugger all heat above. And you can get them in many colours if you choose.


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## Scag (May 30, 2011)

What downlights do you recommend just for lighting. What equipment is needed transformer wise?

Thanks.


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## saximus (May 30, 2011)

I think like Liney said you'd be best off using LED ones if it's just for lighting. You should be able to buy the whole kit with the transformer included so you don't need to buy everything individually


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## Bez84 (May 30, 2011)

saximus said:


> Wow I had no idea they got that hot. I suppose if you could set it up to utilise that heat as well it would be even better.
> Also, I'm assuming you're talking about the 240V ones not the 12v ones that require a transformer?



No im talking about the 12v ones they get hot as hell, i use the red ones in my diamond tanks they seem better and i have a fan installed next to them that sucks the heat out of the bulk head to reduce the heat build up..
Ive had two bulbs blow over the years and i dont mean the bulb explodes just everything behind the glass shield turns to dust lol.
Have never tryed the 240v models...


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## Scag (May 30, 2011)

could someone link me to a good led kit.


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## Just_Plain_Nuts (May 30, 2011)

bunnings have them, we use them when we dont want heat but they are pretty exe. The led 12v bulbs alone are about $32.


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## liney (May 30, 2011)

Search 12v led lights on ebay. Thet are pretty cheap and you can buy the led bulbs from anywhere $5 up to $30. The 12v are a hell of a lot safer with the low voltage and the transformers are around $5 as well so not too badly priced. led bulbs are supposedly to last around 50,000 hours.


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## Firedrake (May 30, 2011)

I found 6packs of the 12v LED downlights and they're not all that expensive, I just don't know how to install them or how hot they get. Do I need a proper electrician to install them?


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## ron_peters (May 30, 2011)

can anyone tell me where they get the 240 volt ones as i can only seem to find the 50w 12v at bunnings???
thanks


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## saximus (May 30, 2011)

I've seen the 240V ones at my local bunnings. They are just the gu10 type


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## ron_peters (May 30, 2011)

so do the bulbs look different to the 12v ones or is it just the fitting thats 240v


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## saximus (May 30, 2011)

Just the fitting. The bulbs look basically the same. If you look at Spongebob's thread called small monitor enclosures or something similar you can see them


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## Scag (May 31, 2011)

2X 9W MR16 3x3w XR-E CREE LED DOWNLIGHT COMPLETE KIT | eBay

Looking at these, do you think they will be to much, my new enclosure will be 4x4x2ft divided vertically.(one light in each side). Dont know if i will have it on a timer or just turn it on for veiwing.


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## saximus (May 31, 2011)

That looks like it will do the job. It seems expensive to me but then again I've got no idea how much they'd cost at a regular shop :/


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## Laghairt (May 31, 2011)

That is expensive, the same thing would only cost $30 at bunnings.


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## Moreliavridis (May 31, 2011)

ron_peters said:


> so do the bulbs look different to the 12v ones or is it just the fitting thats 240v


 
The globes are different. The contacts on the ends of the globes are completely different so you can't use the 12v globes on the 240v fittings. 
You also need a minimum 200mm clearance above the globe for the heat to dissipate. 

But the are a great heat source to use for monitors.


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## Just_Plain_Nuts (May 31, 2011)

Jason.R said:


> The globes are different. The contacts on the ends of the globes are completely different so you can't use the 12v globes on the 240v fittings.
> You also need a minimum 200mm clearance above the globe for the heat to dissipate.
> 
> But the are a great heat source to use for monitors.


I'm sorry but I have to disagree with that clearance. We run the 12V 50w dichroics in cavities only about 10-12 cm deep with no problems what so ever. You just need to leave that cavity open at the back to let heat out.


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## Frontosa2597 (Jun 1, 2011)

Yeah, but im an electrican and the minimum clearance is 200mm
having said that though ive got some in the same sort of enviroment as Just_plain_Nuts


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## xmickx (Jun 3, 2011)

fitted a downlight to a enclosuer that im building its 600x450x450 its been on for the last 3 hours and the temps are going up 31,32,33,ill update later tonight 
its a 12v 50w set up,now for the silly question a20w or 35w would be cooler wouldnt it im trying to run a system with out a therostate


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## Moreliavridis (Jun 3, 2011)

Frontosa2597 said:


> Yeah, but im an electrican and the minimum clearance is 200mm
> having said that though ive got some in the same sort of enviroment as Just_plain_Nuts



I am too thats why i stated the distance. haha but like you said i have them in my enclosures with small clearings swell.

The 20w will be cooler but i would highly advise using a thermostat!
Looks good to BTW.


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## Ramsayi (Jun 3, 2011)

xmickx said:


> fitted a downlight to a enclosuer that im building its 600x450x450 its been on for the last 3 hours and the temps are going up 31,32,33,ill update later tonight
> its a 12v 50w set up,now for the silly question a20w or 35w would be cooler wouldnt it im trying to run a system with out a therostate
> View attachment 203792


 
Yes smaller wattage globe = less heat.



Been using these for well over a decade.
240V 50W GU10








Jason.R said:


> I am too thats why i stated the distance. haha but like you said i have them in my enclosures with small clearings swell.
> 
> The 20w will be cooler but i would highly advise using a thermostat!
> Looks good to BTW.


 
According to the regs is the 200mm clearance just over the top of the fitting or all the way around?


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## xmickx (Jun 3, 2011)

very nice bredli Ramsayi..................8)

it was on all night and it stayed at 34 now ill try today with thermo and set it at 32 and im going to look for a red one today


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## melluvssnakes (Jun 5, 2011)

xmickx - If you want to do a no thermostat set up, then the temperatures you reached using the globe that you have are fine. 34 is a pretty good temp, just monitor it for a few days, see how much/if any variance there is in different parts of the day. If you get fairly stable temperatures, then you would be right to leave the thermostat off. But in saying that, everyone has different opinions about using/not using thermostats, but if you are smart about it you will find it is an easy way to set up an enclosure


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## xmickx (Jun 6, 2011)

thanks melluvssnakees for that im trying it out now for a couple of days without thermo.i dont have a problem with a thermo just trying to use this system with out one so i dont have a thermo failing


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## mattyg (Aug 18, 2011)

i went to bunnings saw downlights and baught a $11 downlight kit with cage and wires straight to 240v mains which was easy enough to put a cord on with a switch. pretty sweet deal seeing that it already has a cage around it that costs 30bucks at the pet shop.


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## Bez84 (Aug 18, 2011)

In all my enclosures i use gu10 240v 50w halogens (bout 5 bucks from bunnings)... these are pluged into a E7 to Gu10 adapter (less then $1.50 ebay)... which screws into my ceramic fitting then the halogens plug into the adapter...
Been testing these for about a month and very happy with the setups... gives a nice basking temp and bunnings also sells red gu10 halogens if you want night heat..
Plan to use the same adaptors to replace compact fluros with gu10 led lights..

Here is a link to the adaptors i use 
Light Lamp Bulbs Adapter Converter E27 to GU10 LED new | eBay


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## BurtonReptiles (Aug 18, 2011)

what the highest temps people have got out down lights?


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## saximus (Aug 18, 2011)

With the 50W ones you can easily get like 70° if your basking spot is sitting close enough. Most people get a nice 50° basking spot with the 35W ones


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## BurtonReptiles (Aug 18, 2011)

saximus said:


> With the 50W ones you can easily get like 70° if your basking spot is sitting close enough. Most people get a nice 50° basking spot with the 35W ones


do you have photo your set up?


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## saximus (Aug 18, 2011)

No photos of mine sorry but this thread is a pretty perfet example of how to use them effectively: http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/housing-small-goannas-158687/


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## BurtonReptiles (Aug 18, 2011)

thanks mate


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