New LED Down Lights

New LED Down Lights

by | Jan 15, 2016 | Common Repairs, Keep Your Family Safe, Reduce Your Power Bill

Getting Cheaper And Better All The Time

 

  • Cheaper To Run
  • Cheaper To Maintain
  • Safer To Operate
  • Easy To Install

LED down lights have greatly improved over the last year or so.  There are many new brands on the market and prices have dropped by around 50%.

The new lights on offer are more compact, with the LED drivers built in to the light fitting instead of having a separate driver that plugs into the light.  This makes them easier to install, especially in confined spaces.

Some new LED downlights can even be completely covered by insulation without causing overheating problems.

Overheating is a big safety issue with the old style down lights.  The dichroic lamps burn at up to 300 degrees and there are restrictions on clearances to timber and flammable materials.

The safety regulations were often ignored and a large number of homes have been damaged by fire as a result.

Click Here to read our in-depth article on The Dangers Of Old Style Down Lights

LED down lights solve all the safety problems caused by old downlights as they run very cool in comparison.

LED down lights are also much cheaper to run and have much lower maintenance costs as well.

The quality of light output has improved dramatically, with fittings available from 8 watts to 15 watts, with a choice of warm white, neutral or cool white output, so it’s easy to find a suitable down light for your situation.

Many fittings are dimmable too, which gives you even more options.  The only proviso is you must match the correct dimmer to your light fitting to ensure the best result and avoid flickering or a limited dimming range.

 

There is also a choice in style and colour of the fittings themselves.  LED downlights are available in either white, brushed chrome or brass finish.  The diffuser on the front face can be slightly recessed or flush with the trim ring

LED down lights are available in sizes that will directly replace the common sizes of old style downlights so swapping over to new fittings is usually a straight forward job.

Switching to LED lights will save you at least 80% on running costs.  Depending on the amount you use the lights, the pay back time could be less than a year.  The more you use the lights, the more money you will save.

 

Replace your old unsafe down lights with new LEDs.  Save money and reduce the risk of fire in your home.  Phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.

Does Your Stove Have An Anti Tilt Bracket?

Does Your Stove Have An Anti Tilt Bracket?

by | Jan 12, 2016 | Common Repairs, Dodgy Installations, Keep Your Family Safe

Anti Tilt Brackets Are Required To Be Fitted To All New Freestanding Stoves

A modern stove without an anti tilt bracket can easily tip forward, causing serious injury – usually to young children.

The most common type of injury happens when the young child pulls down the oven door and stands on the door as a step to get higher up.  The stove tilts forward, spilling boiling liquid onto the child, often causing horrendous injuries.

In order to prevent these injuries, all new stoves are supplied with an anti tilt bracket.  These metal brackets are usually designed to be screwed to the floor.  When the stove is pushed back against the wall the bracket locks onto the stove feet or a into slot in the back of the stove.

When the anti tilt bracket is correctly installed and the stove is pushed back against the wall, the bracket prevents the stove from tipping forward.  To comply with Australian Standards an anti tilt bracket should be able to withstand up to 50kg of weight applied to the door.

New stoves are much lighter compared to the old stoves they replace and most of the weight is at the top.   This means it is usually easier to tip over a new stove than an old one.

Currently, there is no requirement to fit an anti tilt bracket to an existing stove if it doesn’t have one.  But if you remove your old stove and install a new one you must fit the anti tilt device supplied by the manufacturer and according to the manufacturers instructions.

Some cheaper stoves have chains designed to be fixed to the wall behind the stove.  The chain system will only be effective if the chain is kept quite short and the end of the chain is fixed to a wall stud, not just screwed into the plaster.  The floor mounted anti tilt brackets are usually a better solution.

We have carried out repairs on plenty of fairly new stoves that have been installed without an anti tilt bracket.   Some installers are ignoring the regulations and installing new stoves without the brackets that prevent the stove tipping forward.

It is quicker and easier to toss the anti tilt bracket out with the stove packaging and pretend there is no such thing. However, any installer who does this is ignoring the manufacturers installation instructions and the Australian Standards and placing children’s lives at risk in order to save a few dollars.

When you get a new freestanding stove make sure your installer fits the correct anti tilt bracket to prevent the stove tipping, including the pin that prevents the stove sliding forward away from the anti tilt bracket.

When you book your job, make sure the installer you choose will remove your old stove and dispose of it free of charge!

And once your anti tilt bracket is securely fixed in place make sure you don’t leave pot handles hanging over the front of the stove where young children could reach up and grab them.

For Stove Change Overs In Launceston And Surrounding Areas Phone Mance Electrical on 63331 4711

Cold Tassie Winter Leads To Flooded Ceilings

Cold Tassie Winter Leads To Flooded Ceilings

by | Oct 12, 2015 | Common Repairs

Frozen Pipes Cause Big Trouble For Home Owners

The cold winter of 2015 has seen a larger than usual number of homes flooded by frozen water pipes.

With temperatures falling well below zero, water pipes in some ceilings have frozen, causing joints to crack due to expansion of ice in the pipes.  When the ice melts the water flows again – into the ceiling space.

It’s just like running a hose into your ceiling and turning the tap on.  And then going away for the weekend.

A large proportion of the affected homes have been vacant.  Perhaps the heating has been turned off while the occupants are away for the weekend.  Maybe the water is more likely to freeze if the taps haven’t been used for a few days.

The fact that no-one is at home when the pipe breaks means that the water can be running for days before it is discovered.

In these cases, the damage can be quite extensive.  Ruined plaster and insulation and damaged light fittings, carpet, kitchen appliances, cupboards and furniture and more.

Imagine coming home from your weekend away to find the bedroom ceiling collapsed and a pile of sodden plaster and insulation soaking on top of your bed.

 

 

So How Can You Avoid This Disaster?

The best way to avoid a problem is to fit insulation to the bare copper pipes in your ceiling space.  The insulation is available as a foam tube that can be cut and slipped over existing pipes.  It’s quite cheap and readily available at plumbing supply stores.

Most burst pipes seem to occur when the house in unoccupied so if you are only going to be away for a couple of days consider leaving some heating on, rather than turning everything off.  Set your thermostat or timers to run you heater or heat pump just enough to keep the ceiling space above freezing.

If you are going away for the winter and the house will be empty, consider turning off the water at the mains, so that if a pipe were to burst, there will be very little water damage as a result.

If the worst does happen, turn off the water mains, turn off the power at your main switch and phone your insurance company.  They will organise the appropriate trades to attend and begin the process of repairs as required.

For emergency response to flooded ceilings in Launceston and surrounding areas phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.

Dumbest Place To Install A Light Fitting

Dumbest Place To Install A Light Fitting

by | Aug 18, 2015 | Common Repairs, Dodgy Installations, Save Money

Poor Design Leads To Big Repair Bills

The photograph above shows a pretty dubious set up for installing a light fitting in the ceiling at the top of a stairwell. While the initial installation is risky, how on earth is anyone supposed to repair that light in years to come?

After these clowns have finished, a builder will fit a handrail around the walkway and there will be no easy way to get to that light even to do something as simple as replace a blown globe. (more…)

Big Repair Costs For Imported Ovens

Big Repair Costs For Imported Ovens

by | Aug 4, 2015 | Common Repairs, Dodgy Installations, Save Money

Big, fancy, imported, stainless steel ovens look great but you may be in for a nasty shock if something goes wrong.

The kitchen magazines and TV renovation shows are full of sleek, modern and often imported ovens that look great in a designer kitchen.  They are often exotic European brands with a luxury look and feel, and a luxury price tag to match.

Problems can arise when spare parts are required.  If the parts are available they could be many times the cost of a similar part for an Australian made oven.

For example, we recently priced a door seal for an imported oven.  An equivalent door seal for an Austrlian oven would cost around $30.  The complete door seal for the imported oven was almost $200.

Even worse, if parts are not available it may not be possible to repair the oven at all.

The more luxurious ovens can have specialist parts such as multi-function switches or digital controllers that are specific to that particular brand or model.  If one of these parts breaks down you need to get the exact replacement part to repair the oven.

There is no way to substitute a switch or controller from another manufacturer.

We have seen clients forced to throw away an otherwise perfectly good and quite expensive oven because there was no replacement multi-function switch available for their Italian made oven.

The well known imported brands should have a good range of spare parts available – for a price.

The situation where most people run into trouble is with the lesser known imported brands.  An importer has brought a couple of containers of ovens into the country and sold them off to home builders and renovators.

After a couple of years the small stock of spares has been used and the brand and model of oven is no longer being imported.  The distributor is now pushing a different brand and isn’t much help to those people who bought their earlier product.

If you’re building a new home or updating your kitchen you should check out the local brands such as Chef and Westinghouse.  You may be surprised to find that they do make a range of modern ovens that look as good as the imported ovens, without the high price tag.  And spare parts will be available in the future at a reasonable price.

For advice, repairs and spare parts for all makes and models of oven, please phone your Launceston electrician, Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.

Loose Electrical Connections Are A Fire Hazard

Loose Electrical Connections Are A Fire Hazard

by | Jul 27, 2015 | Common Repairs, Dodgy Installations, Keep Your Family Safe

Loose Electrical Connections Get Hot, And This Could Be The Result.

Electrical connections can become loose for a variety of reasons.   A tightly made connection can become loose over time due to the tiny expansion and contraction that occurs as the cable warms up during use and cools down when not energised.  Perhaps the last tradesman to work on the installation didn’t do them up tight enough, or maybe the connecting parts have worn out and don’t make good contact anymore.

Occasionally we find connections that have never been tightened up at all.  The wire has been pushed into the terminal and the screw never tightened.   This can happen even in new homes and installations.  It’s a sign that the tradesman didn’t do a final check by pulling on each wire to make sure it’s solidly connected.

Sometime the connectors or terminals are faulty so even though the screw is done up tight it’s not actually clamping the cable enough.  Once again, a simple check by tugging on the wire will alert the tradesman to that type of fault.

Every electrical connection has the potential to get hot.  With increased heat comes increased electrical resistance, which in turns causes things to get even hotter.   Depending on the location of the connection this heat could potentially start a fire.

Common Locations

Common locations for loose electrical connections include switchboard connections of fuses and circuit breakers, connections to stove elements and hotplates and connections to power points.

The more load being drawn through the loose connection the more likely it is to fail.  For example a loose connection to a power point is more likely to be a problem if a heater is plugged in to the heater as compared to a phone charger or some other low wattage device.

Signs To Watch For

Signs that could indicate a loose electrical connection include flickering lights, intermittent power fluctuations, buzzing noises and burning smells.  If you do find any of these problems you should have an electrician check it out as soon as possible.

For fast attention to any signs of loose electrical connections,

phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711

Mance Electrical is your Launceston electrician offering same day service for urgent electrical repairs.

 

 

 

Call Now Button