How to Make a Light Bulb Easier to Remove from the Socket

Do you have an old light fixture that grips the light bulb in a way that makes it difficult to remove? If too much stress is applied while trying to remove the bulb, it will often cause the bulb to shatter. This article teaches a simple way to make light bulbs easier to remove.

When installing or removing a light bulb into an overhead light fixture, it is wise to wear protection for your eyes. Position the light switch for the light fixture to the OFF position. Carefully remove the installed light bulb from the light socket. If the bulb shatters, you will need to remove the metal base from the socket before proceeding.

Find a new light bulb which has never been installed. Rub the threads of the metal base of the new light bulb with the bar of soap. Be careful not to cover the bottom tip of the metal base with soap because it needs to make solid contact with the metal piece inside the base of the light socket. Carefully install the new light bulb into the socket. The next time the bulb must be replaced, it should be noticeably easier to remove from the socket. Position the switch for the light fixture back into the ON position to test the new light bulb. If the room is illuminated, you have completed your task.

Tips & Warnings

• Collect extra bars of soap each time you stay in a hotel. Use this soap to coat the metal threads of the light bulb instead of the soap that you bathe with.
• Always use caution when handling electrical devices!
• Wear eye protection to change the bulbs in overhead light fixtures.

Detecting Visitors in a Driveway Using Infrared Photoelectric Sensors

Sometimes you just need an extra minute to prepare for a guest’s arrival.  When the doorbell rings, it’s often too late.  Why not install an infrared photoelectric system that will alert you to the presence of a guest before they ever make it to your door?

Infrared photoelectric sensors may be used to detect objects in a number of ways.  Mounting the sender and the receiver across from each other is known as a through-beam configuration and provides the strongest beam.  Retro-reflective mounting places the sender and the receiver on the same side and bounces the infrared beam off an object when it is in close enough proximity.  Diffuse proximity mounting uses the same layout as retro reflective, but also uses a reflector on the side opposite the photo eyes.  Any of these three configurations may be used to set up a driveway monitoring system depending on what type of structures are adjacent to the driveway.

Evaluate the best location to mount the sensors.  This may be a mailbox, a fence post, a brick building, a bridge, or whatever standing structure happens to be within range of the driveway.  If you mount the photoelectric sensors in a through-beam configuration they do not need to be very close to the driveway, whereas the other two options will need to be much closer, depending on the type of photoelectric sensors used, like ten to fifteen feet.

Trace a route back to your home for burying the sensor wires, but don’t put the wires in the ground yet.  Instead, extend the wires back to the house above-the-ground and connect the photo eyes to the appropriate power source or to an external amplifier if the photoelectric system includes one.  Connect the output of the sensors to a buzzer or bell with a noise that is distinctly different from the sound that your doorbell or telephone makes so that you can easily distinguish them.  Many photoelectric amplifiers include a relay output, so connecting them to a buzzer should be as easy as connecting a mechanical switch.  See the manufacturer’s website for wiring diagrams.

Test the system using different types of cars and trucks and also people.  Adjust the sensitivity of the photoelectric system to the optimum level and mount the photo eyes at the right height from the ground to hit the midsection of most vehicles.  When everything is set correctly, bury the conduit containing the wires and do your best to conceal the photo eyes from view.  This system will provide a reliable means for detecting guests before they are standing on your doorstep and could also be interfaced with a security camera or lights.  The opportunities are unlimited.