Update: Home explosion: The bulb in our Lightolier sconce blew up!

It got brighter. Then the bulb exploded. Supernova chez Kearns.

P.S. That pink/orange vase thing on the buffet under the ruler is so pretty it almost makes me weep.

Update: I called Lightolier for dimensions of the cover (see below). Their tech guy said the part was available because it had been manufactured for a long time in the US. This is rare these days. He told me the part number which I gave to Mark at Masterpiece Lighting. It's on order. Thanks to Lightolioer, Masterpiece and Mark.

Our Lightolier Quartersphere Sconce with a 250W Halogen has been in near constant service since 1989. It lights the wall and ceiling in our big room. The bulbs are expensive but last a long time. (Note to Brooke at Velvet and Lenin: if you are here, this is the Grill.)


So last evening it got brighter. That's good for our aging eyes but it 's a sign of burning out. We were out of the room. There was a pop and the sound of tinkling glass.


It made a mess but nobody was hurt...


... we were protected by the "top cover glass." It shattered too but kept most the debris up in the sconce.


The top cover glass might be tempered like automobile windshields. The few pieces that ended up in the room weren't sharp.

The top cover glass did its job. The Halogen bulb is under pressure. The top plate is required for safety. Turns out the glass also protects the bulb, keeps debris from falling on it.

I don't blame the bulb. It was working hard at very high temperatures.


So I measured it, hoping I could replace the top cover glass. Then I headed to Masterpiece Lighting on 14th street. I didn't have much hope for getting out cheap. They don't sell the part. A new Quartersphere retails for $517.

Then there is the mess I would make on the wall: the caulking, the spackling, the painting, the all-around crying, whining and injuries I'd suffer in the process.

Of course there is the condensation and mocking by my children. I'd deserve it. Craftsmen tear their hair when men like me do inside work.

The Masterpiece guy said I could go cheaper with the Progress Lighting Contemporary Wall Sconce - PG-P7109-30. I went home to sulk.

The cheaper sconce was not wife approved.

So I'm going to find someone to cut the right kind of glass to rebuild the top cover.

Wish me luck.

Thanks,
Terry

P.S. I've still got 2 events from last Friday to tell you about.
Hense and Blue Husky at Castleberry Hill:


And "Your Head is Full of Stars"