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6' recessed can lights where bulb is actually recessed

15 years ago

We moved to TX from CA last year. We had our CA house for 12 years, it was new when we got it, and these were our first recessed can lights. They were great. 6" in dia, very simple, and the light was way up there in the "hole" so that all you basically got was a flood of light, no glare.

The brand new house in TX (and many others as far as I can see from exeprience) has recessed lights that are NOT. Also 6" diameter, the entire curvature of the bulb extends below the ceiling surface so you're actually looking at a light bulb.

Two electricians have brought over replacements that are a tiny bit better but you can still see the bulb a couple inches up in the hole. I phoned the electrician in CA who had added a couple of the can lights, and he was of no help, told me to go to Home Depot. I did, no success there.

Furthermore, the ones here have the problem us not being able to get the lightbulb out when it burns out... it breaks off at the stem. I'm guessing because heat is gettting trapped up there because teh bulb part is sticking out into the room. (Yes, we have tried smaller lights in there but they still aren't high enough into the can, and you can see up past them into the unfinished recesses of the can.

There is plenty of room up there for a tall can. Does anybody know the name of what I'm looking for so I can go buy some and have them installed? The lightbulb in our CA fixtures was just a standard large frosted incandescent flood light.

Thank you. We're in Dallas.

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Comments (9)

dim4fun
15 years ago
You need to know the brand and model of your recessed housings to be able to browse a catalog and choose the trims and lamps that can improve the lamp concealment.

New homes like your new one are often being built with inexpensive IC rated housings & trims. These have a stop on the socket assembly which keeps the lamp from being raised up higher in an attempt to control heat since the housings can be covered in insulation. Your 12 year old CA home probably had non IC rated housings which lacked the stop. There are more expensive housings and trims which fix this and there are some airtight trims which also can improve on this hopefully with the housings you have.

If you want more detailed info then you'll need to provide more information.
bigdoglover
Original Author
15 years ago
Dim4, you hit it on the head, they are very cheap and the light can only be raised up inside a tiny bit. Will try on Monday to get the brand/model # from the electricians that put them in.

But I'm not sure if new trim and bulb will fix the problem... the electricians that put them in brought out their best shot at that, -- the light is up in the ceiling but still very low so that you can see the bulb and you get bulb glare instead of light flood (as in CA). Can't we just scrap what's up there and start with an entirely new fixture?

Thanks for your thoughts on this.
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texasredhead
15 years ago
If you remove the flood, you will see a wing nut inside the can which allows the socket depth to be adjusted. You can push the socket depth as high as it will go and retighten the wing nut. Simply replace the lamp. this is not brain surgery and it does not require new fixtures.
bigdoglover
Original Author
15 years ago
Tex, thank you, the electrician already did that and it didn't make much difference.
texasredhead
15 years ago
Is this a two story house?
bigdoglover
Original Author
15 years ago
Tex, yes it is, and of course the lights are on the first floor. The house is built by Plantation and is about a year and a half old, if that helps.
texasredhead
15 years ago
You mention that you can still see the lamp a couple of inches up in the hole. What do you expect? Before the lamps were protruding below the trim. Also, you may have shallow cans that are often used between flores.
bigdoglover
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi again Tex. Well, I expect to buy a new fixture that will allow the light to be up much higher in the hole, of course. I guess I didn't make it clear enough in my post that I was asking if anyone knew the brand and type of 6" recessed light that would do this.

Thanks for your input.
mightyanvil
15 years ago
What kind of lamp is allowed in the fixture? What lamp are you using? If you are using R lamps, try a frosted PAR 30.

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