Can lights anyone?

[kiwiaudionut]

I built my bulkheads and installed some nifty little 3" halogen can lights hooked up to an X10 dimmer that my remote can control. Works and looks fantastic. Wrapped my hands around the can after a few hours and realized they were not getting very hot at all. Great, I can fully insulate the bulkhead now as I was told I needed to do - Wrong - they overheat and the thermal protection comes on !
Stuck a temp guage in there by the light -130deg !!
Stupid me, I should have used airtight IC cans and I tried to go cheap !

A buddy told me he heard of someone that made square hats out of 1" silverback board, put them over the light cans and insulated over those.

What do you think of this idea ?

 

[kiwiaudionut]

Ok - stupid idea ! I'm changing them out. I'll use my cute little halogens somewhere else !
For anyone considering can lights that are air tight and can be fully surrounded by installation here is what I went with.
https://www.etoplighting.com/RecessedLights/4RecessedLights/4ICHousing/TPT4NIC-4B/
These guys offer bulk discounts also if you need a house full.
This 6 light pack was $78 shipped. (over $200 purchased separately @ my local Lowes store.)
4" seems to be the smallest size available in this ICAT design. IC-Insulation capable, AT-Air tight.
The above store offers only the black or white baffle trim when bulk purchasing, but if that is not what you want, there are a lot of other trim designs out there that will fit.

Hope this helps someone considering can lights.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I expect that from an aesthetic perspective, you’ll like these better than the little halogens. Those things have the bulb right at the surface, and I find the glare they produce to be really irritating. The nice thing about regular recessed lights is that the bulb filament is placed up high in the can, so you get nice lighting with much less glare.

The link doesn’t say, but I’m guessing they take the small Par 20 bulbs? Cans for the large Par 40 would be even better. The 40s and 20s have the filament the same distance from the socket, but the larger Par 40 bulbs require taller cans. This means the bulb filament is considerably higher in the ceiling than with Par 20 bulbs, making for even softer, more pleasing lighting.

BTW, don’t go with those Par 40 fluorescent bulbs. Sure, they save energy, but they have the light element down low in the bulb, which means they glare about as bad as those little halogens. If you want fluorescent bulbs, you’d be just as well off to go with a surface-mounted fixture, which can be had cheaper than recessed cans.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[kiwiaudionut]

correct Wayne, they do take the smaller par20 bulb. The bulb does recess inside the can by 2-3" though and I agree that it is a more diffuse light. I hadn't thought about it, but you are also correct that the former halogens were flush and would indeed glare off my screen even when dimmed.