Bathroom Heat Lamp Question for the Resident Electricians

Kornholio

Kornholio

:wave
I'm all good with DC but don't know shit about (nor want to really mess with) AC lighting.

Kelly and I have recently moved into a new home and I'm having trouble with the heat lamps in the bathrooms. The both bathrooms have Nutone 9422P-R01 dual bulb heat lamp fixtures installed in the ceiling but only the master bath had bulbs installed. I soon figured out why as even without the bulbs installed, the unit in the hall bathroom pops the GFI enabled outlet in that bathroom within 20 seconds. However, when I reset the GFI and turn the heater lamp back on again (again, no bulbs in this one), it continues to run without tripping the breaker again for at least a minute or so...which is how long I continued to stand there and wait.

Now the one in the master has both 250W bulbs installed and it turns on normally (cooling fan and all) but after a few minutes, it shuts itself off. A few more minutes pass and it turns itself back on. Am I to assume this is normal and based on the temperature of the unit and/or the bathroom itself? I don't recall ever experiencing a heat lamp setup that did something like this.

Any help is appreciated. :thumbup
 
Cycle61

Cycle61

What the shit is this...
The GFI thing could be due to a ground issue, or a simple overload. Most of the heat lamps made in the last (I dunno) 20 years have some kind of temperature sensor in them, the ones in my house will cycle the fan as necessary to keep the unit from overheating, but they don't shut themselves off.

Sounds like you may be looking at replacing the fixtures, TBH. Troubleshooting little stuff like that probably isn't going to be worth the cost.
 
Cycle61

Cycle61

What the shit is this...
Hang on, is it tripping the breaker at the panel, or the GFI outlet in the bathroom?
 
Kornholio

Kornholio

:wave
Ok...what about the other one turning itself off? Faulty too? Just seems weird to have two units bad like that.
 
Cycle61

Cycle61

What the shit is this...
Possibly overheating, or bad sensor. I have no idea if that brand is good or not, but new cheap things with nice features tend to be unreliable, and home electrical fixtures are no exception.

Isn't Nutone somebody's house brand?
 
Dubbington

Dubbington

Slamdunk Champion
Nutone is good stuff. Sounds like the home owner went over the top with their fixtures and didn't up the breakers in the bathrooms. One is tripping the breaker (gfi) and the other is getting close to tripping it.

Hest lamps usually have a timer, not a built in cycle on off function. Could also be wired wrong but sounds more of s load issue.

That one thst cycles on and off, plug a hair dryer in and turn it on while hest lamp is on. I bet it trips the breaker.
 
bikeama

bikeama

Super Moderator
Staff member
Yep sounds like load. You said it trips with in 20 seconds if GF it would be as soon as you turned in on. Need to find someone local to you with an amp probe to see how many amps you are drawing.
 
Kornholio

Kornholio

:wave
And could it be a load issue with the one in the master that power cycles? I would think that if overloading was the issue that it would also pop the GFI and turn off and stay off. But that isn't what is happening.

Also, the one in the hall bathroom pops the GFI but continues to run.
 
Mr. White

Mr. White

Well-known member
Kornholio said:
Lets say for argument sake that it is a load issue. What are my options?
Click to expand...

I think your only options would be to pull a new circuit to the panel or junction an existing circuit that doesn't get used a lot.

Kornholio said:
And could it be a load issue with the one in the master that power cycles? I would think that if overloading was the issue that it would also pop the GFI and turn off and stay off. But that isn't what is happening.

Also, the one in the hall bathroom pops the GFI but continues to run.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a load issue. If it was, I think it would pop the breaker at the panel. The GFI outlet doesn't use heat to pop like a breaker does. It "senses" a current loss to ground (ie: someones body). My guess is there is something funky going on with how the lamps are wired.
 
Kornholio

Kornholio

:wave
I'll bet they weren't wired correctly, too. Electricians are expensive, though. Any of learned electrical types want to come take a look? :teeth
 
planegray

planegray

Redwood Original
Staff member
one and done ;)
 

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afm199

afm199

Well-known member
Try putting a smaller lamp in the heat lamp socket. Maybe 50 watts and see what happens. If it is a an actual ground fault issue it will style cycle out. Sounds to me like it's a load issue, ten bucks says the GFI is 15 amp and the breaker is 20 amps.

oops just read what you wrote, dammit

The one that pops without bulbs in probably has a ground fault problem.

The other one sounds like it is getting too hot in the fixture and the thermal overload is tripping. That's not good. Here's a hint, $50 says that nutone fan unit is NOT listed for direct contact with insulation and yet is buried under it.

Nutone is ok properly installed.

Also get a GFI tester and plug it into the GFI and test the polarity, it may be wrongly wired.
 
Last edited:
Kornholio

Kornholio

:wave
afm199 said:
Try putting a smaller lamp in the heat lamp socket. Maybe 50 watts and see what happens. If it is a an actual ground fault issue it will style cycle out. Sounds to me like it's a load issue, ten bucks says the GFI is 15 amp and the breaker is 20 amps.

oops just read what you wrote, dammit

The one that pops without bulbs in probably has a ground fault problem.

The other one sounds like it is getting too hot in the fixture and the thermal overload is tripping. That's not good. Here's a hint, $50 says that nutone fan unit is NOT listed for direct contact with insulation and yet is buried under it.

Nutone is ok properly installed.

Also get a GFI tester and plug it into the GFI and test the polarity, it may be wrongly wired.
Click to expand...

Both units are IC and rated for 250W bulbs. The two that are in the master bath unit were already there when we moved in.

I'll pickup some 150W bulbs but I doubt they'll provide much heat as the 250W units don't do much anyway. Perhaps I should go with the red bulbs instead...

Thanks for the heads up on the tester. I'll pick one up from the hardware store tonight.
 
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