Sweating rubber grometts

[chloebear]

Hi All,

just been to a site with overheating issues - cables showing signs of overheating, shower isolators burning out etc.
I have also noticed some of the 20mm rubber entry grommets in the base of ceiling mounted lights sweating - any one come across this before??? there are actually small droplets of water on the surface of the rubber!!

 

[Darkwood]

Is there any tar in the building material around the cables?

 

[davesparks]

I have come across water droplets in various light fittings before, leaky outside lights, condensation in bathroom lights, water coming in from the after effects of plumbers operating in the void above.

 

[Marvo]

......plumbers operating in the void above.

If there's water still coming out when you turn the taps on and if Chloebear didn't have any tools go mysteriously missing we can probably rule out that as a possibility.

 

[Knobhead]

Sweating rubber grometts?

Here was me thinking this could be interesting.

 

[davesparks]

I can't imagine how you would go about sweating a rubber grommet?
Sweating a lug onto a cable I can do, and can usually turn my hand to any other metal joining process but rubber?

 

[Knobhead]

I can turn my hand to anything. Especially if rubbers involved.

 

[Andy78]

I was up and down ladders at light fittings all day and ended up with a sweaty grommet. Not sure if this helps or not.

 

[Darkwood]

I can turn my hand to anything. Especially if rubbers involved.

Gimp masks!....:19:

 

[Knobhead]

You can only guess.

Use your imagination times it by ten and you’ll still be miles off target.

 

[chloebear]

Is there any tar in the building material around the cables?

Installation was done about 4 years ago, internal corridor with plasterboard ceiling. lamps look to be getting very hot as discolouration of the ballasts etc.

3x light fittings have had issues - 1x cables burnt out at connections 2x failed ballasts (over heated)

bit of a strange one as all cabling is testing out Ok.

 

[Richard Burns]

Are there any hygroscopic materials or any acids used in the location as these can either get stick to things and then absorb enough water to be water droplets or the acid vapour can condense readily as they start reacting with the rubber.
since you have other problems with junctions there may be a corrosive atmosphere.

Other wise it may be there is a hot ceiling (from heating or hot water pipes) and the corridors are cold so the water condenses out as it enters the cold corridor but this would be fairly extreme differentials.

 

[Darkwood]

Installation was done about 4 years ago, internal corridor with plasterboard ceiling. lamps look to be getting very hot as discolouration of the ballasts etc.

3x light fittings have had issues - 1x cables burnt out at connections 2x failed ballasts (over heated)

bit of a strange one as all cabling is testing out Ok.

Bargain bucket fittings ... cheap crap not fit for purpose.