Lighting – use a 3-way light bulb in the 60 watt lamp

lighting

How does this work? Is there a way to only use 50 watts?

Some Google results were telling me that if you put a 3 way light bulb in a regular lamp, it will default to middle option, or 100 watts in my case.

If so, what are the dangers of putting this bulb into my lamp? I understand that it is more brighter than normal and also more hotter, but what are the actual chances it will catch on fire?

Best Answer

If your fixture is only rated for 60 watt bulbs, then as you seem to understand already, anything else could overheat and cause a fire.

The manufacture of the lamp rated it for 60 watts for a reason - material types, distance of bulb, etc. Usually there is a safety margin built in, so is your lamp going to combust the second you put a 100 watt bulb in it? Probably not, but why risk it? The only safe thing anyone should recommend is to follow the manufactures directions.