What bulbs should I use in my teasmade?

What bulbs should I use in my teasmade? And how do I unscrew them?

What bulbs should I use in my teasmade?
Doug shows a bayonet cap pygmy bulb

Most teasmades are designed to use one, or occasionally two, bayonet cap 15w B22 pygmy light bulbs, like the one Doug is holding in the photo above.

Bulbs for vintage teasmades are the old incandescent type, also known as tungsten bulbs. Do check your teasmade instructions to make sure that you buy the right type.

What is a Pygmy Bulb?

This illustration shows a golf ball bulb and a pygmy bulb, so you can see the difference.

Golfball on the left, pygmy on the right

How do you unscrew the light bulbs?

A reader recently asked: "I have just bought a Teasmade 860 and the lightbulbs need to be replaced - I managed to get the lampshade off by following the manual, but I can't unscrew the bulbs. Can anyone help?"

Edison screw bulbs are so ubiquitous these days, that the younger generation rarely have any experience of any other type, so Doug wasn't surprised by this question. He replied:

"The bulbs in an 860/70 Teasmade are not Edison screw, but bayonet cap 15w pygmy bulbs. To remove them, push the bulb in to depress the sprung contacts and turn the bulb clockwise - it will come out easily. To replace do the reverse."

Here's a bayonet cap and a screw cap to illustrate the difference, bayonet cap on the left, screw cap on the right.

Bayonet cap on the left, screw cap on the right.

Coloured pygmy bulbs

If you fancy changing up the mood of your teasmade, you could try these coloured pygmy bulbs from Compton - and why not? They're commonly used for signs or Christmas lighting, and you can buy then in many different colours, including amber, blue, green, pink, red, white, yellow (not available when I looked), and clear. If you try them, I'd love to see what your teasmade looks like!

Can I use LED bulbs instead?

Yes, if you are not a purist about using clear tungsten Pygmy bulbs, it is possible to replace the lights with LEDs. LED bulbs are cooler and lower wattage, between 2 and 7 watts, and you may find that they're more readily available than incandescent bulbs.

That being said, it's not at all necessary to change to LED if you don't want to. There is very little danger of overheating because at 15w, the tungsten type bulbs would only be able to melt or scorch the lamp cover if you left your teasmade lights on for many hours. In fact, the Goblin 860/870 had a heat shield fitted to prevent this exact problem. If you find a heat damaged teasmade, the owner probably used the wrong power of bulb.

If you decide to change, make sure the bulb you choose is no larger than the existing bulb. The examples shown below are very close to the normal pygmy size and shape.

Pygmy LED bulbs

You may also find that the 7W B22 LED bulb like those below fit your teasmade. These are the type frequently sold for chandeliers and other domestic light fitments, and they emit light equivalent to a 60W filament bulb.

7W B22 LED bulbs

Good luck! And let us know if you have any further questions!

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