Removing frozen light bulbs?

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

I have several bases in which I cannot remove the 40w bulb. In some, it is stuck tight; in others, I can unscrew it about a quarter-turn before it stops and can only be tightened a quarter-turn again. These are in 32oz. bases, so there isn't much room to get in there and get a grip on them.

 

So how do I get them out? The ones that will turn slightly, I've twisted and untwisted countless times and they still won't come out! Every bulb I put in now, I lube the base with graphite from a pencil to make sure it won't freeze in there, but these are thrift-store finds and I really want to get 'em out so I can use 'em again!

 

Any suggestions? I've tried everything I can think of...which, admittedly, isn't much since there's so little wiggle room in there...!

[Keith]

It's hard for me to get bulb out that aren't stuck.  If my wife can't get them out, she puts tape on the bulb to get a better grip and that has worked so far.  You might also get a better grip by wearing thin latex gloves.

[fog rider]

Shame to those who break bulbs! Shame, shame, shame..... :)

Like Keith says, grab a household latex cleaning glove and stick put on your hand. The glove will stick to the cool bulb like magic. Often times I only need two fingers (pointer and middle fingers) to get out some nasty stuck bulbs.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Interesting! I'll try that, Fog!