I think it's a common problem of electrical insulating tapes when exposed to heat. The collected water and increased weight can only speed up the process.
OK here's a question...why is it so common to see the Doors taped with Electrical tape?....i know any tape is NOT a proper repair but there's certainly other forms of tape that are MUCH stronger than Electrical tape?
Well what kind of tape do you think a lineman for the electric company is going to have onboard? Electrical tape maybe? Electrical tape works fine if used on a light with a plastic lens and not such a high wattage lamp. Though the latch on this appears fine, so I don't understand why they didn't just latch it.
I've zip tied the latch on these at work when the latch fails. It seems to work pretty good. Problem with the electrical tape is when it gets hot, it stretches real bad.
I have a brand new M250R2 and the latch was very loose right out of the box. It doesn't really even click in. It just barely hangs on. There's no damage to the fixture or latch I can see. Maybe just a minor manufacturing defect. Maybe the latch is just a little too long. That's the only thing I can think of.
Hmm strange. Yeah I've heard the newer M-250R2s don't latch as well. My 1985 M-250R2 latches very stiffly. When you latch it, it smacks the housing and makes a loud "CLAP" sound. Same for the M-400A2. My M-250R1 from 1974 latches pretty snug (nothing like the M-250R2 I have though!) and the 1981 M-250CF is a little loose but still latches snugly. The M-250A2 FCO latched loosely when I got it but after I took it apart, cleaned it, and put it back together it latches strongly like the M-250R2 does (though not quite as strong). I think the best cobrahead latches made were the 1996-1969 GE M-400/M-250R latch and the latch used on the M-400A and M-250A. You very rarely see those doors missing. The Westinghouse latches are pretty good though I've seen Coopers loose doors here. Maybe the Cooper versions don't seat as well as the Westinghouse ones? I don't have any personal experience with ITT/T&B/AEL latches but they seem pretty good. I've only seen a few model 113s here with missing doors. I'm surprised too, since those latches look so small!
I think AEL had a bad batch of 115's ship out. Almost all recently installed 115's here have missing latches. I think when the linemen open the door to replace the lamp, the latch breaks off. So there are a lot of new 115's here that are taped closed.
Yeah I heard they started making the latches thinner than they used to. The latches look so small and flimsy but it's the same latch American Electric has used since they first started making cobraheads. GE has changed their latches the most. Westinghouse had changed their latches a few times in the early 60s until settling for the "bucktooth" latch that Cooper currently uses (Cooper has tweaked it a little over the years though).
Did AEL change the latches again recently? I know they changed them like 15 years ago, making them thinner on the sides.
At least their taping them shut though. Better that than trash the whole fixture. LCEC used to do that. I'd call in lights because they were dayburning, cycling, or out. And they'd replace the whole fixture . Now they relamp, and tape up damaged fixtures more often than replace them.
Not sure. I don't own any American Electric fixtures nor have they installed any new ones here since the early 90s. NGrid is hit-or-miss. Sometimes they repair, other times they replace.
Tape is a lazy jury rig repair and I can't stand it. First off it's a liability. Eventually the tape is going to fail and chances are the door is going to fall. Hopefully not hurt anyone in the process. Just do the job right and if ya don't have the right part to fix the light then just replace it.
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At least their taping them shut though. Better that than trash the whole fixture. LCEC used to do that. I'd call in lights because they were dayburning, cycling, or out. And they'd replace the whole fixture