Duetto 1998 Labcraft fluorescent light

Having searched the forum , it would appear that no one else has had any trouble removing the lens in order to replace a tube or modify to a  LED arrangement.
I therefore assume that I must be very stupid ,  can someone please advise on how to do it?
I am reluctant to follow my desire to use  the end slots to lever off with a screwdriver , without confirmation.
Thanks
Art.

Art,

Here's a brave (or stupid - take your pick) man to help (or hinder) your project.

The problem is "Get it right." and smiles all round OR "Get it wrong and it's all that    's off the Forum's fault."

Not to worry.  First of all, is this the type of light we are talking about?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

If it is then zoom in and look at the sides where you will see a narrow groove.  On the left-hand side you can see the hole where the screw that fixes the light to the roof goes.

Okay?  Good.  Now look at the very centre of the cover.  You will see that there is something on the inside of the lens.  (Counting from the left it is opposite LED number six.)

Still with me?

Right, what you can see on the centre of the cover is one of four of the small bits of plastic that hold the cover in place.  They are in pairs.  One pair sit at the two ends and slot underneath where the grooves are and the other pair is what you are looking at with its mate on the other side.

Now comes the tricky part.       

To remove the cover all you have to do is to VERY GENTLY prise the cover away from the plastic bit that is screwed to the ceiling.  Personally, I normally use a medium sized flat screwdriver and prise the cover off from the "non-switch" end with a light "twisting" action and I haven't broken or cracked a cover yet!

Best of luck and let me know how you get on.     

Best regards,
 

PS

If you crack the cover I actually live in Reykjavik so there's no use threatening or suing me!!    

It is indeed a bit tricky and it does feel like something is going to break. I'm a bit more risk-averse than Dutto, so I always make up a "special tool" from a paperclip. If you bend one "leg" of the paperclip through 90 degrees so it sticks out sideways, and then use a pair of pliers to turn the last 2mm of the end of that "leg" through 90 degrees, you have a little device that you can use to pull each end of the lens outward to clear the plastic lugs.

If you find that you break any parts in the process, feel free to get in touch as I've got quite a lot of labcraft fluorescent lamp spare parts...

-mojo- wrote:……...

If you find that you break any parts in the process, feel free to get in touch as I've got quite a lot of labcraft fluorescent lamp spare parts...

…………. er I don't 'cos I'm still using the originals!!           

  
Ian

Didn't know that Reykyavik was a suburb of Skegness - or is that the UK house name? Can't be many petals around with all these gales!

inspiredron wrote:Didn't know that Reykyavik was a suburb of Skegness - or is that the UK house name? Can't be many petals around with all these gales!

Hey,

You are posting to a man whose ex-wife once got so upset because he couldn't give any attention to what he wanted for his dinner (too busy working in the "home-office") that whilst out shopping in Aberdeen she spontaneously decided to visit her brother in Boston.

Armed only with a Credit Card and a shopping bag she set off and told me where she was three days later; it having taken that long to get from Aberdeen to Boston Massachusetts via a number of shops where clothes and travel accessories could be purchased.

Fair do's she didn't have a GPS!!      but I can assure you that Reykjavik is north east of Boston!     

Best regards,
 

Thanks all for your help , Mojo's suggestion is ingenious.

art wrote:Having searched the forum , it would appear that no one else has had any trouble removing the lens in order to replace a tube or modify to a  LED arrangement.
I therefore assume that I must be very stupid ,  can someone please advise on how to do it?
I am reluctant to follow my desire to use  the end slots to lever off with a screwdriver , without confirmation.
Thanks
Art.

I had the same issue.  I drilled a small hole, about 2mm diameter, near the "catch", through the lens.  I then screwed a self tapping screw into this hole, and used pliers to pull it out a bit, releasing the catch, allowing lens to be lowered.  It worked a treat.