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-   -   Lamps for lamp limiters (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=154253)

Guest 21st Feb 2019 7:41 pm

Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Poundland are doing two "fireglow" 60W bayonet tungsten bulbs with the red coating for (wait for it...) a pound. I haven't got a lamp limiter but bought two anyway.

broadgage 26th Feb 2019 6:26 am

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Sensible IMHO.
The "ban" on many types of incandescent lamp has a number of loopholes, but ready availability is declining and it seems sensible to purchase such lamps whilst you easily can.

usradcoll1 27th Feb 2019 6:37 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell (Post 1122806)
Poundland are doing two "fireglow" 60W bayonet tungsten bulbs with the red coating for (wait for it...) a pound. I haven't got a lamp limiter but bought two anyway.

In the US, we have "Dollar Tree" stores, aptly named because I was taught "Dollars don't grow on trees".
I shop there at least once a week. They have incandescent lamps of all wattages, even 100watt lamps, naturally 120v ES base. For a while, they sold LED 9watt lamps, 4 for a buck. The 9 watt jobs aren't bright enough for task lighting.

crackle 4th Mar 2019 8:52 am

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
My local TLC is selling "traffic light" bulbs
60 watt https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LSGLS60BCCL.html

100 watt https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LSGLS100BCCL.html

Mike

emeritus 4th Mar 2019 11:28 am

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
I hadn't come across traffic light bulbs before, but I guess that what makes them particularly suitable for traffic lights is the compact filament arrangement. That would allow a highly directional beam to be produced when the filament cluster is accurately aligned at the focus of a parabolic reflector.

turretslug 4th Mar 2019 12:03 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Hmmm- are they really what one would find in yer common-or-garden traffic signals, or is this an importer applying "creative interpretation" to a legislation clause? All the same, it's a useful source for a niche minority application like ours that has genuine use for a filament ballast.

paulsherwin 4th Mar 2019 12:21 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by usradcoll1 (Post 1124471)
In the US, we have "Dollar Tree" stores, aptly named because I was taught "Dollars don't grow on trees".
I shop there at least once a week. They have incandescent lamps of all wattages, even 100watt lamps, naturally 120v ES base. For a while, they sold LED 9watt lamps, 4 for a buck. The 9 watt jobs aren't bright enough for task lighting.

Standard GLS incandescent lamps have been prohibited from sale in the EU for several years now, so can't be sold in this way. There are a few loopholes in the legislation, but even halogen lamps are becoming difficult to find now. I guess the position in the US will vary by state unless federal restrictions are enacted.

Refugee 4th Mar 2019 2:09 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
There are quite a lot of traffic light poles in service that have old lamps in them.
The lamps for them will have to remain on sale for some time.
New poles are all LED now as are the portable ones.

winston_1 4th Mar 2019 9:54 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Traffic signal bulbs used to be 260v, 65w ES. So when used on normal 240v they would be under run and last a long time. (I rarely saw one not working).

I actually found one once in some long grass round a traffic light pole after I had stopped my bike for a red light. I liberated it and took it home where it lasted years and years in my hall. It must have been a vacuum light as the glass gradually blackened with use.

broadgage 5th Mar 2019 12:35 am

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Traditionally, "traffic signal lamps" were an improved quality lamp but otherwise very similar to a regular GLS type. Often longer lasting and sometimes in odd wattages, 65 watts was very common.

Usually designed to reliably last 12 months of normal traffic signal use, remembering that they are not lit continually and are also dimmed at night which extends the life.
Long before low energy lamps became available, I used traffic signal lamps at home.
They were also used in other applications where long lamp life was paramount, aircraft warning lamps atop tall structures, navigation beacons, and the like.
They were appreciably more expensive than household GLS lamps.

These days "traffic signal bulb" is usually an inventive way to sell lamps that would otherwise be restricted.

Paul Stenning 5th Mar 2019 10:01 am

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
For the amount of use a lamp limiter will get, and with the lamp always under-run (unless there is a serious fault in the set), it is likely that the lamp will last for many years, probably decades. If it is in an enclosed fitting it shouldn't get broken either. One in use and a couple of spares would probably do us for life! So no need to stock up with loads of them.

Another area where filament lamps are still used is oven lights, because LEDs cannot withstand the heat. I think they are 15W, in which case 4 in parallel should work. Maybe even switch bulbs in or out depending on the power rating of the set being tested? I haven't tried these though.

Farzooks 20th Mar 2019 9:43 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
As far as I know, Rough Service Bulbs are exempt from the banning, at least for a while. I still had a couple knocking around from my time out on the road banging around in lofts, and they lasted a very long time indeed, where a normal bulb would stop working after a fairly routine bang or thump. Available in 60 and 100W usually, but tended to be under-run as well as being more robust in construction.
They were about twice or three times the price of normal bulbs back then, and if you happen upon any old stock, snap it up. Electrical wholesalers might still have some in the back room, on a dusty shelf. Most service and field maintenance guys have been using LED mains or battery lights for some time now.

Cobaltblue 20th Mar 2019 10:33 pm

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
Traffic light bulbs were ES as Winston has already posted but I doubt there are any of these left in service now they were thin on the ground in the late 1970s. These were fitted to what we called tin lanterns that date back to before the war.
The Mellor signal head introduced in around 1969 used a 12v 50W capsule halogen bulb.

In the case of tin and Mellor the lens dictated the colour the bulbs give white light.

Of course most signals have moved to LED

The move to LED started around 20 years ago but virtually all new installations have been LED for more than 10 years.

Cheers

Mike T

emeritus 21st Mar 2019 2:28 am

Re: Lamps for lamp limiters
 
My local electrical shop ran out of proper rough service bulbs over a year ago, and the guy said he can't get them any more. Fortunately I have several proper spares, as opposed to the candle "rough service" bulbs I saw on a street market stall recently. The only proper GLS bulbs in my local Robert Dyas last week were some SES reflector bulbs packed as Lava Lamp bulbs, not suitable for general illumination, 25W.


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