Quote:
Originally Posted by The Philpott
As mentioned the click test for ascertaining whether there is still a vacuum, is a risky strategy and not recommended because of the risk of a slug of Hg cracking the glass. If however your bulb is still in the loft in the summer it will have gone through some temperature cycles and there SHOULD be some small beads of Hg clinging randomly to the inside of the glass. These will be too small to cause damage, but a gentle tap will dislodge them and they will fall back into the Hg pool. If there is a vacuum they will make a 'tink' noise as they fall back down. If you hear this tink-tink-tink i would say the vacuum is still good.
Needless to say whatever is being powered by the rectifier will be something that demands quite a high DC current, such as an electric motor.
Personally i would not evacuate the Hg from the bulb, my reasons:
-You will be charged for disposal- if you can find a firm that agrees to do it.
-If it's inside the tube everyone knows what it is- and where it is.
-The value (to an enthusiast, at least) of the bulb will plummet by more than 75%.
It's all your choice of course!
I eventually chickened out of keeping mine in the loft, i had an overactive imagination regarding the contents escaping and gravitating through the whole house. There are a few animated discussions on this forum regarding safety (or otherwise)- worth a read. They are certainly a 'heritage' item and deserve to be saved if possible.
Dave
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Another reason for not removing the mercury is the glass bulb will be under a decent vacuum if intact and if unlucky in breaking it could implode sending mercury and glass everywhere in all directions!!
Christopher Capener