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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
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28th Feb 2023, 8:10 pm | #21 |
Pentode
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 115
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Re: Disposal Of Sodium & Mercury Vapour Lamps
We have some mercury vapour lamps installed at work. They are 300w apiece and made by Philips. A few years ago I took a dozen dead lamps to a local recycling centre and carefully put them in the fluorescent lamps bin. At least, I thought I was being careful. As I walked away, I heard one fall and POP rather dramatically, so I presume they are pressurized.
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1st Mar 2023, 12:23 pm | #22 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Somerset, UK.
Posts: 2,130
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Re: Disposal Of Sodium & Mercury Vapour Lamps
Mercury vapour lamps almost always have an inner arc tube containing a mixture of inert gas and mercury, this is contained within the much larger outer bulb that usually contains inert gas at half an atmosphere when cold and a little over atmospheric pressure when hot.
The outer bulb is commonly coated with fluorescent phosphor. The outer bulb is easy to break, the inner arc tube is much stronger and likely survives being thrown into a refuse or recycling container. |