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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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Old 1st Jan 2019, 9:14 am   #41
Dave Moll
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

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Originally Posted by robin0577 View Post
They're still readily and fairly cheaply available in most electrical wholesalers.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In...dle/index.html
Probably best to make it part of a larger order, though, as TLC charge £3.60 delivery on orders under £50.


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Originally Posted by rambo1152 View Post
They are also often used in the "Ner Tamid" in a synagogue. It means Everlasting Light, I wonder if they keep a spare bulb?
When visiting a synagogue once, I asked what happens if the Ner Tamid bulb fails. The answer I received was that this was accepted (presumably as an "act of God") until such time as it could be fixed.
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Old 2nd Jan 2019, 10:44 am   #42
duncanlowe
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

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Originally Posted by rambo1152 View Post
If I remember correctly, for safety the Woolwoth lamp tester had two push buttons, and required both hands to perform the test.
You could be right but I don't remember any buttons at all. Just push the bulb into the already live holder. It's possible of course it had a clever arrangement underneath so that the lamp holder pins didn't become live until pushed down, I never put my fingers in to find out.
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Old 2nd Jan 2019, 11:29 am   #43
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

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Originally Posted by broadgage View Post
Another and perhaps better alternative consisted of a very small transformer with a B22 cap and an MES bulb holder connected to the 6 volt secondary of the transformer.
A cheap and long lasting 6 volt 0.3a radio panel bulb gave more light at a lower energy cost than a 5 watt neon bulb.
If an even dimmer light was wanted, then a very under-run 12 volt pilot bulb could be used and would last almost indefinitely.
I came across one of those as a kid, forget the circumstances but probably from an elderly relative. Transformer built into a conical section extension of the B22 Bakelite cap with a conformal translucent pink shade shrouding the "big globe" 0.5A 6.3V MES bulb. It worked fine, but opening it up revealed a rather budget transformer with brittle insulation on the wire ends and crumbling carbonised paper insulation, so it was discarded long ago- nowadays, I'm more appreciative of vintage items and would have hung onto it, likely disconnecting the primary internally. Though if they were originally intended for 0.3A bulbs, that might have explained some of the deterioration!
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Old 2nd Jan 2019, 1:04 pm   #44
broadgage
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

Yes, the most common types of these transformer adaptors were intended for use with 0.3 amp bulbs.
One brand even came with instructions as to what bulb to use for different supply voltages.

"for 230 volt to 250 volt circuits, use a radio panel bulb of 6 volts to 6.5 volts and 0.3 amps. For 200 volt to 220 volt circuits use a 6 volt cycle dynamo bulb of 0.25 or 0.3 amps"

These transformers were not particularly efficient, but still give more light at a lower cost than a neon lamp.
The total input was about 3 or 4 watts, as compared to 5 watts for an Osglim lamp.

The light was greater than that from a mains voltage nightlight lamp, and longer lasting.

When I was young, a neighbour worked at Kingston hospital. Osglim lamps were no longer readily available for replacements in ward nightlights.
The transformer adaptors were tried instead but in the end 15 watt orange coated pygmy bulbs were used.
This was a backward step in terms of maintenance as they required replacement 4 or 5 times a year versus every couple of years for neon lamps.
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Old 2nd Jan 2019, 1:21 pm   #45
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

The Test Socket I remember at Boyes Stores needed both hands to operate. The holder had straight slots, not a bayonet, and the other hand was needed to press the button.
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Old 2nd Jan 2019, 4:50 pm   #46
hannahs radios
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

There is a video on YouTube by diodegonewild where he shows one of those adaptors that allow you to run low voltage bulb via a little transformer plugged into a lamp socket. The video is called some vintage items. He is from Czechoslovakia so it seems these items were spread everywhere
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Old 2nd Jan 2019, 5:13 pm   #47
Dave Moll
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Default Re: Nice little bulb.

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Originally Posted by broadgage View Post
These transformers were not particularly efficient, but still give more light at a lower cost than a neon lamp.
The total input was about 3 or 4 watts, as compared to 5 watts for an Osglim lamp.

The light was greater than that from a mains voltage nightlight lamp, and longer lasting.
I am surprised by the stated wattage of an Osglim lamp. My beehive neon operates at less than 1W (the minimum which my plug-in monitor will measure). I can't remember what value of series resistor it uses, but it is rated at 0.5W, as I calculated that it's dissipation would definitely be less than that, before wiring it up and sealing it into the BC cap (I acquired the lamp without a cap or resistor).

By the way, I feel there is a character to a neon lamp (which I loved in my childhood nightlight) that just isn't matched by a low-wattage incandescent.
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