Re: G.E. Lighting

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

gary l meyers wrote:
> 
> The more expensive ballast are unquestionably better than the cheap
> (under $10.00) shop light ballasts 

Yep. I have the melted down remains of a few LOA shop lights to remind me of
that. :-) The ones with electronic ballasts seemed to be the ones to die,
too. Heavier tar ballasts actually hold up better.


> ...but the phosporus coating of the lamp
> starts breaking down after about 6 months of 10 hour/day usage.  

This is true of some limited-production lamps, sold through the aquarium
trade, but generally not true of general illumination tubes from the major
brands. Stores and factories don't like replacing them that often so the
specs are really tight.

The spectrum does not shift perceptibly in those, and the tube quits
lighting before the output drops to about 85% of rated output. Unless
improper starting design has sputtered the filaments in a long way from the
end (really blackened them), they need not be replaced until they will not
start reliably or show a lot of flicker and bright globs running down the
tube.


> From
> that point on it becomes a downhill slide in terms of usefull lumens in
> the intended light spectrum.  Some special purpose lamps (like tanning
> bed bulbs) start breaking down after about 2 or 3 months.

> 
> I know we are all cheap and I for one refuse to throw out a bulb that
> still glows even though I know it is now blue/green instead of warm
> white.

I have never experienced this kind of color shift from major-brand lamps
(GE, Sylvania, Phillips, Panasonic). Their technical specs tend to agree
with my limited experience.

> 
> My whole point is that we all tend to try to get more life out of the
> bulbs than It really has.

Or, perhaps, we have been buying them from our local snake-oil vendor. I'm
sure there are some good aquarium-specialty tubes out there, but I have seen
a lot of junk in that area, too. Caveat emptor.

On that subject: I have gotten truly rotten lifetime out of the twisty CF
tubes with screw-in ballast base, in aquarium service. I think they must
require a base-down mounting to get full lifetime. Mine all turn black and
die after a couple of months in a hood. Usually on about 12-15 hrs/day.

I'm a tightwad, and it really honks my horn to have to throw away the whole
ballast, just because the tube has died.

Wright

-- 
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