Re: ge 'workhorse'

["Wayne Jones" <waj at mnsi_net>]

Gordon wrote:

What's funny is the 4100k T8's *appeared* almost the same 'color'
as the 5000k "daylight" t12 (ge chroma 50).  Wonder if the plants
will care.

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Many lamp coplors that people normally spurn look fine to me. I bet most
people would be hard pressed to tell the difference in an 841 and a
chroma 50 or an 841 and an 850 or an 850 and an 865 if they couldn't
view them side by side. The plants don't seem to care either way.

Gordon again:

F17T8/TL950
F17T8/TL865 PLUS
F17T8/TL930 (only 3000 kelvin, but the specta they present
on the website looks very broad, not just big peaks like other
bulbs)

Or this sylvania (again, diff wattage maybe)
F17T8/TL865XP

Or this GE
F17T8/SPX41
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Any of the lamps that are intended for long life usage are a good bet.
Those suffixes like plus or XP usually indicate something like that.
They have extra robust cathodes and fewer problems with mercury
absorbtion plus they have higher initial lumens. The TL 950 is a very
nice lamp as it has very high colour rendering. There is some concern
with those lamps that they may be less efficient at converting
electricity into light. The Ge spx41 (read 841) is the most commonly
available T8. They also make an 850 but no 865. If you like the look of
an 841 then this is the one you should buy as it is the cheapest and
performs very well.

My first choice in a 2' linear lamp would be an 18 watt (AKA 20 watt)
Phillips 965 in T8 diameter overdriven 2x. Very hard to come by around
here though but they do make them. My second choice would be the 17 watt
865plus by Phillips but I have never seen one of those either, they must
be new. Notice that they actually have lower lumen output than a
Phillips Advantage though.  My third choice is a Sylvania 865 which is
what I have. If they are extra long life lamps, all the better.
Unfortunately, Phillips always costs more than Sylvania.

Wayne