I like the GE residential lamps. I have 8 exactly like the one pictured here, installed when I moved in to my current place in November 1998 and all are still working perfectly today, though they all have some end-banding. I have about 10 as spares, though some are the later Ecolux version. The only thing I DON'T like is that the phosphor coatings have quite a few imperfections in almost all of them. I prefer triphosphor lamps as they are brighter for the same amount of watts, and have better colour rendering than the cool-whites, though in areas where I want the daylight effect, I prefer the 90+ CRI halophosphates.
Funny you should mention banding, because last night I was just thinking that these REALLY develop blackening as they age, unlike the Mainlighter-era lamps which just get brown bands and the modern ones which get the teardrop spot just a few tens of hours before EOL.
Yeah, recently I replaced some EOL 1988 Philips F40CWs in my garage with ACE 40w Eco lamps (I assume a re-branded GE Ecolux "Residential Light"). They''re clearly brighter and have better color rendering (70CRI vs 62) compared to the Philips F40CWs in the other two fixtures next to them.
Question: (since you evidently know a lot about phosphors): Can they still make tri-phosphor SP41 F40s? Or are those also no longer made after the July 2012 DOE rulemaking and the ones I got and installed are NOS? Or is 70CRI SP41 still allowed?
It seem GE-made off-brand F40s (Westpointe/True-Value), ACE, Do-It, etc) have this slightly purplish color when compared to halophosphate/F40CW lamps whereas the old 70CRI Sylvania "Cool White Plus" seems yellowish/warmer...(if this makes sense to you at all). Any ideas? IMO Philips matched their old 70CRI "CW Plus" pretty well color-wise to halophosphate cool white...
SP41's/residential light are not allowed. SPX41 (82 CRI) is gone too with the T12's. GE now has the "Utility" C41 which is a relabeled /CWX and the "Garage & Basement" CX41 which is a triphosphor with more lumens (still less than the SP41). I've noticed with the Ecolux lamps, they match an old halo cool white better (less pink). The Residential Lights with the black etch had a more pink/purple cast which was particularly pronounced when run on an LPF ballast that underdrives the lamps.
I can't get Sylvania 4 foot lamps in my area (T8 or T12) without buying a whole case, and I have no room or need for that many since I already have so many GE's laying around (I do have a case of Design 50's and I like them). I won't use Philips Altos mostly because I dislike the way the green end caps look in fixtures, and second because they have the least mercury and are most prone to going mercury-starved.
My nearby True Value still has the Westpointe "Cool Whites" which are relabeled SP41's; I might guess the ACE & Do-It lamps are also the same, as they don't seem to sell as well as the name-brand lamps. I've never bought these, either.
What about SP35, SPX35, SP65, etc.? So SPX41 is allowed in T8 lamps still?
C41? Is that essentially a "Chroma 41?" What is CX41?
Oh, yeah, I know what you mean about the pinkish glow of the old "Residential Light" lamps...there's one in a friend's basement in a LPF 1xF40 striplight that seems VERY pinkish/purplish- and DIM! Same goes for a "Buyer's Choice" (Obviously Sylvania) /CWX down there as well.
Personally I LIKE the green endcaps of the Philips 'Alto' lamps...
Those WestPointe SP41s are pretty good lamps; they seem to last a good while...the few I have seen go EOL have such little blackening that it's barely visible, even in direct sunlight outside! It's only visible when the lamp is dimly rectifying at EOL.
I think these may have had cheaper or different electrodes, maybe 12,000-hour lamps? They would blacken a lot, whereas stuff like the "Chroma 50" of the same era would blacken right before EOL and with a much different pattern.
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Yeah, recently I replaced some EOL 1988 Philips F40CWs in my garage with ACE 40w Eco lamps (I assume a re-branded GE Ecolux "Residential Light"). They''re clearly brighter and have better color rendering (70CRI vs 62) compared to the Philips F40CWs in the other two fixtures next to them.
Question: (since you evidently know a lot about phosphors): Can they still make tri-phosphor SP41 F40s? Or are those also no longer made after the July 2012 DOE rulemaking and the ones I got and installed are NOS? Or is 70CRI SP41 still allowed?
It seem GE-made off-brand F40s (Westpointe/True-Value), ACE, Do-It, etc) have this slightly purplish color when compared to halophosphate/F40CW lamps whereas the old 70CRI Sylvania "Cool White Plus" seems yellowish/warmer...(if this makes sense to you at all). Any ideas? IMO Philips matched their old 70CRI "CW Plus" pretty well color-wise to halophosphate cool white...
I can't get Sylvania 4 foot lamps in my area (T8 or T12) without buying a whole case, and I have no room or need for that many since I already have so many GE's laying around (I do have a case of Design 50's and I like them). I won't use Philips Altos mostly because I dislike the way the green end caps look in fixtures, and second because they have the least mercury and are most prone to going mercury-starved.
My nearby True Value still has the Westpointe "Cool Whites" which are relabeled SP41's; I might guess the ACE & Do-It lamps are also the same, as they don't seem to sell as well as the name-brand lamps. I've never bought these, either.
C41? Is that essentially a "Chroma 41?" What is CX41?
Oh, yeah, I know what you mean about the pinkish glow of the old "Residential Light" lamps...there's one in a friend's basement in a LPF 1xF40 striplight that seems VERY pinkish/purplish- and DIM! Same goes for a "Buyer's Choice" (Obviously Sylvania) /CWX down there as well.
Personally I LIKE the green endcaps of the Philips 'Alto' lamps...
Those WestPointe SP41s are pretty good lamps; they seem to last a good while...the few I have seen go EOL have such little blackening that it's barely visible, even in direct sunlight outside! It's only visible when the lamp is dimly rectifying at EOL.