Gallery of Lights
The Site => General discussion => Topic started by: GEsoftwhite100watts on October 01, 2012, 08:07:40 PM
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I've got two warm white MainLighter lamps of different ages that just glow dimly on the ends, regardless of HPF or NPF ballast. Each has a slightly browned end (one end only, opposite the etch). Is this just typical of Mainligher EOL? Or do my ballasts that underdrive F40T12 lamps simply not have enough OCV to fire up old lamps that have quite possibly sat without being powered up for decades?
They were tested on an old shoplight with one of those old BenchLite NPF ballasts and in a wraparound with a MagneTek (I think HPF judging by the slow, smooth, entertaining startup flicker.) I'm sure it's not full power .8 amp though.
Any ideas guys? Would running them on an F32T8 electronic IS ballast briefly "shock" the lamps into life? I would think if they had no vacuum nothing would happen, but if it was a slow air leak (possibly for years) and since they were only powered up momentarily the filaments might not have vaporized, but I doubt that's the case.
Luckily I'm getting like fifty of these, so some should work!
Any ideas florescent experts?
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Do you have an electronic RS F40T12 ballast? those will make the lamp light if it works (and a few times if it's dead too). A T8 ballast should work too... Try using a two lamp magnetic ballast with one of the mainlighters and another known-to-be-working 40W lamp and see if they light. I think they should work if the lamp is good...
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If air had leaked in chances are one of the filaments would be open.
You could try running them on the IS ballasts for a few seconds, I don't think it'll do any harm to the tubes. The first Mainlighter I got (an F40D) did exactly the same thing! I just kept turning it on and off until it finally lit. I had that problem for the first few starts but it always lit up fine since.
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Thanks guys! I'll have to try that...
Mike, yep on the HPF ballast I did just that (one known good lamp) and it STILL just glowed dimly at the end...
Vince, hmm maybe this is just typical of MainLighters that have sat for years, even decades.
I'll see what I can do...
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I now have two working ones! They have a strange end banding pattern too.
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I've since fired one of the end-glowing ones on an electronic IS F32T8 ballast but haven't tried it on a rapid start ballast since then...when I do I'll update this...
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I'm assuming it worked on the IS ballast?
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Check the grounding on the fixtures too if the ballast is magnetic RS. Some lamps seem to be harder to start than others.
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I'd tried touching them which I understand helps but that proved to be useless. Like I said, I need to try said tube again in a rapid start fixture. But I know they weren't grounded since both fixtures had the third prong on the plug missing or (and I admit to this) plugged into a 2-prong extension cord. So technically they weren't grounded.
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That could be half the issue right there then... I know with some lights, like my RS 1973 light, being ungrounded is not a problem at all with starting the lamps. I tried it just to find out. The lamps start just as good ungrounded as grounded. A lot of magnetic RS ballasts aren't as good though, especially the LPF ones.
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I think HPF ballasts generally start better ungrounded than LPF ballasts. I think cold start F40 ballasts which have a higher OCV will also start lamps easier too.
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can cold weather ballasts be used in warm climates too or strictly in cooler environments?
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Dunno but I should think so.
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I hAve a cold weather F40TT12 ballast its magnetic and yes it can be used at any temperature. ..the OCV is higher and lamp current is lower so it underpowers lamps
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That's what I figured...
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For those of you who have end-glowing florescent tubes, I can now say that the way to revive those is a good ole' .8A HPF magnetic rapid start ballast! This was done on modified sine wave inverter electricity (I live off the grid) but I don't know if that makes any difference...
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Another finding: these MainLighter lamps have interesting mercury condensation patterns when being fired up for the first time in possibly decades. The first few hours are interesting...when I get a working camera again I might make a time lapse of it...
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Something similar JUST happened to me! I installed a new pair of SP41 ECO (green-etch) ACE lamps (likely a 'residential' Ecolux in disguise) and they worked beautifully for about 15 minutes before suddenly dimming and slowly fading out, at first with some faint striations/strobing. I tried wiggling them and still all I get is the cathode glow described above, which is dim as seems usual with GE Eco lamps...in a friend's basement there were/are some GE Ecolux SP65 lamps that would glow very dimly at the ends until touched (single lamp RS fixture with LPF ballast; those often have starting issues)
Anyhow, any ideas? I've touched the bulbs and they still don't light.
Or maybe the fixture is mad at me for removing the '88 Philips F40CWs that were EOL and installing these...LOL
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don't know... the GE SP41 EcoLux lamps I have are bright and so aren't the SP35 lamps. Could be bad lamps... try other lamps in the fixture and see what happens. If they still do that then it's not the lamps...
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"the GE SP41 EcoLux lamps I have are bright and so aren't the SP35 lamps."
Is that a typo? Or are they not that great?
Yeah I need to try that but I don't feel like switching lamps around right now...but I will try that.
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they both are bright. i think one has a higher CRI over the other though... BTW, it actually wasn't a typo, i meant to type that but i guess it doesn't make much sense doe it lol.
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Update- discovered one lamp has a small crack thus it died...*although the cathodes still glow!*
The other one works but they're going back to ACE, to be exchanged.
I was jokingly thinking the fixture was mad at me for replacing the '88 Philips F40CWs like the one I was commenting about on LG and sticking in modern ECO lamps...which lasted 15 minutes instead of 25 years like the previous ones....
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I've had this same thing happen to me! With an F40/REVEAL It would NOT start for anything! Even an electronic RS ballast wouldn't fire it! I tried it on a really cheap F40T12 electronic ballast..just a bare circuit board! It strobed for about 5 minutes and then finally stayed lit! It then worked normally on an electronic RS ballast...with a big black spot on one end probably from the strobing...it worked all the way up until I moved and unknown now if it still works!
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Well in this case the tube turned out to have a crack so air must have slowly gotten in causing it to lose vacuum...if I had a NST or something I might have tried it on that but instead it's going back to ACE.
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Ace is the place! for defective lamps :8) just kidding
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I can just imagine that in an ACE commercial on the radio! "Ace...the un-helpful place for defective lamps!"
Nah actually IMO ACE is pretty good!