Hello,
Wickes 1200mm fitting, new starter thing, new tubes. Symptoms occur with new tubes, and previous tubes.
The tubes sort of flicker, but not fully on and off, it's more like that cloudy / boiling effect that you see in CGI films of the surface of the sun, if you see what I'm scratching at.
Anyway, this is causing a perceptible change in light levels, not anything epilepsy-inducing, but enough to be frustrating.
Anyone have any idea what it could be due to?
Thanks in advance,
David Paste.
tubes, and previous tubes.
cloudy / boiling effect that you see in CGI films of the surface of the sun, if you see what I'm scratching at.
epilepsy-inducing, but enough to be frustrating.
If its only changing light level, usually due to faulty tubes. It can also be due to oxidised connections somewhere, but usually isnt. Are the tubes all from the same batch?
IIRC, and I may well not, insufficient mercury.
NT
But he said new and old tubes. When I could see this sort of effect seemed to bug tubes when the room was cool and went away as the whole thing got warmed up.
Brian
is the fitting earthed? That sort of problem can be casued by lack of an earth.
tubes, and previous tubes.
cloudy / boiling effect that you see in CGI films of the surface of the sun, if you see what I'm scratching at.
epilepsy-inducing, but enough to be frustrating.
Two effects I can think of that you might be describing...
The arc in the tube is not uniform across the whole area of the tube, but forms a bright path (usually only nearer the tube ends) which snakes round and round. This is caused by contamination in the gas. It can happen just whilst the tube is new (first 100 hours or so use) if the contamination is going to get absorbed somewhere inside the tube, or it might persist forever if it's a badly made tube. Rings of bright and dark areas on the tube which usually seem to move up or down the tube. This is caused by too low vapour pressure, and a significant proportion of the electrons becoming synchronised in being accelerated by the tube voltage and reaching the energy level required to displace a mercury ion at the same point, that appearing light and the distance beween appearing darker. This goes as the tube warms up and more mercury is released from the amalgam which stores it in modern tubes (unless the tube has run out of mercury).
tubes, and previous tubes.
cloudy / boiling effect that you see in CGI films of the surface of the sun, if you see what I'm scratching at.
epilepsy-inducing, but enough to be frustrating.
Another thing I've noticed which can cause a similar effect on smaller tubes is overdriving of the tube. In one case, this was a 12 volt inverter unit, mislabelled as 24 Volt which was killing tubes after about a month of intremittent use. That took some working out...
Search for fluorescent tube striations. I've seen these in old 8 foot tubes (not mine). I have a pair of 5ft 58W on a Philips HF-Performer II which do it only when cold for around a minute. it's only noticeable if you look at the tube itself. Not sure if HF is better than 50Hz for preventing it - on mine it is a temporary phenomena.
I also used to note the kind of spiral wave motion inside sometimes as well. Also nowadays with my poor eyes I've become sensitive in large stores with lots of lights to a kind of strobing effect that gives me a headache, its as if a wave is moving across the expanse of a ceiling which is full of tubes but of course I can only perceive the light as if it was through a very steamed up window.
Boots seems to be the main contender for this.
Brian
They were in the last location, but not now. From reading the other replies= , I am wondering if it is due to the temperature, as it occurs to me that I= have only ever seen them run for a minute or two (they stay on longer, but= I am not there to bask in their glory).
Cheers everyone.
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