Incandescent lightbulbs

someone pretended :

The lamps used for fridges etc. are 15w and are supposed to be still available for a long time yet, but they are now making some quite small energy saver (CFL) lamps and there are also some really tiny 240v LED lamps. Probably LED will be the way to go for fridges, where they are turned on and off frequently and you need instant light.

Thanks very much, Harry, just what I wanted to know. So I don't have to worry as long as my appliances are a small wattage, at least for the next x years. I will file your post for future reference.

I guess the next problem will be: do they have a bayonet or an Edison screw, and will it be the right size. I don't actually really care about the fridge or stove, I do care about my sewing machine, which is about 30 years old.

Cheers, from someone

In message , someone writes

those of us who were concerned about such things stocked up ages ago

anyone wanna buy some pigmy bulbs ?

Even without a capital P, are you allowed to say that? :)

Do what I did and buy lots of bulbs now. Apart from anything else it's a matter of principle. The government lets people make their own choice about CO2 emissions and unnecessary flying, so why not let people make their own cloice about CO2 emissions and their light bulb preference? You can't beat the nice warm light from a slightly under-run incandescant bulb. Or the rosy glow of self regard for having a cellar full of spares.

Bill

It's GLS (the big round ones) lamps that are being phased out, not the specialist small ones.

Low wattage pigmy lamps are the works of stan, very short life and vibration promne, unless seriously underrun. The soooner an alternative is available (led?? I've a couple of 3W led torches (tesco's best) that seem superbright) the better.

My son bought my wife an old (c. 1950's) Singer sewing machine on ebay :-) The thing was local so (sigh) I collected it. It was motor driven even had the original cabinet in which the machine can fold down into. But the drive belt err, -wasn't. and the bulb had blown - yet it had a bulb holder still there! The speed control was by foot controller. I stripped the wiring out, re-wired it and ensured a heavy earth for the lot. Went into a small Aladdin's cave of sewing mysteries in town. I had the old drive belt and bulb in my hand ready to explain. The guy at the counter spotted these, turned around before I started speaking, picked two replacement items from somewhere and plonked them on the counter. I was an almost wordless transaction. Took the bits home, fitted them and, no it didn't explode, but worked perfectly first time! Mrs has remade some heafty velvet curtains and done several other sewing jobs and is delighted with it! So am I actually - I'm amazed - it works so well. Then, this is a good bit, we were sat there one night having a cuppa and saying how good this relic was, when... it started sewing by itself!!! Slowly ran up to speed - and then some more :-) Turns out the capacitors across the contacts in the foot controller were leaking. Replaced them with 400 vac jobs and away to go again. Oh and the cost...... £10 :-) +£6 for replacement parts. (sorry for long story)

My electric flame effect fire has 60watt fireglow bulbs and require the heat from them to make the effect spinner work so are they going to stop them or should I get a stock of them aswell.

Fireglow lamps are not affected by the changes at the moment. However, the lighting industry has seen demand for special and decorative filament lamps plummit over the last few years, and that alone means production of many of these lower volume types is probably becoming rapidly uneconomic.

I know Stan! He used to work in the old GE lightning factory in Birstall. Lovely old chap. Bright chap, his face used to light up every time you said hello. He used to work with Gordon Bayonet.

They were incandescent with rage when they were told the old bulbs were to be phased out. They put up some resistance, but to be honest the protest was more heat than light.

They're both retired now, of course. Old people's ohm.

shortarsed bulbs?

That's wasteful - generating all that heat from an electric fire. They'll have to be banned TAAAW.

I never knew Stan, but I knew Gordon through his old schooldays chum, Phil Amment. Last I heard of Phil he'd left his wife, Ellie Dee, and run off with a French floozy by the name of Fleur Essente. I'm told she's not very bright, but she's very tall and slim.

Apparently they met at an electronics convention and just clicked.

Regards,

When it's amusing like that it doesn't matter. And if it wasn't amusing no-one would see the apology.

Bill

Did you not mean short lifed ?

In message , snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net writes

But I use them as loads in test sets ...

Perhaps one of the MPs in favour of banning lightbulbs could suggest an economical alternative.

Owain

Burning for how long, and at what voltage? When I used them at work it was almost a full time job replacing them until they were seriously underrun via a series capacitor with a parallel discharge resistor.

In message , snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net writes

Tens of seconds at mains

Yes I have thought of that, but I decided that the death rate was acceptable