The Lamp Room

With the 18w SOX in my patio Gamma 6 less than a couple of months away from completing 3 years of service, I’ve been thinking, when it does finally pack up, do I stick another lamp in it or do I swap it to something interesting like some sort of 18w CFL?
I’d like to keep the lumen output less than 2000 and it’d be fun to try another type of lamp in it.

Either way, when it dies I’m going to add an hour meter to run off the switched live that I’ve brought down to the bottom of the column from the Gamma 6’s photocell...

Thoughts?

35w SON, if you have the lamps & gear of course.

My osram 18w lamp has been in a year now and still looks new. It will be the last lamp i run in it i think due to how rare they are becoming. It feels wrong to run it to death, so im thinking of giving it another year or two get it nice and worn up and pull it before EOL.

Im going to stick a 2x9w PL-S bulkhead up in place of it when the time comes

I’ve got 3 more of the modern Osrams 18’s which I can run in it to death but I’m bored with SOX lol.
Whatever lamp goes in only comes out when it’s dead now lol.

I think 35w SON would be too bright as around 1800lm is perfect for what I want it to do. I also don’t have any 35w SON lamps lol.

35w SDW-T would be interesting but again I don’t have any 35w lamps, 35w SDW gear or even PG12 sockets lol.

20W CDM-T?

If it’s not gonna be SOX maybe a Philips Prismatic? Of course the inside would have to be adapted to supply one.

That won’t be a problem lol. It’s already had quite a few gear changes already.
When in service, it was originally 80w MBF and when I got hold of it and put it up, I whacked 35w CDM-T in it for a year or so before I took that out and stuck 50w MBF gear in it. The current 18w SOX is the longest I’ve left it alone and it will be left alone until the lamp is dead lol.

I am swinging towards 35w SDW-T tbh but it’s going to be fun tracking down some lamps and gear. Seems the 50 and 100w were a lot more common. I’ve got the ballast and ignitor/regulator for only 100w. They did do SDW in G12 which I have plenty of holders but those lamps are even rarer to get hold of than the PG12 lamps. Probably best to see if I can get hold of a complete fitting and gut it.

The 35W gear is like gold dust I’ve been after a set for years. I’m running a 100W on a part night cell. It gives off a nice warm light similar to cosmo.

I’ve managed to track down some PG12 holders and a ballast reasonably cheap on eBay but the only 35w ignitor/stabiliser that I can find is like £40 from Europe. Saying that though they are twice that at proper retailers. Annoying as you can get the higher wattage ones for less than a tenner on eBay. Might have to bite the bullet...

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2306079301

18w PL-C. Mag ballast & 2 pin lamp, colour 830

I could think of worse things than that to fit!