Benjamin Taskmaster 5ft Fluorescent Fixture Gear Tray & Spine [1962]
Gear tray & spine view of a battered old Benjamin Taskmaster 5ft 80w switch start fitting.

This has been bashed with something very heavy at some point in its life & as a result spine pictured here is a bit bent over. Still works fine though!

Would of had a metal cased starter which was sadly missing

The black unit is the Benjamin branded 80w switch start choke, the grey GEC branded unit is a 110v to 230v auto transformer. The PFC capacitor is a Benjamin branded item which I have disconnected for safety reasons (these old capacitors tend to explode/leak nasty stuff)


[url=http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=5581/]To view the ballast click here[/url]

[url=http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=5583/]To view the GEC auto transformer click here[/url]
Keywords: Benjamin;Taskmaster

Benjamin Taskmaster 5ft Fluorescent Fixture Gear Tray & Spine [1962]

Gear tray & spine view of a battered old Benjamin Taskmaster 5ft 80w switch start fitting.

This has been bashed with something very heavy at some point in its life & as a result spine pictured here is a bit bent over. Still works fine though!

Would of had a metal cased starter which was sadly missing

The black unit is the Benjamin branded 80w switch start choke, the grey GEC branded unit is a 110v to 230v auto transformer. The PFC capacitor is a Benjamin branded item which I have disconnected for safety reasons (these old capacitors tend to explode/leak nasty stuff)


To view the ballast click here

To view the GEC auto transformer click here

IMG_9905cp.JPG IMG_9907cp.JPG IMG_9910cp.JPG IMG_9918cp.JPG IMG_9941.JPG
File information
Filename:IMG_9910cp.JPG
Album name:fluorescent / Fittings
Keywords:Benjamin / Taskmaster
Manufacturer:Benjamin
Type/Model:Taskmaster 5ft
Wattage:80
Date manufactured:1962
Filesize:4661 KiB
Date added:21 Mar, 2017
Dimensions:3035 x 2048 pixels
Displayed:64 times
URL:http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=5624
Favourites:Add to Favourites

Comment 1 to 12 of 12
Page: 1

lampy   [21 Mar, 2017 at 10:28 PM]
whats the gec unit, is it a quickstart unit? hang on, its switch start, what is it?
lampy   [21 Mar, 2017 at 10:29 PM]
its got one of those old bakelite GRELCO terminal blocks, the lampholders looks allmost identical to a BLI made unit
fluorescent   [21 Mar, 2017 at 10:37 PM]
The black unit is the Benjamin branded 80w switch start choke. The GEC unit is an auto transformer (110v to 230v). I uploaded pictures of these a few days ago, links now added
Danny   [21 Mar, 2017 at 10:56 PM]
awesome gear!!! Love it
lampy   [21 Mar, 2017 at 11:06 PM]
rightm so this was used on 110 volt supply for some reason then
fluorescent   [21 Mar, 2017 at 11:18 PM]
That it was, no idea why. Can only guess there was no 240v supply nearby when it was originally installed
Kev   [21 Mar, 2017 at 11:49 PM]
I remember years ago another sparky telling me he was working on a US air base in Cornwall doing a load of rewiring and because it was US air base all the electrics were 110V don't know why but this just reminded me of it!
lampy   [22 Mar, 2017 at 12:19 AM]
yes thats right, ive heard about that too, they have american sockets installed so they can plug in their american electrical goods
Kev   [22 Mar, 2017 at 08:06 AM]
You would think if they are going to bring their own sockets they would bring their own lights (so I always thought) but this would make more sense!
RobTDCI   [23 Mar, 2017 at 08:24 PM]
Must weigh a tonne with those two big lumps!
fluorescent   [23 Mar, 2017 at 09:47 PM]
It's ridiculously heavy, I'll have to get it on the scales. The trough reflector is very heavy too.
RobTDCI   [23 Mar, 2017 at 10:02 PM]
You wouldn't mounting that into a plaster & lath or plasterboard ceiling with a couple of wall plugs then!

Comment 1 to 12 of 12
Page: 1

Add your comment
Anonymous comments are not allowed here. Log in to post your comment