WOW


Two lamp preheat T17 ballast 90 --100 watt 118 volt NOS.

This one is a better deal than the one below.
35 available!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130657456856


http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Advance-Fluorescent-Lamp-Ballast-S-285-89G562-T-17-/120747831630?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1d21b14e


I just bought one as I may never see another 90 100 watt preheat NOS ballast again.
I have a double T17 60 inch project in mind for it in the future.

Update: I received this ballast today and the manufacture date code is 3/5/89 so these ballasts are not very old.
The weight is 14 lbs, that is a lot of transformer steel.

I just found ten 100 watt NOS starters on e bay.
Now I need to find the two starter sockets.
Someone here said that they were still available from a manufacturer in England?




F90T17 Bulb search results.

Update 4/8/14:

These places below has them listed for sale but do not sell any.
This is so typical of many bulb sellers that they list a item for sale, but don't stock them or never stocked them.
Many of these places are too lazy to update their web sites.
I ran into a bunch of places that list the bulbs for sale in my F90T17 search but don't stock any.
Here are a few examples.

http://www.normanlamps.com/product_info.php/cPath/115_116_298/products_id/195?osCsid=k2e3de85gok3aa5n65pfqt92v1
Don't stock, too lazy to remove the listing.

http://westsidedelivers.com/GE_LIGHTING-F90T17CW.asp
Don't stock, too lazy to remove the listing.

http://searchbulbs.com/productdetails/7628_F90T17_CW
Update:3/20/14 Well this place is out of business even though their web site still works.
So don't bother to order.
I called on the phone and they were surprised that the web site was still working.
Web site still operational 5/5/14 and they are not even in business anymore and have not been for several months.



It looks like the F90T17s are still available, but must buy a case at a time.
Sold by the case for $$$
I may end up buying a case yet.
http://www.thebulbdepot.com/product.asp_Q_catID_E_134_A_subCatID_E_1062

Update: 5/5/14 I never could get anyone on the phone so I don't know if they have any or not as it tells you to call.

https://www.interlight.biz/light-bulb/LIGHT-BULB-LAMP-F90T17/D
$32 each...but must buy case of 12. $491 per case with shipping.
These are Daylight F90T17s so they must not be GE as GE only lists CW.

Update: 5/5/14 Don't stock, too lazy to remove the listing.



http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=RESULTPAGE&CHANNEL=Commercial&CATEGORY=Lamps_Linear+Fluorescent_Straight+Linear_T17&BREADCRUMB=CATG
GE still lists them in their recent catalog, but I was told by several suppliers that they have been discontinued.


I was thinking that the military must still be using the F90T17s as they are still in their inventory as a stocked item.
Bryant still makes the starters for them also which is also in their inventory as a stocked item.
The military keeps a lot of stuff around for a long time if it is reliable and works.
Like B52s for instance.




You can still buy the F90T17/CW here, but must buy 100 at a time.
That is $24.39 each.
So it is a good price, if you need 100.

http://www.shopping.com/ge-ge-100pcs-f90t17-cool-white-t17/info

Update: 5/5/14 No longer in stock. At least they tell you up front so you don't order something that does not exist.



https://www.interlight.biz/light-bulb/F90T17/CW

Update: 5/5/14 even though I had a confirmed order and my visa card was charged the order was cancelled due to being no longer stocked and also being too lazy to remove the listing from their webpage.
So don't bother ordering from here.





I did find new F40T17CW bulbs for sale one at a time.
It is listed as a instant start bulb only.

http://www.elightbulbs.com/catalog_product.cfm?source=ShoppingCSE&prod=GL10575

Update: as of today 5/5/14 you can still order the F40T17s from here and I did order several and I actually received them UPS.
But I would guess not for long.


Do you need a bunch of 40 watt T17s ?
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=107&acctid=2630
Update: looks like someone bought all 32 cases for a $44 bid price.
That is about 11 cents each.


Here is a T17 40 watt instant start ballast.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADVANCE-Instant-Start-Fluorescent-Light-Ballast-For-Two-40WT12-40WT17-/171236919792?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27de8409f0

Just bought this ballast today for a F40T17 project.


So it looks like another long term project in the making.



WOW!
Check this. NOS F40T17/CW/IS not GE but Marvel Lamp Company.
I wonder how old they are?
You make a offer on them.
But you have to be a military unit to qualify for purchase.

http://www.armyproperty.com/product/06172/F40T17/CW/IS/#

http://www.armyproperty.com/product/06172/F90T17/D/



Here is the odd ball GE 54 inch T17 180 watt bulb for the Super Diazo Blue - Reprographic blueprint copy machines.
They still use these machines today even though they are about 50 years old.
Must be good machines.
I wonder what kind of ballast they had 50 years ago that ran these 180 watt bulbs?
I would guess they were special ballasts.

Are these preheat or instant start bulbs?
I have never seen one in person.
One person that has seen one of these said they were a very bright blue when operating but the bulbs are white when off.

http://www.elightbulbs.com/GE-26390-F54-INCHT17-SPB-Straight-T17-Fluorescent-Tube

Update: 5/5/14 you can still get these here, but I would guess not for long.
I had thought about making a fixture for two of them but I am not sure what I would use it for.
It seems that movie sets use the F54T17s for blue screen special effects.
Also large aquariums use these bulbs.
I did not know that.  


A T17 conversion to T12.
I would like to find one of those T17 fixtures.
http://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10213/normal_DSCF0009~0.JPG

The bulb holders and starter sockets are difficult to find.

So.... I make my own custom fixtures for the T17s from 8 foot fixtures.






 

Those Advance 2x90/100 T17 ballasts are actually about 1/3 smaller than the original full size GE, Universal, Westinghouse and Power Lighting Products ballasts.  Those are super massive!
If you want to order a case of 12 F90T17/CW tubes, I could buy the other 10 from you.  I have had no problem with the newer tubes, but the older ones seem to be very finicky.
The starter sockets are like the 4 pin cut out starter sockets used in Europe.
I have one spare starter socket, two spare tube sockets, six spare ballasts, several dozen spare starters and five cases of tubes, mostly NOS daylight.
I love the lights when they are working, but BOY are these things ever a P I T A!!! 

Is it possible that reliability issues contributed to the early demise of the T17 format?

Absolutely, without a doubt! When they are working, they are impressive, but they are somewhat cold natured, causing hard starting when below freezing. This trips the manual reset starters which then have to be pressed to reset before next use. Some of the tubes randomly seem to be mercury starved when they have not been switched on for a while. This also causes hard starting. Ballasts have taken a LOT of abuse and seem very tough and durable though. I would say these issues were all less of a problem with the 100 watt tubes these lights were originally designed for.

Hi Diesel,

Great information you have on the T17s.
I know where to go for the best information on Fluorescent lighting.
Right here, I have learned so much.

I am still looking for just two F90T17s since GE still makes them I am not in a hurry to buy any right now.
Someone some where is still using them.
Makes sense to me as if it ain't broke, why fix it.
A bulb or a starter every few years or so and continue on.

I know some schools and libraries still use the 40 watt T17s.
It is expensive to rip out all the lighting and replace with new, so I can see where just a few bulbs a year are cheaper.
I would think the ballasts would last almost forever built the way they are.

I seen a library that had quite a few of them and since it was built in 1957, the flush mount fixtures are part of the plaster ceiling.
To take out the fixtures would require the whole ceiling to be removed and a new one plus new lighting installed.
I guess you can retro fit the fixtures to newer stuff, but that is not so cheap either.

Another thing too is a energy saving retrofit may not pay either as the lights are on just a few hours a day and off on the weekends, plus off all the time three months in the Summer.
I would think a bulb would last a long time under that kind of usage.

 It might take forever to get a reasonable pay back on your investment if you went "green".
Most schools are on a tight budget and work with what they have.

All the schools back where I lived had the T17s in the class rooms back in the 50s to 60s and may still have some today, in the older schools anyway. (they were new when I attended them)

I don't know if the T17s are caught up in the bulb ban or not.
I thought it was just T12s that were the target, so the T17s may not even show up on the energy police radar since there are so few are out there.

How did you put those fixtures up in your pole barn?
Did you use a fork lift?
I would think they were some kind of heavy lifting.

You know, I never realized that even the modern F90T17s contain 90 mg of mercury.

.

Here is the odd ball GE 54 inch T17 180 watt bulb for the Super Diazo Blue - Reprographic blueprint copy machines.
They still use these machines today even though they are about 50 years old.
Must be good machines.
I wonder what kind of ballast they had 50 years ago that ran these 180 watt bulbs?
I would guess they were special ballasts.

Are these preheat or instant start bulbs?
I have never seen one in person.
One person that has seen one of these said they were a very bright blue when operating but the bulbs are white when off.

Color looks very close to that of a Actinic-03 aquarium lamp. (and yes white when off)
One of these is the first T17 I'd ever seen - it was in a blueprint machine at a college.
It also said 'VHO' on the etch, so I simply assumed at the time that it ran off a standard VHO RS ballast...no idea if thats actually correct though.

I would love to find one of those lamps


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I've had that 1st eBay auction in my watchlist for months now, because its kinda tempting...but approx $34 with the shipping seems like allot for an old ballast