So it literally 'fell off the back of a lorry'... 

Under- or over-active thyroid..? I'm under-active and have to take Levothyroxine every day. Still wouldn't get up at that silly time though, well I did many moons ago when I was young and foolish..! Now I'm old and even more foolish..! There aren't many things to be said in favour of getting old, but retirement is definitely one of them 

 I get up at 4:30 A.M. , Take my thyroid med , feed the kids , get myself together and off to work !

Nothing could possibly be so important as to get me out of bed at that ungodly hour 

 I installed this one : https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=5202&pos=288&pid=173786 by my neighbors fire pit/party area .  I found it on the side of the road still in the box where it had apparently fell off the back of a contractor's truck !

 I start work at 5 A.M. and I'm just amazed by the number of people who walk in the door either texting or talking on the phone!! What could possibly be so important that who need to communicate with someone that early ? 

https://www.ebay.com/usr/francuacr75?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l2559
ebay seller with hundreds of SOX lanterns and has disassembled many and is the ONLY source I know of but airfreight will make your timeline

I am certain you would definitely notice you are carrying 180cm tube, as it is *extremely* bulky even compared to 150cm one...

i’ll update you tomorrow since i don’t have it between my hands now. it also may be a strange tube since the rack were i found it said “85W 150cm” so it may be a strange size but i just assumed it was a mislabeling but i didn’t have time to check whether it’s 180cm or really 150cm (in that warehouse multiple things are mislabeled, such as ballasts labeled as rheostats)

thats very interesting! I hope you do an upload of it, as mentioned I have never seen a Sylvania 85W only 6ft tube, all have been 75W/85W etc I am quite pleased to hear I am wrong in my assumption here!


and just to confirm you are sure the tube if 6ft long and not 8ft long? 8ft 85W tubes also existed here (but they have very different electrical parameters (do not run one of those on an 80W mercury choke!)