Author Topic: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen?  (Read 5927 times)
bulb_tester2009
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How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « on: March 03, 2022, 06:51:47 AM » Author: bulb_tester2009
Although I can't see the longest-lived lamp tube, because T12 lamp tubes are not common in China. The longest-lived lamp I have ever seen is Philips' Super80 T8 lamp, which has a lifespan of 15,000 hours.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #1 on: March 03, 2022, 06:55:10 AM » Author: Bean
dons93 has an f14t12 that's been going for a long time, since 2012 non stop.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #2 on: March 03, 2022, 09:34:37 AM » Author: AgentHalogen_87
When my parents bought the house I live in, before I was born, the previous owner had installed a 4 ft T8 tube light in the garage. Now, at least 18 years later, that fixture is in my collection, on it's original lamp, running perfectly.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #3 on: March 04, 2022, 01:25:50 AM » Author: bulb_tester2009
My grandparents have a set of f20t12 halophosphate fluorescent tubes made in the 1990s. Although they are not used much, their service life is much longer than the nominal 6000 hour service life :eolfl:
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I've been collecting light bulbs since I was 2 years old and I've been collecting them ever since.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #4 on: March 16, 2022, 11:19:18 PM » Author: Silverliner
I have seen some Duro-Test F40T12s last 15 years in commercial use.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #5 on: March 16, 2022, 11:29:14 PM » Author: thelightingman
I have a few T12 tubes that are about 30 or so years old that still work, one of them has major end blackening though but it still works.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #6 on: March 17, 2022, 08:59:32 PM » Author: bulb_tester2009
I have a few T12 tubes that are about 30 or so years old that still work, one of them has major end blackening though but it still works.
我那个也差不多30年了
Mine is almost 30 years
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #7 on: March 18, 2022, 05:05:25 AM » Author: funkybulb
I had a pair westinghouse tube installed in 1984 it lasted until 2007
 It became too  hard to start on rapid start.  With ends glowing doing
 Nothing.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #8 on: March 24, 2022, 11:32:51 AM » Author: AngryHorse
In my last workplace we had an 8 foot single batten to the side of the paint plant, it was removed from the new circuit when they fitted 400 watt halides, but was fitted as a night light when the main factory lighting was switched off, and was put on a permanent live running 24 hours a day!
As a result it’s GE tube ran for something like 10 years with probably one switch off each year over the Christmas week!, until it exhausted all its mercury and just ran pink!  :lol:
That’s the longest surviving T12 tube I ever remember!
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #9 on: March 28, 2022, 12:56:07 AM » Author: bulb_tester2009
In my last workplace we had an 8 foot single batten to the side of the paint plant, it was removed from the new circuit when they fitted 400 watt halides, but was fitted as a night light when the main factory lighting was switched off, and was put on a permanent live running 24 hours a day!
As a result it’s GE tube ran for something like 10 years with probably one switch off each year over the Christmas week!, until it exhausted all its mercury and just ran pink!  :lol:
That’s the longest surviving T12 tube I ever remember!
There is an F28T5 tube at the exit of the underground garage of our residential building, which cannot be seen clearly etch, and it is still bright after more than 15 years of uninterrupted work for 24 hours
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I've been collecting light bulbs since I was 2 years old and I've been collecting them ever since.
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One of the few Chinese users here
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Bulb base in China:E12(CES) E14(SES) B22d(BC) E27(ES) E40(GES)

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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #10 on: April 07, 2022, 11:40:02 PM » Author: 108CAM
For me it would be my Brass-ender Philips F40T12 tube made in Australia by ELMA. It is the oldest fluorescent tube in my collection and also my best trash-picked fluro of all time! I don't know how many hours it's done but it would have to be a lot considering how old it is. The Canadian-made Sylvania F20T12's in my AJ Ferguson Zodiac are a very close second place as they are original to the fixture.

These aren't in my collection but still deserve a mention.
All 8 2xF36T8 fixtures in my dad's shed have been running on their original tubes and gear for almost 25 years and counting!
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #11 on: April 09, 2022, 09:50:23 PM » Author: 589
I have a whole lot of cheezeball walmart great value brand CFLs from 2010 that refuse to die. A few have 40000+ hours on them and pretty dim, but they wont die. All of them burn base down. I don’t know who made these for the Wally world but they did a good job.
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #12 on: April 10, 2022, 06:41:32 AM » Author: Max
I remember that some of the fluorescent tubes we made in the lab with the most optimized thermionic cathodes could last in excess of 100 kh (statistically extrapolated data).
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #13 on: April 12, 2022, 12:12:55 AM » Author: Michael
Fluorescent tubes in the large underpass in our main train station which I’m taking care of were mass re- lamped in 2001 and there are still a handful of them which are still working. They run nonstop 365 24h!
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Re: How long has the longest-lived fluorescent tube you have ever seen? « Reply #14 on: April 12, 2022, 12:49:01 AM » Author: joseph_125
Impressive, that's way over 100000 hours. Although I suppose with the 24/7 operation it's less stressful for the lamps. Most fluorescent lamps here were rated at 3-4 hours per start.
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