Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « on: May 25, 2022, 02:05:15 AM » Author: 108CAM
I got the idea of making this thread after reading the many stories of people trying to build up their stocks of SOX lamps. I have been keeping and building stockpiles of lamps, ballasts and spare fixture parts so I have enough stuff to keep my lights going long after the items become unobtainuim. Has anyone else been doing the same thing?
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Total incidents since joining LG: 17
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #1 on: May 25, 2022, 03:41:26 AM » Author: AngryHorse
Already done that and regretted it! But I would say for anyone planning this, have a sit down and think is it really worth wasting money on before you go ahead? When I moved into my own house I was like most people on LG, I was going to have my dream lighting set up, and long story short, over the years I spent hundreds on HID lamps, gear and fittings thinking I would be using them forever! Now here I am in 2022 and I don’t use one HID lamp anywhere in my lighting!, so now I have hundreds of pounds of lamps and gear as ‘spares’ sat in boxes up the loft that will never be used! Think carefully people before you spend loads, especially on things like SOX that are ridiculous prices, as your lighting interests may change as you get older!
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #2 on: May 25, 2022, 05:40:30 AM » Author: Rommie
Sammi and I have pretty much completed our 'bucket list' now, so I'm guessing we won't be buying much more, but never say never
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #3 on: May 25, 2022, 07:17:38 AM » Author: 108CAM
Most of my stuff is free as it's been salvaged form scrapped fixtures or found in the trash. My collection is also fairly small and I'm trying to expand it. Once I get more space, I'll have more of it set up and in use
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Fluro starter pings combined with a 50hz ballast hum and blinking tubes is music to my ears.

Rest in Peace Electronic Lamp Manufacturers of Australia
1925-2002

Bring back the AJF Zodiacs!

Total incidents since joining LG: 17
Lamps accidently broken or smashed: 14
Ballast explosions/burnouts: 3

	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #4 on: May 25, 2022, 07:22:04 AM » Author: HomeBrewLamps
Most of my stuff is free aswell. @angryhorse why did your interest in HID die?
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #5 on: May 25, 2022, 07:42:47 AM » Author: AngryHorse
You may find it does as you get older, I don’t even light them at home anymore, something I once did nightly! That and the cost of energy going up constantly, you find better, more efficient ways of lighting your yard and house the longer you live there! I’ve also always over lit things at home to, at one point my yard lighting was a 250 watt HPS, with 2 x 50 watt HPS on the fence! , 27,000 lumens way over lit, @ 350 watts JUST at the back of the house! I now light the same space with a one 13 watt LED and 2 x 8 watt CFL on the fence, and the back garden is still adequately lit, for a massive reduction in electricity use!
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Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
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Welcome to OBLIVION

	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #6 on: May 25, 2022, 04:10:16 PM » Author: funkybulb
I mainly been stockpiling fluorescents.   For me  I only have one 180 watt sox fixture that get fired  Up about 4 0r 5 times a year.   So  I plan on 2 or 3 spare lamps is all I  Need.  Being 42 years old i just plan  For 40 years..   let take a westinghouse  Life gaurd for Example 175 watt MV  Last way too long 20 plus years so that  Means 1 or two more lamp changes.         What i am  saying is some lamps like this  1 or two spares seen resonble.  At one point  I gave away a whole case of 175 watt MV  To a younger collector and.  Im like there  Is no way I am going use all those lamps in  My life time.  Yes I recomend quailty lamps   And dont buy junk lighting unless it free to Take.
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #7 on: May 26, 2022, 02:23:25 AM » Author: Roi_hartmann
Quote from: AngryHorse on May 25, 2022, 03:41:26 AM Already done that and regretted it! But I would say for anyone planning this, have a sit down and think is it really worth wasting money on before you go ahead? When I moved into my own house I was like most people on LG, I was going to have my dream lighting set up, and long story short, over the years I spent hundreds on HID lamps, gear and fittings thinking I would be using them forever! Now here I am in 2022 and I don’t use one HID lamp anywhere in my lighting!, so now I have hundreds of pounds of lamps and gear as ‘spares’ sat in boxes up the loft that will never be used! Think carefully people before you spend loads, especially on things like SOX that are ridiculous prices, as your lighting interests may change as you get older!  I have quite similar mindset. Once you start paying your own bills you usually start to think is spending x amount of money just for this a wise thing or would you rather spent it in some other way. Storage space isn't free nor is the electricity either. As much as I would fancy the idea of having MV lamp as a yard light, with the amount of electricity it uses makes it just not feelin sensible choice. I've also started thinking what am I going to really use rather than hoardingup everything I can get.
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #9 on: May 26, 2022, 05:52:11 AM » Author: AngryHorse
Quote from: Roi_hartmann on May 26, 2022, 02:23:25 AM I have quite similar mindset. Once you start paying your own bills you usually start to think is spending x amount of money just for this a wise thing or would you rather spent it in some other way. Storage space isn't free nor is the electricity either. As much as I would fancy the idea of having MV lamp as a yard light, with the amount of electricity it uses makes it just not feelin sensible choice. I've also started thinking what am I going to really use rather than hoardingup everything I can get. This is also another reason I’ve switched back to using my CFLs again, I also hoarded these back in the day and it’s a shame to have them sitting in a box doing nothing! Fortunately I haven’t hoarded the same amount of LED lamps and I’m not going to carry loads of ‘spares’ in LED like I did with everything else!
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 54,050 hrs @ 10/2/24

Welcome to OBLIVION

	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #10 on: May 26, 2022, 06:06:03 AM » Author: Rommie
To our way of thinking, while the electricity costs are something to be borne in mind. they are part of what is involved in collecting lamps. If you are a car or motorcycle enthusiast, you accept the cost of fuel, oil etc. so I don't see it as any different to the cost of running lamps. Apart from the two SOX lanterns we have on daily, the rest are only lit for a few hours at a time, so it's not really a major cost.
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Ria (aka Rommie) in Aberdeen
Administrator, UK & European time zones. Any questions or problems, please feel free to get in touch

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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #11 on: May 26, 2022, 09:46:42 AM » Author: Roi_hartmann
Quote from: Rommie on May 26, 2022, 06:06:03 AM To our way of thinking, while the electricity costs are something to be borne in mind. they are part of what is involved in collecting lamps. If you are a car or motorcycle enthusiast, you accept the cost of fuel, oil etc. so I don't see it as any different to the cost of running lamps. Apart from the two SOX lanterns we have on daily, the rest are only lit for a few hours at a time, so it's not really a major cost. Well that's the thing. I can have a nice old classic car but do I wanna use it daily for driving to work or do I wanna get something other for that which uses way less and cheaper fuel and use fancy car on special occasions. I've seen some really fantastic, museum quality collections here which are put on nice displays and then when I compared it to my stuff that just mostly sits in a boxes stored away I just feel that I'm not that much of a collector that I could invest that much time or money for this. Then there is the quantity thing. In recent years I have just realized that the "lifetime supply" of lamps I'm really going to use isn't really that much. For example, 10 000hrs conservative lifetime estimation for fluorescent lamp is actually pretty long time in home use. I feel like there is no point hoarding hundreds fluorescent lamps even if I would get them free. Quote from: AngryHorse on May 26, 2022, 05:52:11 AM This is also another reason I’ve switched back to using my CFLs again, I also hoarded these back in the day and it’s a shame to have them sitting in a box doing nothing! Fortunately I haven’t hoarded the same amount of LED lamps and I’m not going to carry loads of ‘spares’ in LED like I did with everything else!  I have some CFLs which most of them I would say are not worth of collecting. The problem with CFL is that the electronic ages even if not used. I'm thinking selecting best technology examples and maybe getting rid of the rest. I tried to sell some of the NOS stuff for marginall price but there just does not seem to be any demand for CFLs. Also I really cant say how long a CFL that had sat 10 or 15 years in a storage will last.
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #12 on: May 26, 2022, 09:54:22 AM » Author: Rommie
@ Roi_hartmann - We have all the lamps we're ever going to need for daily service, so I'm just talking about the collection here. We just light various lamps most evenings and let them run for an hour or two. They're never going to get anywhere near EOL, and the cost of running them doesn't add up to much over the course of a year. I don't see the point of collecting lamps and just putting them in boxes or cupboards, they need to be used now and then, so if I have to spend money on electricity to do that, then so be it. It's cheaper than smoking
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Ria (aka Rommie) in Aberdeen
Administrator, UK & European time zones. Any questions or problems, please feel free to get in touch

"What greater gift than the love of a cat..?" - Charles Dickens
*** No smiley-only replies, please ***

	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #13 on: May 26, 2022, 10:18:30 AM » Author: Lumex120
Quote from: joseph_125 on May 26, 2022, 03:50:55 AM I suppose stocking up does let you give younger collectors a good start at collecting years down the line when this stuff is no longer made.      This is one of the biggest reasons I like to stock up on the slightly more common stuff when I get the chance.
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	Re: Stockpiling lamps, ballasts & fixture parts « Reply #14 on: May 26, 2022, 04:08:00 PM » Author: HomeBrewLamps
Solar panels and batteries can reduce energy costs quite a bit. If I ever get the country property I want I will definitly be taking advantage of some solar power to reduce the costs of running things. Only lamps I need to stock up on now are a case or two of 100, 150 and 70 watt HPS. After that I'm done collecting up burner lamps. I'd like to be able to run low wattage lamps for a while. 175 watt mercury vapor I have plenty of. 35 watt HPS I also have plenty of. Same with 70 watt metal halide and 55 watt LPS. I got all the corners covered for each technology prettymuch. But I'd like atleast 70 or 100 watt HPS burner lamps. 35 watt is a little dim. Might aswell use a CFL. Lol. I don't get burner lamps for 250, 400 and 1000 watt. I can never see myself running those for a long time. I have enough bulbs for those.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2022, 04:10:22 PM by HomeBrewLamps »		Logged

~Owen

Scavenger, Urban Explorer, Lighting Enthusiast and Creator of homebrewlamps