Now I'm really disgusted! I just got back from a trip to Loews and Walmart who both carry GE F15T8 lamps and I see that the K&B, Reveal and Office and Professional lamps which came from Hungary are now coming from Indonesia. Previously, just daylight, cool white and warm whites were from Indonesia. What make me mad is that GE boasts about retooling the Bucyrus, OH plant with tax breaks from the State of Ohio for T-8 production. Why can't they move 15T8 production back there? Now only Sylvania makes the 15T8 lamp here as Philips closed the Fairmont plant a few years ago and now makes them in Holland.

The life of current Indonesian GE lamps is less than the ones GE made in 1950!

That would be a good idea, but they won't. Even the 30 watt T8 lamps are made in Indonesia.  

I have a Hungary made F15T8 Reveal and one made in Indonesia. They are visibly NOT the same color, and the quality of the Indonesian ones are way less. I have had the whole end cap fall off of these Indonesian ones.  
Right now I have a pair of F30T8 CW lamps in my radio building running 24/7. Yes, the GEs will light on RS. One is a Hungarian and the other an Indonesian one. I had to rifle through the selections when getting the Indonesian ones, as the first 2 had loose pins and end caps.

The Hungarian lamp has at least a few thousand more hours than the GE. It's got some smeary brown on one end.  The Indonesian one has now end banding and a brown spot starting one one end.  Wanna bet which will last the longest.......  ??      

I won't take you up on that one... it's a no brain-er!!!

LOL you are certainly right about that. 

jercar, you saved me the trouble of starting a new post. I was in Canadian Tire yesterday, and noticed the same thing. I have a small (4-5 tube) reserve of the Hungarian SP35 Office and Professionnal lamps, but when I need more, I really don't know what to do. GE used to make decent F15T8 SPX35 which I would have liked to purchase, but not at 20+ dollars each.

While I haven't made the research yet, does anyone have a suitable alternative to suggest ? Around here, I can get some Philips F15T8 Cool White Plus, which seems quite good, but I will have to dig up the sleeve of mine to know what is the CRI (I am after something of at least 75, while most Cool White F15T8 lamps are 62).

I posted a link to someone in FL that has quite a few old Sylvania lamps LOTS of F15T12 WWX with Lifeline style etc and quite a few F15T8 WW black enders. 


Powell

Has anybody tried the Sylvania F15T8/D830 ? It is a 3000K Designer lamp with a CRI of 80. I think it might just be what I am looking for. The CCT needs to be no higher than 3500K, but lower is good provided there is a sufficient CRI. Now I have to find a Sylvania retailer near me...

Have NEVER seen those here   (D830) .  Now, for awhile Sylvania had Designer Warm White....  Design 50 may be good if you can find them.  The distributor in Columbia, SC only carried D50 in 40 watt.  I did get a  case of the Sylvania made VitaLites which are nothing more than a re named Design 50. I can get what I want only if I order a case.  Lowes has only 96 inch lamps in Sylvania and Home Depot is only Philips in 48 inch and smaller. 

Did the change over happen around the same time they changed there packaging?  I noticed a new sleeve style at Lowe's before I heard about this.

Mine are Hungarian lamps in new style sleeves.

That is interesting. I thought the Hungarian GE plant had closed. Maybe they have some leftovers....

Some Indonesian tubes I saw in Canadian Tire still had Made in Hungary printed on the sleeve, however there was a sticker over that part that read Made in Indonesia. If I remember correctly, there were sleeves of the same style that had Made in Indonesia printed directly on the sleeve.

if you strike out i have plenty of older f15t8/n.
you just need warmer high cri?