Author Topic: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores  (Read 2025 times)
xmaslightguy
Member
*****
Offline

Gender: Male
View Posts
View Gallery

Somewhere There Is Light(ning)


GoL ATL
Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « on: February 11, 2019, 11:40:26 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
I stopped by Home Depot on the way home from work (just to check out the clearance stuff as I do now & then). This store has those 3x5-foot T5 tandem fixtures.
First thing I noticed after I walked in the store is a couple lights blinking - they're programmed-start, so its sorta like an EOL preheat would (not uncommon to see 1 or 2 fixtures with a pair of lamps in that condition, but today was different...)
As I was walking down the light aisle I noticed more lights doing the same thing & really couldn't help but looking up at the lights in every aisle as I walked across the back of the store after checking light clearances.
Scattered all through the place there were blinking lights on the ceiling, some in the  preheat-ish fashion, some had lamps that'd gone mercury-starved (so were blinking pink), some really only the lamp-ends & a partial discharge blinking. Far too many for it to have just been EOL lamps or ballasts (especially since a week ago the lights were fine)
Oh and it looks like those fixtures have 3x 2-lamp ballasts: 1 for the 2 center lamps, and 1 for each pair of outer lamps, in pairs like that is how they blinked. (If one set of lamps in a fixture were doing it, they all were. And the working fixtures, all lamps were on normally)
Pretty crazy looking (the thought of "discotheque at Home Depot" came to mind .LOL. though it wasn't quite that bad since there were plenty of lights working normally) My best guess is that one of the 3-phases was probably running at half-voltage.


-----------------
Anyone else have any weird 'light' stories from trips to a store?
Logged

ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

sol
Member
*****
Offline

View Posts
View Gallery

Re: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « Reply #1 on: February 12, 2019, 08:39:03 PM » Author: sol
There are plenty of videos of this phenomenon in Walmart on Youtube.

I've seen it at school once when it was all 2xF40T12 magnetic. Most classrooms looked like all the lamps were EOL and flashing mildly like magnetic RS EOL. A few classrooms had all lights working. It was a bit unusual.
Logged
Cole D.
Member
*****
Offline

View Posts
View Gallery

123 V 60 CPS


Dk944Mr-jX4jbnoUUj7xAw
Re: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « Reply #2 on: February 12, 2019, 10:19:27 PM » Author: Cole D.
I hadn't noticed so much with fluorescent. But when the old Publix was here, it had those 2x2 parabolic troffers with MH lamps, and sometimes they would be cycling. And I remember one that was greened out for a long time.

Also at HD I always see some LED display fixtures flashing on and off due to EOL drivers.
Logged

Collect vintage incandescent and fluorescent fixtures. Also like HID lighting and streetlights.

suzukir122
Member
*****
Offline

Gender: Male
View Posts
View Gallery


suzukir123
Re: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « Reply #3 on: February 15, 2019, 07:14:09 AM » Author: suzukir122
I gotta say... I've never seen any magnetic ballasted fixture act up like that, unless with an EOL lamp. With F40T12 Rapid Start magnetic
ballasted fixtures, I'd have to see it take place to believe it lol... I've seen many electronic ballasted fixtures
act up like this though... with originally good lamps... of course reducing lamp life significantly given time.
But the situation Xmaslightguy mentioned here was definitely similar to the situation I encountered at a Walmart store
I shopped at with family several years ago. I unfortunately don't remember where this Walmart was located, but it was ceiling tile based,
and it had many lights blinking... half discharge blinks. Each of them also had very, very blackened ends on each side.
*Edit.... forgot to mention that these fixtures were F32T8 electronic. I don't know if they were Programmed Start or Instant Start.*
Where ever that store was located, I'm very sure that store has been LED infected.
I know for a fact that the Home Depot store Xmaslightguy shops at will be LED infected soon enough as well.

« Last Edit: February 15, 2019, 07:18:08 AM by suzukir122 » Logged

Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

xmaslightguy
Member
*****
Offline

Gender: Male
View Posts
View Gallery

Somewhere There Is Light(ning)


GoL ATL
Re: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « Reply #4 on: February 16, 2019, 09:26:36 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
I went to that particular Home Depot again today, and there's still lights spread randomly throughout the store blinking away .lol. (more of the lamps in the ones that are doing it have gone mercury starved(something that does have a tendency to happen when you blink a fluorescent lamp) so its less noticeable..

Now I wonder if something happened there (a surge? a phase running at reduced voltage for a couple hours? .. and that damaged a bunch of lamps and/or ballasts. I'm sorta surprised that they're still going, that it hasn't either fried the ballasts, or finished off the lamp filaments(which would then activate the EOL protection)

-----------
@suzukir122:
A LPF F40 RS magnetic will just dim (to a point) with reduced voltage.
I'm not sure what would happen with a HPF RS magnetic...I might have to try that sometime!
A 120v electronic instant-start is good down to either 80v or 90v (I can't remember which point it was when I did that test now) .. get below that and they'll start flashing .LOL.
Logged

ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

xmaslightguy
Member
*****
Offline

Gender: Male
View Posts
View Gallery

Somewhere There Is Light(ning)


GoL ATL
Re: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « Reply #5 on: April 25, 2019, 11:59:04 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
Quote from: suzukir122
I know for a fact that the Home Depot store Xmaslightguy shops at will be LED infected soon enough as well
Well, you were correct suzukir122!
I was in that store Monday afternoon, and as of that time, it had been around 1/3rd converted to LED. (I also noticed a couple of the new LED-converted fixtures were out too.)
Logged

ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!

suzukir122
Member
*****
Offline

Gender: Male
View Posts
View Gallery


suzukir123
Re: Crazy Light Things You See In Stores « Reply #6 on: April 26, 2019, 12:06:34 AM » Author: suzukir122
Welp, I knew it.  ;D
Logged

Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

Print 
© 2005-2024 Lighting-Gallery.net | SMF 2.0.19 | SMF © 2021, Simple Machines | Terms and Policies