I was laying in bed and the idea came up in my mind that I could maybe use a diamond saw to cut the ends off the two dead power grooves I have, clear out the contaminated phosphor install new electrodes and reseal and gas the lamps... Problem is I have no clue where to get New equivalent electrodes nor do I posses any glass blowing, welding or gassing skills...

Is this a viable possibility?

Honestly it'd be awesome to obtain some red or green phosphors and figure out how to recoat the entire lamp I would have an even brighter lamp than a standard power groove due to green phosphors being extremely bright...

Is the phosphors from other lamps salvageable? Like if I were to smash open several modern green lamps and run water through into a bucket to collect the phosphors then bake the water out would they be damaged? Or maybe there is a way to use forced air or some other chemical means? Perhaps static electricity?

This is all way beyond my currently available resources but one day I may get around to it...

I think it is nearly impossible.
First for welding new endcaps you need few inches of straight tube on each end. Present tubes have the welds already there, so you would have to cut them shorter and to stay with the tube length, weld on pieces of extension tubing.
And mainly the material (soft glass) is extremely fragile and prone to thermal stress cracking. With automated machine (so accurate) processing of a new fresh material it is on the edge what is even feasible. Doubt you would be able to reach even any close heat uniformity. Plus unlike the factory, you would have to deal with alreqdy stressed materials, with many extra welds (the extensions) close to the complex shaping (where the groves start). You would have to be really a glass blowing guru to manage all that with the soft glass.

Phosphor may be somehow recovered, at the expense of contaminating it so compromising efficacy, but I guess that would be the least worry here. Maybe it would be easier to acquire some modern mix...

For cathode assemblies you would have to get somewhere the cathode coating paste. As far as I undestood, when applied and dried, it has very short shelf life, so needs to be sealed in, evacuated and activated quite soon after application, so I doubt there is any possibility for premade cathodes.

In addition, you need to know the exact amount of mercury, gas fill composition and pressure in order to get the voltage across the tube correct. You can make the phosphors, but it is an arduous process which requires heating the components in a quartz tube to between 1000-1150 degrees centigrade, cooling them, milling the mixture, then repeating the heating process, milling the phosphor again, then washing it with distilled water and drying it at 160 degrees centigrade. The exact temperature depends on the phosphor you are making.


In other words- Its not worth it. It is possible, but it would require a laboratory and several furnaces, one to anneal the glass, and another to fire the phosphor. The lamp would probably also have to be heated during the exhausting process.

Well that sucks. Green power grooves would be fun.