My relitive has a 1978 Mcgraw - Edison NEMA light that has been operating for 30 years with the same bulb. It is a little green but not much! How can this be? You think it would have gone out by now or just got really dim. I will possably post pictures later.

 I have some Westinghouse lamps that had 40 years of service and still working...I got about 4 of em, 3 of them from 1969 and one from 1967 and they were in service until 2007 and I acquired them but gave away 2 of em...It has had 38-40 years of service dude! They are  very dim though, but I and a few members here have a bunch of Westys and some Sylvania lamps that has had been in service since the 70s. I have a cleartop 100 watt Sylvania from I believe 1973 dim but works....


GE has had problems so usually they didnt last as long as Westys or Sylvania, This is because they had bigger electrodes, and special coating on the electrodes...

The Westy was Lifeguard, the Sylvania "Banner" and GE was called "Bonusline" but the companies stopped those features because the lamps lasted too long and they were not making money out of it...but Westy continued with the Lifeguard until they were bought out.

Westinghouse last the longest of all and stay bright longest too!

Oh its usually the 175 watt that last the longest of all and the 100 watt the 2nd longest...

cool! it is a 175 watt

My grandmother has a nice NEMA head fixture (not sure of age or model though) installed in her backyard with a clear BT 175w MV lamp, and it still works fine (with that lamp). She doesn't use that fixture anymore; I definitely would like to put that fixture into use after my 175w MV bucket light dies - I imagine that NEMA (and the lamp) still would work fine for years to come!

I have a GE Bonusline lamp made in January 1962 that was in service for over 40 years and it still works.

Why they did away with M.V. considering their reliability in comparison to MH and HPS is beyond me!!!

they susposedly banned mercury vapor lamps because of inefficency and the hazzard's of mercury.
if lamps were banned soley on inefficency then the incandescent lamp should be practially extinct by now.
as for the mercury hazzard,some metal halide lamps actually contain more mercury,so i think they really banned mercury vapor just for the heck of it.
banning mercury vapor lamps is the least of the goverments concern when they cant even properly enforce laws,idiots!!!