Lighting question
 

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 9 Oct 2010 22:35:03 +0100, "Max Demian"
wrote:

"Mark Carver" wrote in message
...
Max Demian wrote:

You've got it the wrong way round. It's CFLs that contain mercury (and
if
one blows up you are supposed to abandon the house and call in a
decontamination team).

Remind me how long fluorescent tubes have been in use domestically in
the
UK ?

Why?

I have. Your question is irrelevant. I was referring to modern health and
safety practices.

--
Max Demian

Lighting question
 

Dave Farrance wrote:
"Graham." wrote:

I know CFLs and linier fluorescents contain Hg, what I was trying to say is the CFLs
in question don't contain *enough* Hg. Is that clearer?

The Health Protection Agency more or less agrees. Their guide says pick
up all the bits and open the doors and windows for 15 minutes.

http://tinyurl.com/3yg45yj which points at

http://www.hpa.org.uk/ProductsServic...rcuryandMCFLs/

I remember at my primary school one of the teachers attempting to replace a
fluorescent tube in the classroom. It slipped out of his hand and smashed on
the desks below, he then enlisted us to help clear up the debris !

Circa 1972

--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

www.paras.org.uk

Lighting question
 

"Graham." wrote in message
...
"Max Demian" wrote in message
...
"Graham." wrote in message
...

It takes three full minutes for the brightness to approach that of those
that are already warmed up.
There's no good reason to keep Hg out of our children's brains if they
are going to die from falling down the stairs due light-bulbs deficient
of same...

You've got it the wrong way round. It's CFLs that contain mercury (and if
one blows up you are supposed to abandon the house and call in a
decontamination team).

I don't think there's much harmful in ordinary light bulbs. (Some people
eat them.)

I know CFLs and linier fluorescents contain Hg, what I was trying to say
is the CFLs
in question don't contain *enough* Hg. Is that clearer?

Yes, provided the reason that CFLs are slow to brighten is due to a
reduction in Hg.

--
Max Demian

Lighting question
 

" wrote in message
...
On Oct 9, 4:21 pm, Mark Carver wrote:
Remind me how long fluorescent tubes have been in use domestically in
the UK ?

When I was at junior school in the mid/late 1950s the classrooms had
fluorescents. We were told when the school opened that it was the
first school in the West Riding to have them, but that probably wasn't
quite true because a lot of identical schools were built at that time.
The lights were unreliable and the teachers used to have to whack the
starters with their canes.

OK well I moved into a newly built house in 1957 that had fluorescent strip
lights, but I don't suppose that is anything like the earliest.

Mostly only commercial premises had them.

--
Max Demian

Lighting question
 

"j r powell" wrote in message
...

" wrote in message
...

When I was at junior school in the mid/late 1950s the classrooms had
fluorescents. We were told when the school opened that it was the
first school in the West Riding to have them, but that probably wasn't
quite true because a lot of identical schools were built at that time.
The lights were unreliable and the teachers used to have to whack the
starters with their canes.

Are you making this up? In an traditional glow-type starter, the switching
is done by a bimetallic strip (similar to the ones used in some
thermostats) encased in an airtight glass bubble filled with a special
gas. When you power up the fluorescent light, the gas heats up (and glows
of course), causing the two strips of metal to bend and touch, which then
switches on the heater filmaent at each end of the flourescent tube.
As soon as the strips touch and make the circuit, the gas cools down
again, the strips separate again, and the lamp starts glowing.

I think the heater filaments are on all the time to ensure the gas is
ionised at a reasonable voltage. The starter interrupts the supply to
generate an extra large voltage using something like the induction coil in a
car to start off the conduction.

At least that's how I've always thought they worked.

--
Max Demian

Lighting question
 

In article
,
wrote:
When I was at junior school in the mid/late 1950s the classrooms had
fluorescents. We were told when the school opened that it was the
first school in the West Riding to have them, but that probably wasn't
quite true because a lot of identical schools were built at that time.
The lights were unreliable and the teachers used to have to whack the
starters with their canes.

I remember our school hall being refurbished in the '50s. With florries
built in along the roof beams - looked very neat.
Dimmable too. A dirty great equipment rack in the stage lighting box with
a lever which needed both hands to move. Gawd knows what that cost.

--
*How do you tell when you run out of invisible ink? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Lighting question
 

In article ,
j r powell wrote:
When I was at junior school in the mid/late 1950s the classrooms had
fluorescents. We were told when the school opened that it was the
first school in the West Riding to have them, but that probably wasn't
quite true because a lot of identical schools were built at that time.
The lights were unreliable and the teachers used to have to whack the
starters with their canes.

Are you making this up? In an traditional glow-type starter, the
switching is done by a bimetallic strip (similar to the ones used in
some thermostats) encased in an airtight glass bubble filled with a
special gas.

And if you actually knew what a bi-metal strip was you'd realise they can
'stick'or make a poor contact. 'Cured' by whacking - like so much else
in schools then.

--
*"I am " is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Lighting question
 

Peter Duncanson wrote:

"Brian Gaff" wrote:

I've been meaning to ask a question about these sell your surplus
electric back to the grid ideas. I wonder if you put a patch lead between
two properties and put up some fake solar panels and wind turbines if both
houses could sell each others back to different bill constructors and save
oodles of dosh?

I suspect that there might be a meter measuring not just the current but
the direction of the current to and from a house.

But with the bloody ridiculous Feed In Tariffs, the proud solar
household doesn't need to provide the power back to the grid, they get
paid 41/kWh for generating the power, regardless of what happens to it,
they can be paid an extra 3p/kWh for actually exporting the power, but
rather than have the hassle of installing a meter to measure this, they
can be deemed to export 50% of it regardless.

I just notice one of the FiT websites has a petition to dissuade the new
government from scrapping the tariffs, I do wish they would ...

Lighting question
 

Martin wrote:

According to a Dutch CA test report Ikea's CFL are both best and cheapest.

But presumably still Edison Screw fitting instead of Bayonet?

Lighting question
 

On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 11:15:33 +0200, Martin wrote:

According to a Dutch CA test report Ikea's CFL are both best and cheapest.

Got them in our house, they're certainly the most attractive (read 'female
friendly' ! )

The sort that take minutes to warm up seem to be obsolete junk that somebody is
dumping in UK.

Considering the relative costs of CFLs in Britain (from 10p a pop) with
the cost in France / Spain etc (¤3+, no discounts) if I was going to
sell a load off, I'd do it elsewhere for ¤2, rather than try and dump
them in a country where the price is already very low.

Nobody else would buy them :-)

The quality is much higher outside UK. There are no delays when we turn our CFL
lights on here in the Netherlands.

Who / what is the manufacturer / brand?
Is the country of manufacture given on the lamp base?
e.g Phillips Softtone made in Poland.

We avoid buying Phillips stuff.

But Philips making good stuff, Phillips don't.