adam2

I have just experimented and found that ELV LED bulbs CAN be dimmed but not by any standard type of dimmer. I have some LED lamps intended for DC supply from 10 volts up to 30 volts. They give full light output down to about 11 volts, dim slightly at 10 volts and dim smoothly on lower voltages, going out at about 8 volts. So possible but not very convenient.

12 volt and 24 volt LED bulbs are readily available with standard E27 or B22 caps, they are widely used in buses, yachts, off grid homes, and where mains voltage is prohibited or unwise. Most types are can not be dimmed. Last year I used these in footlights for a basic outdoor stage. Did not attempt dimming but simply a choice of light levels by selective switching. Coloured lamps exist but are rare. "onsolar" offer a range of ELV LED Lamps. One style has two switch selectable output settings. 0.5 watts or 2.5 watts. Use of these lamps would give several brightness settings. VERY LOW=alternate lamps lit at 0.5 watts LOW= all lamps lit at 0.5 watts MEDIUM=Alternate lamps lit at 2.5 watts. FULL= all lamps lit at 2.5 watts. Higher wattage lamps such as 24 volt, 6 watt exist but are not suitable for dimming.

I have installed a number of 5 amp and 15 amp round pin socket outlets in the last few years. Including. 15 amp outlets in a private school for wall mounted electric heaters. 13 amp not used as the heating sockets are time controlled. 15 amp sockets in a local café kitchen for heavy loading appliance that tended to burn out 13 amp plugs. 5 amp sockets in a friends home, for table lamps. Controlled by wall switches unlike the 13 amp sockets. And in an off grid house, both 5 amp and 15 amp outlets for 25 volts DC. 5 amps for lighting, refrigeration, TV, laptop PC, desk fans, Christmas lights and other low loading appliances. 15 amp sockets for kettle, microwave oven, and induction cooking ring. These sockets have become an unofficial standard in off grid premises for 25 volt circuits. The similar style plugs and sockets rated at 2 amps, should not in my view be used in most modern installations. They were designed in the days of small twin twisted lamp flex with single insulation. They are too small to readily accept modern 0.75mm insulated and sheathed flexible cords.

In my view, theatre lanterns in a school or elsewhere DO need PAT testing, but not in most cases every year. If routinely moved from one hall to another, and perhaps dropped or knocked or the flex damaged, then every year is reasonable. In the more typical use, of out of easy reach and seldom disturbed, then every 3 years or every 5 five years might be reasonable. And PAT monkeys really need to be told that there is nothing illegal about 5 amp or 15 amp round pin plugs and sockets. They are still made and installed for a variety of purposes, not JUST theatre lighting.

I suspect that these must be among the brightest and highest efficiency LED lamps yet. The Philips Dubai lamps are even more efficient but available only in small sizes and readily obtainable outside of Dubai. 176 lumens per watt. 42 watt lamp to replace metal halide lamps. Not dimmable. Rather an unlikely choice for production lighting as not dimmable and not compact. Good for working lights to replace the high wattage incandescents often used. Possibly also good for workshops, and for external lighting. Not yet available in the UK but hopefully soon will be. Multi voltage, which is less needed here than in the USA but still useful. My link

I would say turn off when not in use. A little electricity is saved thus, and also the fan is often the weak point in such equipment and running it 24/7 will only shorten the life of the fan, and also suck in more dirt and dust.

I repeat my earlier remark that a 1,200 watt lamp is unlikely to regularly blow a 5 amp fuse. However SOMETHING is clearly operating the fuses. And further investigation is prudent. In particular the following points. A PROPER test and inspection of the lantern that is blowing fuses. Confirm by inspection that the lamp is in fact 1,200 watt, and not some larger lamp that has been bodged to fit. Careful inspection of the plug, the flexible cord and the internal wiring of the lantern. Replace if in doubt. Confirm by inspection that the blown fuses are in fact 5 amps and not some smaller size. School installations are prone to having smaller fuses fitted "for improved safety" Double check for any wrong or mistaken patching. A 1,200 watt lantern sharing a channel with another small lantern could well blow a 5 amp fuse. A formal test and inspection of the wiring between the dimmers and the lanterns.

I would be very surprised indeed if a 1,200 watt lamp is regularly blowing a 5 amp fuse. The degree of overload is very small. It is possible that some other fault or overload exists. More details required. A 1,200 watt lamp designed for 240 volts and used on a 240 volt supply is exactly 5 amps. A 240 volt lamp used on a 230 volt supply is slightly less than 5 amps.

And if work or leisure takes you near open water, do wear a life preserver ! I recently fell into the sea and was glad of said life preserver ! I was standing in an open boat about to offer a helping hand to a kid stepping into the vessel. The child slipped from the pontoon into the boat thereby knocking me into the water. I would probably have been fine without any precautions, but it is well to be cautious. It was a large boat, but definitely a boat and not a ship.

Update to this, metal filament lamps are still being sold on fleabay as "carbon filament" but numbers have been reduced from hundreds to dozens. Possibly because I have been reporting incorrect listings.

I was similarly disappointed with some "Megaman" branded replacements.I'm not sure if there's enough of a market to justify development of any better solutions, most people will simply replace security floods with new models and as someone mentioned above many of them are rusting away to nothing anyway. One advantage of the linear halogen bulbs is that they're relatively inexpensive, so you could buy up enough stock to keep your Codas for quite a while yet. I wonder what sort of shelf life the bulbs themselves have? I suspect that these very popular 500 watt linear halogen lamps will be around long after the ban. Note for example the number of 100 watt GLS lamps that are still on sale, many years after these were banned. It would however be prudent to buy a large stock for just in case. I would expect the shelf life to be almost infinite, centuries at least, if kept in clean dry conditions.

Ballasts might become a problem, but they tend to last longer than lamps, and often are still working when a fitting is discarded, and are therefore available for re-use. They are smaller to store, and less easily broken in storage than are lamps. I would however suggest that anyone scrapping a fluorescent light fitting should consider saving the ballast, it takes moments to remove it and you may want it one day. Might even be valuable one day. Electronic ballasts have a limited shelf life as the capacitors degrade. Coper/iron ballasts should keep forever. Think twice about disposing of any surplus fluorescent lamps, someone else may be glad of them, either as a favour or for a price. BTW, I am old enough to remember many now virtually extinct types of fluorescent lamp and control gear including, Five foot 80 watt, with bayonet caps. Coloured lamps that were a different colour each end. 2 foot 40 watt lamps. Lamps with a SINGLE pin each end. Odd voltage tungsten lamps for operation in series with a fluorescent tube, instead of a ballast. 4 pin lamp starters, thermal, not glow. "double glow" starters, two glow starters in the same 4 pin can. Special rotary switches for fluorescent lamps on DC mains, these reversed the supply polarity each time the lamp was turned on, to avoid the mercury migrating to one end. Special ballasts for 400 cycle supplies. Ballasts with tapings for different mains voltages. Chokes with a separate starting transformer. Desk lamps with a manual starting switch, built into the on/off switch. And others.

I also fear for the longer term availability of "blacklight" and other special types of fluorescent lamp. It would seem reasonable to exempt these special types from the coming ban, but that does not tell the whole story. If production of the common types of fluorescent tube is banned, then I rather doubt that keeping open the factory to make small numbers of specials will be viable. Special types of fluorescent include. UV blacklight popular for effects in the entertainment industry. UV insect killer lamps. Cosmetic sun tanning lamps. Deep yellow "safe" lights used in photochemical processes. Also sometimes for outdoor use to avoid attracting insects. Actinic blue lamps for printing. Clear glass germicidal lamps, for air and water treatment. Other coloured lamps. Most of these are made in volumes of a few hundred at most, as a "sideline" in works that produce millions of the popular types.

This announcement by the lighting industry makes the position clearer. My link As I suspected, lamps already in stock may be still be sold. And not all halogen lamps are to be banned. Self ballasted CFLs ARE to be banned. HMG really ought to proof read their own press releases.

Does anyone know WHICH lamp types are to be banned ? The government press release looks to have been written by a p0litician rather than by an engineer and gives no details. It also implies that SALES will be banned from September, whereas previous "bans" related only to manufacture or import, with existing stocks allowed to be sold lawfully.

The ban on certain types of lamp is to be extended to many types of halogen lamp, according to news reports. BBC news As with previous bans I presume that manufacture or import is to be prohibited, and that existing stocks may be sold and used without concerns. Does anyone have a link to a list of types to be banned ? Mainly the smaller ones used d0m3stically I suspect, though do be aware that production of other types may cease.

Also, all common types of hand winch have a safety mechanism to prevent it running backwards when the operator lets go the handle. Commonly a device known as a "pawl" that engages with a cog wheel and prevents unintended rotation. An older slang term in some places is a "dog" See here for example wikipedia link

An interesting link in the previous post, but please be aware that the product reviewed in that link is almost certainly different to the products offered at present on fleabay and elsewhere.

I suspect that MOST LED filaments contain series connected LEDs, but not perhaps all types. For a mains voltage LED lamp, a driver circuit that gives 20ma at 150 volts is probably cheaper and simpler than one for 1 amp at 3 volts. For lamps with a 12 volt input, then a driver circuit for 3 volts might be cheaper than a voltage boosting circuit with a 150 volt output. I have some 3 volt, 3 watt, E27 LED filament lamps that I suspect contain no control circuitry whatsoever, they work fine directly from a couple of D cells, or three in series with a dropper resistance from 12 volts DC.

Most of us are probably familiar with LED "filament" lamps, glass bulbs that contain or more long strips of tiny LEDs that somewhat resemble an incandescent filament. A wide variety are available including mains voltage, other voltages, in various colours. The driver circuitry is in the cap of the lamp. A relatively new product, is the bare LED strips, not mounted in a bulb, and without any driver circuitry. This sort of thing, ebay link No specific recommendation is made regarding that particular product or that particular seller, link provided to illustrate the TYPE of product to which I refer. Very little technical information is provided, and a little experiment may be called for. Some types are listed as being "3 volts" which I would presume to mean that they need connection to either a constant current driver circuit, or to a higher DC voltage via a dropper resistance. Other listings don't even give the voltage. Please be very careful in experimenting. The voltages involved are almost certainly harmless but enough wattage and enough current to start a fire are required. The longer lengths may require several amps, enough to start a fire if a fault occurs. Might be useful for special effects ? Battery operation would be possible. ISTR that BigClive did a technical review on youtube of this or a similar product a couple of years ago. Might be worth a look ? Though be aware that the specification may have changed since then. Longer lengths and a choice of colours are now available.

Yes it will be an interesting risk assessment ! but I am not involved in that part of the production. MOST of the filming will be in an historic building, but the fire scene will be in a set built in the grounds, proper precautions will be taken both to ensure that the fire starts when it should, and that no one is endangered thereby. The Amazon link provided above is for a replacement glass for the type of candle holder to which I refer, but what is desired is the complete article. Good ones were made of real silver and therefore expensive, cheap ones of brass or tin plated steel. Used to be common.

Can anyone suggest a supplier for a hand held candle holder that is draught resistant. Not an enclosed lantern, but a simple candle stick with a glass cylinder surrounding the flame to protect against draughts. For a real wax candle, not an electric fake. Not for actual theatre use, but for filming in an old house. The sort of thing used for walking around a darkened house before electric torches. Must be cheap NOT A VALUABLE old one, as it is to be dropped and a fire started thereby. An ACTUAL fire is to be started, but that bit will of course be done in a expendable set.

A DC to DC converter adds an extra point of failure, and also adds losses and increases the total power demand slightly. Some types may also add interference noise as they are a type of switched mode power supply. A lot depends on how much power is required. A single 7AH battery will be cheaper than a pair of 3,5 AH batteries. A pair of 60 AH batteries or a single 120 AH battery will cost about the same. Actual prices vary a lot. What have you got already ? What will be most useful for other purposes ? In particular note that 12 volt 7 AH batteries are hugely popular and often much cheaper per AH than other sizes. A pair of 7 AH batteries will usually be a lot cheaper than a single 17 AH battery.

A steam loco at rest should emit very little steam. The safety valves located atop the boiler will open when the steam pressure becomes excessive. A good fireman will reduce the rate of stoking, so as to avoid this which wastes considerable fuel and water. If, on the other hand, the fire be low and in need of urging, then the blower is turned on, this uses steam jets to draw more air through the fire. Use is minimised to save water and fuel. Before starting of, the cylinder drain are opened, this produces clouds of steam at low level, but only when starting. Most locomotives can supply steam to the train for heating, some leaks are likely from the connection between rear of tender and the first coach. It is well worth viewing youtube for steam engines.

I agree. The risk is low, but Iwould be uneasy selling it without a UK colour code flex "just in cases" Most people would realise that green was earth, and the other two dont in fact much matter in this particuar case, but if someone connected green to live, and if a life was lost, you might be held liable.