LIGHT BULBS???

Peter Schrager · Apr 4, 2009

so can anyone please enlighten me about the fate of light bulbs in the future here in the US?? I just bought a dichroic enlarger and want to know if I need to hoard bulbs for later use.....
thanx, Peter

David Brown · Apr 4, 2009

I keep a spare, but always have. I won't start hoarding until this question actually has a definitive answer.

David William White · Apr 4, 2009

Your head probably uses a halogen bulb, yes? I think it's the tungsten bulbs that are on the endangered species list. Even if yours is tungsten, I'm sure that bulbs will still be manufactured for specialized applications, even if not for household use.

fschifano · Apr 4, 2009

DON'T PANIC!

mjs · Apr 4, 2009

I'm not panicing -- but I have a couple of enlarger bulbs secreted away, just in case the paranoid tree-huggers manage to do away with all of them in their rightous lunacy.

I don't sound bitter, do I?

Mike

mike c · Apr 4, 2009

mjs said:
I'm not panicing -- but I have a couple of enlarger bulbs secreted away, just in case the paranoid tree-huggers manage to do away with all of them in their rightous lunacy.

I don't sound bitter, do I?

Mike

Amen brother!!!

cowanw · Apr 4, 2009

The pendulum will swing back once people realize what the mercury in compact flourescent lights leaching in landfill will do to their unborn children.

fschifano · Apr 4, 2009

I hear you.

bill schwab · Apr 4, 2009

Funny this is mentioned as I just stocked up with what should get me through to the end of the runway.

nickandre · Apr 4, 2009

I believe these are also used for other purposes like overhead projectors and gallery lights. They look the same at least

I bought my enlarger a year ago and haven't touched it. When it craps I'll start looking.

nworth · Apr 4, 2009

As I understand it, the law mandating the use of non-incandescent lighting in the US (which will not take effect for some time yet) applies only to lamps for lighting. Bulbs for specialty applications - like projection lamps, miniature lamps used for indicators, enlarging lamps, lamps for scientific instruments and the like - would still be available as long as there is a demand. The law also only applies to the US, and most incandescent lamps are made outside the US.

Monophoto · Apr 5, 2009

cowanw said:
The pendulum will swing back once people realize what the mercury in compact fluorescent lights leaching in landfill will do to their unborn children.

Conventional tubular fluorescent bulbs have been in widespread use in the US for more than 60-70 years. They also contain much more mercury, and in a more difficult form to manage, than compact fluorescent bulbs and no one appears to be at all exercised about that.

Coal-fired power plants currently put far more mercury into the environment than is contained in all of the fluorescent bulbs in use around the world. And no one has become concerned about that one either.

Actually, I would predict that the current compact fluorescent bubble is a transient effect. White LEDs will be commercially viable within 10 years and are the more likely long-term solution.

Wade D · Apr 5, 2009

I've used 75-100 watt vanity globes with B&W for years without a problem. Much cheaper than the PH211 bulb my MF enlarger uses.
There was a thread here not long ago on how to build an LED head for large format. I can't remember where but copied down the supplier and am attempting to build a head for an old 5x7 Elwood.
Even LED's have manufacturing by-products which I'm sure the tree huggers will glom onto in the future. They are a vocal minority so maybe the majority should become more vocal.
I hope this is not off topic and apologize if it is.

BobNewYork · Apr 5, 2009

Just so long as they're working on an LED version of the ELH and EYA I'm a happy camper. Meantime I think I'm going to supply myself with enough to join Bill on the tarmac!!

Bob H

MartinP · Apr 5, 2009

From here in Europe we have the impression that the replacement efforts are being headed by the manufacturers. Simply for profit. The halogen bulbs will probably last a while longer though, at least until LED's catch up with the light output vs. cost.

The side-effect is that there will be no factories producing ordinary tungsten globe bulbs due to economies of scale, which has a direct effect on the availability of the almost-identical enlarger bulbs. Philips (big manufacturer in Europe) has already stopped a lot of their production. It might be a good moment to come up with a white (or coloured, for multigrade use?) LED kit and produce it for re-sale, leaving the manufacture of adapters for particular enlargers up to the individual.

wogster · Apr 5, 2009

Monophoto said:
Conventional tubular fluorescent bulbs have been in widespread use in the US for more than 60-70 years. They also contain much more mercury, and in a more difficult form to manage, than compact fluorescent bulbs and no one appears to be at all exercised about that.

Coal-fired power plants currently put far more mercury into the environment than is contained in all of the fluorescent bulbs in use around the world. And no one has become concerned about that one either.

Actually, I would predict that the current compact fluorescent bubble is a transient effect. White LEDs will be commercially viable within 10 years and are the more likely long-term solution.

White LED's are already commercially available, I have a new bicycle light sitting here to go on my wife's bicycle, it uses an LED, I have a white LED flash light as well, both are 5w and put out quite a bit of light. I have a set of patio lights that also use white LED's. It's more bluish then the yellowish incandescent bulb flash light, but that is not entirely a bad thing, they are actually whiter.

I think for enlargers, what is a more likely development is to move to 3 LEDs in red, green and blue, then use a ASIC to control the voltage to each lamp, if you want more yellow light you increase the voltage to the red and green LEDs while reducing it to the blue LED.

Andy K · Apr 5, 2009

mjs said:
I'm not panicing -- but I have a couple of enlarger bulbs secreted away, just in case the paranoid tree-huggers manage to do away with all of them in their rightous lunacy.

I don't sound bitter, do I?

Mike

I hear that. I'm sick and tired of the ecofascist minority forcing their agenda on the rest of us.

Poohblah · Apr 5, 2009

cowanw said:
The pendulum will swing back once people realize what the mercury in compact flourescent lights leaching in landfill will do to their unborn children.

One of the reasons it's best to recycle your CFL bulbs when they finally do burn out.

Andy K · Apr 5, 2009

Poohblah said:
One of the reasons it's best to recycle your CFL bulbs when they finally do burn out.

In an ideal world that would be true, but we don't live in an ideal world. Now the green idiots have forced CFL bulbs on everyone there will be millions who will just throw old CFL bulbs in the trash. At least with the old incandescent bulbs there was no pollution risk if they ended up in landfill. They were easier and cheaper to recycle too, with no need for hazardous waste treatment.

Forcing CFLs on everyone is so short-sighted it beggars belief.

Peter Schrager · Apr 5, 2009

bulbs

thanxs everyone for the info....went ahead and bought a bunch anyway....and I still have 2 aristo cold lights that are going strong after 20 years
Best, Peter

cowanw · Apr 5, 2009

Monophoto said:
Conventional tubular fluorescent bulbs have been in widespread use in the US for more than 60-70 years. They also contain much more mercury, and in a more difficult form to manage, than compact fluorescent bulbs and no one appears to be at all exercised about that.

Coal-fired power plants currently put far more mercury into the environment than is contained in all of the fluorescent bulbs in use around the world. And no one has become concerned about that one either.

Actually, I would predict that the current compact fluorescent bubble is a transient effect. White LEDs will be commercially viable within 10 years and are the more likely long-term solution.

True but now we are talking about EVERY light bulb in North America and industry and schools etc are way more likely to dispose of them correctly.
Such as this: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55213
Regards
Bill

brianmquinn · Apr 5, 2009

Just one old style bulb will release more mercury into the enviroment than one CFL if you use coal for the power to run the bulb.

see

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

Andy K · Apr 5, 2009

brianmquinn said:
Just one old style bulb will release more mercury into the enviroment than one CFB if you use coal for the power to run the bulb.

Says who?

cowanw · Apr 5, 2009

Of course I am sensitized. In Ontario we had an outbreak of Minamata's disease in an aboriginal community in 1970 and, apropos to APUG, w Eugene Smith was instrumental in publicizing the nature of this terrible environmental problem. We have a limit on the amount of Great Lakes fish to be consumed of two fish meals a week.

cowanw · Apr 5, 2009

brianmquinn said:
Just one old style bulb will release more mercury into the enviroment than one CFL if you use coal for the power to run the bulb.

see

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

Maybe burning coal and imbibing mercury are both bad for you.

LIGHT BULBS???

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