I once had a 1000-watt bulb (inside-frosted) that I got from the theatrical department of a college. Fired it up, full-voltage! It actually made a buzzing sound while it was lit. Man, it got hot!
I have one of those in your collection the one in the 6 bulb value pack I got it for 2 dollars to nice collection of bulbs really enjoyed the video can wait for part 2
Hi Jordan, great video on this collection of old incandescent bulbs! I’ve been trying to start a light bulb collection ever since I built a dim bulb tester for testing vintage electronics. Unfortunately my okay-will doesn’t normally take incandescent light bulbs, but occasionally some will slip through. Recently I’ve started to check their table lamps for any unique lights, and I’m glad I did because recently I found a huge ‘50s Aerolux dura-lite flower bulb in one of them. What a surprise! Even the manager had to come see when I turned it on. The whole lamp was 3.49 so it was a no brainer. No idea what it was doing in a table lamp, as these bulbs aren’t meant to put out any feasible light. 13:20 the Mazda bulb may be a sign lamp of some kind, like what you would see on the edges of a sign moving in a pattern. Only consumes like 10w maybe.
Not sure but At 29:30 I believe you have a very early vacuum tube. Possibly for a transmitter. That may be a very special find. At 30:26 I believe those are neon lamps used in electronic and electrical panel boards as on/off or running system indicators. They are called glow lamps because when the neon gas is excited it glows an orange color. No filament in a neon bulb
Can see the grid and the plate inside of the bulb. Edison did early work that led to Lee DeForest inventing the vacuum tube. But this one does not appear to be that old.
9:10 Those are actually "silver bowl" bulbs. The coating on the bottom is reflective like what would be used in something like an R30 reflector-flood bulb. That way, the light is directed upwards when the bulb is positioned base-up to create an uplighting effect. These bulbs are mainly used in certain pendant light fixtures, like those ones with multiple rings surrounding the bulb in the middle. In the town I used to live in, there was an On-The-Border restaurant with those "barn" style pendant lights over the tables, and they had silver bowl bulbs inside them. It was really neat looking, when I was younger I used to call them "solar eclipse" bulbs. Street light/traffic light bulbs look like regular bulbs (they are not silver bowl), but they come in strange wattages to achieve a particular lumen requirement. Some are even designed to be wired in series with one another! 13:26 UGH. Hate when etches rub away like that. Not sure why that happens, maybe it has something to do with the storage conditions. Anyway, those are little S11 bulbs, used as indicators and things of that nature. I found them listed in a 1948 GE catalog, so they are pretty old. I would love to see what they look like lit up! 16:26 That is a small germicidal lamp, essentially a tiny low-pressure mercury vapor lamp. Note the little balls of mercury rolling around inside. Protect your eyes for sure with all the UV that thing would put out! You can power them by wiring them in series with a regular 40-watt incandescent bulb or one of those "0.35A" incandescent ballast bulbs, which are glorified regular 40W bulbs. 18:51 I am sometimes like that too, especially when the bulbs themselves are a common type. 19:07 and 22:07 are quite neat! 27:30 That's a sick bulb! That's neat how it has a split filament, I guess it's two 500W segments to make 1000W total. I found that exact bulb in a 1975 Westinghouse catalog, but I suspect the bulb in the video is older. It emits approximately 23,000 lumens when new! 30:05 Those are actually neon bulbs, like what's shown on the Westinghouse package at 26:30. They are used as indicator lights. According to a 1948 GE catalog, these screw-based ones should be able to run directly off of 120V AC since they have the resistor inside the base, though the NE58 designation is a 240V bulb, so the particular ones you have can't. 32:31 Those are S14 bulbs, like the kind used in signs and patio light sets. They are typically 11W nowadays, but these older ones were 10W, and 6W was also available. I found them in a 1948 GE catalog, and they came in a lot of neat colors! Can't wait to see these lit up too! 34:07 That's a weird nightlight, never seen one like that before. For such a low power draw, I wonder if it is neon
BTW, those aren’t traffic light bulbs. Traffic light bulbs are the same size as a traditional bulb, and are completely clear. They are usually labeled “Traffic Signal 8000 hour”
Here are some of the bulbs I can identify: *Ozone Bulbs -> Likely used in early clothes dryers. Used with a 40 watt incandescent bulb in series. Provides UV Sterlization / Pseudo line dry smell. Was a gimmick that was removed by a lot of technicians later. * Blue and Yellow Mazda Bulbs -> Likely these were used in signs. Remember the old pub outdoor signs that flashed two different colors back in the day. Maybe also have been in other things such as roller rink and discotheque multicolored light bars, commercial grade Christmas tree outdoor bulbs (the bigger kind you see on some city Christmas trees), some effects lighting used on game shows, and other places. * Tubular Bulbs -> Likely used in display cases, china cabinets, Music Stand Lights, Desk Lights, and similar. * 1000 Watt Mogul Base Bulb -> Likely used in one of several things. Could be a street light, an early sports field light, an airport light, some kind of industral facility light, or an early light used in a Gymnasium, Natatorium, Sports Arena, Convention Exhibit Hall, Aircraft Hangar, or similar facility but I could be wrong. Likely from the era before the before the HID era where high pressure sodium, mercury vapor, metal halide, etc for those uses became common. Could be used in theatrical I suppose or television studio as well before the Halogen era. * 300 / 500 Watt Mogul Base Bulbs -> These could be used in some street lights, early gas station pole lights, Junkyard lights, industrial facility lights, school cafeteria lighting, early gymnasium / natatorium lighting, industrial lighting, and similar applications. * 500W Flood Bulbs -> Likely was used in some outdoor lighting applications. Could have also been used in some stage lights as well. * NE58 Glow Bulbs -> These were neon bulbs. Likely used in indicators. These could be used for power lights, pilot lamps, and even some audio tone occilators. * The Antique Westinghouse Bulb, -> you need to figure out the voltage first. Some lamps from that era could have been 6V, 12V, 32V, or 120V. A lot of farm bulbs used lower voltages. * I am not sure the ones with the Opaque ends are traffic light bulbs. I would suspect that they are used in applications to provide indirect uplight, but not downlight applications (not sure exactly). Most traffic lights you see the bulb from the end.
That GE 40 watt “ protect eyes” bulb is designed to go in series with a 40 watt incandescent bulb, commonly used in vintage clothes dryers to kill off germs
I had a Dollar General home 60 watt bulb go out on me the other night. Before it quit it was making a bizarre buzzing sound, then it quit and the top of it was all burned.
For those antique bulbs with Carbon Filaments with the glass tips, you only want to power them at half if not 1/3rd power from 120vac. So anywhere from 50vac to 24vac. This is due to the filaments, because they are so old you dont want to risk burning them out or having them break since they are so fragile. So only power them on low voltage.
I went to a Goodwill i have only been to once before, they had Satco model BR-38 amber indoor/outdoor weatherproof floodlights made in Korea (1 out of 3 of the boxes were empty) and a General Electric 50 watt R-20 soft white indoor floodlight for use with track recessed lighting.
I've seen a bunch of them light bulbs with the silver painted on the top most of the time they use those in light fixtures the silver part forces the light upward back when I was in school they had a bunch of fixtures like that in the lunchroom they are not traffic light or signal light bulbs
9:10 Those are silver bowl bulbs, which are also still made. Plus, traffic light bulbs cannot be used in general illumination because the base and the bulb will separate if operated horizontally
I've never heard that limitation on traffic light bulbs. Even if that's true, I don't see why it can't be used for general illumination in applications that aren't horizontal.
Some of those tubular lamps used an intermediate base, which was somewhat smaller than a medium base. They were often used in exit lights and other institutional or commercial applications.
When power is applied to the mercury bulb, the filament heats up and vaporizes the mercury. When that happens, the resultant mercury arc starts conducting, bypassing the filament since it has a much lower resistance. That is why the ballast is needed, to prevent overcurrent and limit pressure build-up inside the bulb.
Those silver bowl bulbs aren't traffic bulbs that i know of. They were used back in the day in those saturn ring fixtures. The NE58 bulbs are neon glow indicators. The 4 watt bulb is a UV-C bulb, they do in fact contain mercury and those bulbs are roughly 9 volts. Other than that though, nice haul there
Back in the 70s my school gymnasium had those 300 watt mogal base bulbs in some high mount fixtures the PE teacher showed one to me and I was fascinated by how big it was I was about 8 it took 4 breakers to turn on 16 fixtures he told me they used to be 500 watt bulbs but the district was trying to save energy
i know these are just vintage light bulbs but it's in my opinion a great and important accusation especially since the funny flickering DEL is taking over everything.
Those bulbs with the exhaust tip at the top seem to have carbon filaments judging by the way it has no supports and the fact that the filament is looped.
I used to have a 1000 watt bulb it was in a housing it's made by GE that had a big piece of glass over the front of it to protect it and I will tell you when you stuck that sucker outside at night and you turned it on it looked like the sun also had a 1500 watt bulb and was brave enough once to turn it on and yeah it's like looking at the sun
you know, its sad.... at one time, GE, Sylvania, Philips, and Westinghouse used to have a full catalog decribing all these lamps and what the styles and sizes meant.... with the advent of LEDs those catalogs have been discontinued.... and of course, GE has sold off all of its lighting and electrical divisions along with everything except for its jet engines and related aronotics divisions and its medical division.... GE is a shadow of what it used to be.... sad....
That item at 29:10 is not a light bulb. You must be one of the luckiest people in the world. It's an Audion detector tube from the early 1900s could be a De Forest. Do not power it on. Do not do anything with it. That's at least a $1000 minimum right there.
@@achannelwithaprofilepictur6253 It's not a light bulb. It's a very early vacuum tube used in radio Telegraph and radio phone. It has nothing to do with a light bulb.But whatsoever
good set of lights bro i enjoyed the video can't wait to see parts 2 and 3 soon.
Thanks bro glad you enjoyed the videos.
The packages alone are an awesome part of history. The older bulbs are very interesting.
I agree.
I once had a 1000-watt bulb (inside-frosted) that I got from the theatrical department of a college. Fired it up, full-voltage! It actually made a buzzing sound while it was lit. Man, it got hot!
It beets my 3 way 250 watt incandescent.
I can't even imagine how much heat that must throw off.
I have one of those in your collection the one in the 6 bulb value pack I got it for 2 dollars to nice collection of bulbs really enjoyed the video can wait for part 2
Thanks for letting me know.
Hi Jordan, great video on this collection of old incandescent bulbs! I’ve been trying to start a light bulb collection ever since I built a dim bulb tester for testing vintage electronics. Unfortunately my okay-will doesn’t normally take incandescent light bulbs, but occasionally some will slip through. Recently I’ve started to check their table lamps for any unique lights, and I’m glad I did because recently I found a huge ‘50s Aerolux dura-lite flower bulb in one of them. What a surprise! Even the manager had to come see when I turned it on. The whole lamp was 3.49 so it was a no brainer. No idea what it was doing in a table lamp, as these bulbs aren’t meant to put out any feasible light.
13:20 the Mazda bulb may be a sign lamp of some kind, like what you would see on the edges of a sign moving in a pattern. Only consumes like 10w maybe.
Thanks for letting me know.
I can't wait to see part 2 of those light bulbs soon bro
Thanks for letting me know.
Not sure but At 29:30 I believe you have a very early vacuum tube. Possibly for a transmitter. That may be a very special find. At 30:26 I believe those are neon lamps used in electronic and electrical panel boards as on/off or running system indicators. They are called glow lamps because when the neon gas is excited it glows an orange color. No filament in a neon bulb
Can see the grid and the plate inside of the bulb. Edison did early work that led to Lee DeForest inventing the vacuum tube. But this one does not appear to be that old.
Thanks for letting me know.
Wow! I have a fixture that would go nicely with those decorative bulbs near the end. It looks very similar to the one on the box.
Thanks for letting me know.
9:10 Those are actually "silver bowl" bulbs. The coating on the bottom is reflective like what would be used in something like an R30 reflector-flood bulb. That way, the light is directed upwards when the bulb is positioned base-up to create an uplighting effect. These bulbs are mainly used in certain pendant light fixtures, like those ones with multiple rings surrounding the bulb in the middle. In the town I used to live in, there was an On-The-Border restaurant with those "barn" style pendant lights over the tables, and they had silver bowl bulbs inside them. It was really neat looking, when I was younger I used to call them "solar eclipse" bulbs. Street light/traffic light bulbs look like regular bulbs (they are not silver bowl), but they come in strange wattages to achieve a particular lumen requirement. Some are even designed to be wired in series with one another!
13:26 UGH. Hate when etches rub away like that. Not sure why that happens, maybe it has something to do with the storage conditions. Anyway, those are little S11 bulbs, used as indicators and things of that nature. I found them listed in a 1948 GE catalog, so they are pretty old. I would love to see what they look like lit up!
16:26 That is a small germicidal lamp, essentially a tiny low-pressure mercury vapor lamp. Note the little balls of mercury rolling around inside. Protect your eyes for sure with all the UV that thing would put out! You can power them by wiring them in series with a regular 40-watt incandescent bulb or one of those "0.35A" incandescent ballast bulbs, which are glorified regular 40W bulbs.
18:51 I am sometimes like that too, especially when the bulbs themselves are a common type.
19:07 and 22:07 are quite neat!
27:30 That's a sick bulb! That's neat how it has a split filament, I guess it's two 500W segments to make 1000W total. I found that exact bulb in a 1975 Westinghouse catalog, but I suspect the bulb in the video is older. It emits approximately 23,000 lumens when new!
30:05 Those are actually neon bulbs, like what's shown on the Westinghouse package at 26:30. They are used as indicator lights. According to a 1948 GE catalog, these screw-based ones should be able to run directly off of 120V AC since they have the resistor inside the base, though the NE58 designation is a 240V bulb, so the particular ones you have can't.
32:31 Those are S14 bulbs, like the kind used in signs and patio light sets. They are typically 11W nowadays, but these older ones were 10W, and 6W was also available. I found them in a 1948 GE catalog, and they came in a lot of neat colors! Can't wait to see these lit up too!
34:07 That's a weird nightlight, never seen one like that before. For such a low power draw, I wonder if it is neon
Thanks for the information!
Looking forward to see the working ones operational Jordan!
Thanks for letting me know.
16:42 is a Screw in UVC fluorescent lamp
I don't think it's really a "fluorescent" lamp, but definitely a type of mercury vapor lamp.
Some dehumidifiers used those bulbs as germicidal lamps.
You get modern tube shaped UVC lamps with the same filament style electrode ,❤
Thanks for letting me know.
With those cfl warmups in my opinion ikea had the best idea by preheating the filament before start. They warmup super fast
Thanks for letting me know.
BTW, those aren’t traffic light bulbs. Traffic light bulbs are the same size as a traditional bulb, and are completely clear. They are usually labeled “Traffic Signal 8000 hour”
Thanks for letting me know.
Here are some of the bulbs I can identify:
*Ozone Bulbs -> Likely used in early clothes dryers. Used with a 40 watt incandescent bulb in series. Provides UV Sterlization / Pseudo line dry smell. Was a gimmick that was removed by a lot of technicians later.
* Blue and Yellow Mazda Bulbs -> Likely these were used in signs. Remember the old pub outdoor signs that flashed two different colors back in the day. Maybe also have been in other things such as roller rink and discotheque multicolored light bars, commercial grade Christmas tree outdoor bulbs (the bigger kind you see on some city Christmas trees), some effects lighting used on game shows, and other places.
* Tubular Bulbs -> Likely used in display cases, china cabinets, Music Stand Lights, Desk Lights, and similar.
* 1000 Watt Mogul Base Bulb -> Likely used in one of several things. Could be a street light, an early sports field light, an airport light, some kind of industral facility light, or an early light used in a Gymnasium, Natatorium, Sports Arena, Convention Exhibit Hall, Aircraft Hangar, or similar facility but I could be wrong. Likely from the era before the before the HID era where high pressure sodium, mercury vapor, metal halide, etc for those uses became common. Could be used in theatrical I suppose or television studio as well before the Halogen era.
* 300 / 500 Watt Mogul Base Bulbs -> These could be used in some street lights, early gas station pole lights, Junkyard lights, industrial facility lights, school cafeteria lighting, early gymnasium / natatorium lighting, industrial lighting, and similar applications.
* 500W Flood Bulbs -> Likely was used in some outdoor lighting applications. Could have also been used in some stage lights as well.
* NE58 Glow Bulbs -> These were neon bulbs. Likely used in indicators. These could be used for power lights, pilot lamps, and even some audio tone occilators.
* The Antique Westinghouse Bulb, -> you need to figure out the voltage first. Some lamps from that era could have been 6V, 12V, 32V, or 120V. A lot of farm bulbs used lower voltages.
* I am not sure the ones with the Opaque ends are traffic light bulbs. I would suspect that they are used in applications to provide indirect uplight, but not downlight applications (not sure exactly). Most traffic lights you see the bulb from the end.
Thanks for the information.
That GE 40 watt “ protect eyes” bulb is designed to go in series with a 40 watt incandescent bulb, commonly used in vintage clothes dryers to kill off germs
Thanks for letting me know.
I had a Dollar General home 60 watt bulb go out on me the other night. Before it quit it was making a bizarre buzzing sound, then it quit and the top of it was all burned.
Thanks for letting me know.
For those antique bulbs with Carbon Filaments with the glass tips, you only want to power them at half if not 1/3rd power from 120vac. So anywhere from 50vac to 24vac. This is due to the filaments, because they are so old you dont want to risk burning them out or having them break since they are so fragile. So only power them on low voltage.
Thanks for letting me know.
I went to a Goodwill i have only been to once before, they had Satco model BR-38 amber indoor/outdoor weatherproof floodlights made in Korea (1 out of 3 of the boxes were empty) and a General Electric 50 watt R-20 soft white indoor floodlight for use with track recessed lighting.
Thanks for letting me know.
I've seen a bunch of them light bulbs with the silver painted on the top most of the time they use those in light fixtures the silver part forces the light upward back when I was in school they had a bunch of fixtures like that in the lunchroom they are not traffic light or signal light bulbs
Thanks for letting me know.
9:10 Those are silver bowl bulbs, which are also still made. Plus, traffic light bulbs cannot be used in general illumination because the base and the bulb will separate if operated horizontally
I've never heard that limitation on traffic light bulbs. Even if that's true, I don't see why it can't be used for general illumination in applications that aren't horizontal.
I wish I lived near a store that sells a bunch of old light bulbs and old light fixtures as well!
I did not get these from a store.
@ Okay
Some of those tubular lamps used an intermediate base, which was somewhat smaller than a medium base. They were often used in exit lights and other institutional or commercial applications.
Thanks for letting me know.
When power is applied to the mercury bulb, the filament heats up and vaporizes the mercury. When that happens, the resultant mercury arc starts conducting, bypassing the filament since it has a much lower resistance. That is why the ballast is needed, to prevent overcurrent and limit pressure build-up inside the bulb.
Thanks for letting me know.
Those silver bowl bulbs aren't traffic bulbs that i know of. They were used back in the day in those saturn ring fixtures. The NE58 bulbs are neon glow indicators. The 4 watt bulb is a UV-C bulb, they do in fact contain mercury and those bulbs are roughly 9 volts. Other than that though, nice haul there
Thanks for letting me know.
That giant Westinghouse bulb is either for some old streetlight, or a radio tower.
Thanks for letting me know.
Back in the 70s my school gymnasium had those 300 watt mogal base bulbs in some high mount fixtures the PE teacher showed one to me and I was fascinated by how big it was I was about 8 it took 4 breakers to turn on 16 fixtures he told me they used to be 500 watt bulbs but the district was trying to save energy
I remember having metal halide fixtures in the gymnasiums when I was in school.
i know these are just vintage light bulbs but it's in my opinion a great and important accusation especially since the funny flickering DEL is taking over everything.
I agree.
I do believe the glow lamps are like a little Nyan style bulb indicator they used them in a lot of test equipment and other things
Thanks for letting me know.
You should test the antique light bulbs with an incandescent dimmer that controls the voltage.
I was planning to.
The huge bulb. Is called a code beacon. Its 620 watts 130volts. Typically used as beacons on tall towers. Radio, tv, usually any thing overv200 geet
Thanks for letting me know.
Those bulbs with the exhaust tip at the top seem to have carbon filaments judging by the way it has no supports and the fact that the filament is looped.
Thanks for letting me know.
I have 6 cfls and 8 sylvania incandescent bulbs man are they bright!
Thanks for letting me know.
The patent number on that small, orange Mazda bulb is from 1932 and expired in 1952
Thanks for letting me know.
I would say the blue bulbs were used in signs
Thanks for letting me know.
those two Westinghouse bulbs should be tested with a variac, stop increasing the voltage when they reach ~2300k color temp
Is a standard light dimmer not sufficient?
the old ne58 i think those are older neon lamps i may be wrong i am sorry for that. :)
You are correct
@@rs12official awesome i don't collect a lot of bulbs but i know a bit :)
Thanks for letting me know.
𝗕𝗼𝗺 𝘃𝗶́𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻
I don't understand.
That bulb is for a giant Lamp
It's for a street light.
Yeah
I used to have a 1000 watt bulb it was in a housing it's made by GE that had a big piece of glass over the front of it to protect it and I will tell you when you stuck that sucker outside at night and you turned it on it looked like the sun also had a 1500 watt bulb and was brave enough once to turn it on and yeah it's like looking at the sun
Thanks for letting me know.
20:41 I'll be damned if that's not a carbon filament in those two bulbs. Very old.
Thanks for letting me know.
I like it
OK
you know, its sad.... at one time, GE, Sylvania, Philips, and Westinghouse used to have a full catalog decribing all these lamps and what the styles and sizes meant.... with the advent of LEDs those catalogs have been discontinued.... and of course, GE has sold off all of its lighting and electrical divisions along with everything except for its jet engines and related aronotics divisions and its medical division.... GE is a shadow of what it used to be.... sad....
I agree, very sad state of affairs.
That item at 29:10 is not a light bulb. You must be one of the luckiest people in the world. It's an Audion detector tube from the early 1900s could be a De Forest. Do not power it on. Do not do anything with it. That's at least a $1000 minimum right there.
Thanks for letting me know.
What light bulb is worth $1000 other than the light bulb that Edison made in 1879?
@@achannelwithaprofilepictur6253 It's not a light bulb. It's a very early vacuum tube used in radio Telegraph and radio phone. It has nothing to do with a light bulb.But whatsoever
@@JordanUyou are extremely lucky to have one, not too many people even get a chance to see one. If it turns out to be a DeForest Audion it’s priceless
The huge bulb. Is called a code beacon. Its 620 watts 130volts. Typically used as beacons on tall towers. Radio, tv, usually any thing overv200 feet
Thanks for letting me know.