LPS SOX Sodium Lamps

Nice lamp .

I just got two more Philips L4135 ballasts to go with the one I had .

IMG_0482 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

2 135W SOX lamps and 1 180W lamp

Sweet, I see you're being a good boy and using capacitors, I've been rather naughty and not used a PF cap with my thorn ballast and the 135W lamp. Its just for power factor correction but I do wonder if it's why the ballast is so noisy. If noise would be significantly reduced by using the cap I'll get one as at the moment it's a bit too noisy to really enjoy properly.

trencheel303 said:

Sweet, I see you're being a good boy and using capacitors, I've been rather naughty and not used a PF cap with my thorn ballast and the 135W lamp. Its just for power factor correction but I do wonder if it's why the ballast is so noisy. If noise would be significantly reduced by using the cap I'll get one as at the moment it's a bit too noisy to really enjoy properly.

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Well its stated on the ballast its not to be excluded so I didn't exclude it .

trencheel303 said:

I would love an old mercury cobra head from the US like a Westinghouse OV 25.

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You mean like this?



I think it's actually an HPS. Forgot to check when I took the picture

I have several HPHg lamps in my possesion, one is lighting my room right now! Are they that hard to find across the pond?

Cool! I've always wanted a huge sodium and mercury lamp set...kinda hard to come by now though.

How about these ,

1.25Kw Self ballast mercury lamps , I had them ordered and made direct from EYE lighting : D

normal_IMG_0097[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

I live in a small country town with a population of about 250 and the street lamps here are Sodium Lamps. I read something from trench eel awhile back regarding these lamps and after doing a little research I found and have now seen that these lamps are very common in this state. Now I want one and will have to see if I can do a "deal" in order to get a working one! Usually a carton of Beer can get you anything out here!

You guys are killing me, lol. I just caved and ordered a new LPS SOX 18W with matching socket and a ballast I'm pretty sure that will work. I miss those awesome photons. My only LPS has been outside where I can't enjoy it for a year now and I need one I can use in my office again, heh.

The Lightning Stalker said:

You mean like this?

I think it's actually an HPS. Forgot to check when I took the picture

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I do mean like that, but that doesn't look like a Westinghouse OV-xx. We do have cobra heads here like the WRTL Arc, Philips Iridium and Urbis ZX3, but I prefer the now discontinued Westinghouse design.

Sigurthr said:

I have several HPHg lamps in my possesion, one is lighting my room right now! Are they that hard to find across the pond?

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Over here the various money troubles we had in the 70s which resulted in the soaring price of energy (and then the miner strikes) prompted the need for efficient lighting to be installed. Once upon a time we would have used mercury, fluorescent and even tungsten lamps but a lot of it was culled for LPS to be installed. At that time there wasn't nearly as much road lighting as there is today so any mercury is either long gone, forgotten or a rare gem in a sea of sodium. We've been using low pressure sodium even since before SOX, SLI lamps for instance were more like conventional fluorescents and were double ended. Things are now going back and we are returning to white light sources. Mercury lamps will be banned in 2015 by the EU I believe.

I do still see mercury lamps occasionally but they're very rare over here. As I understand it mercury is more common in the states because you guys never really took up LPS, so the mercury you had was allowed to remain and live a long life.

busman2 said:

I live in a small country town with a population of about 250 and the street lamps here are Sodium Lamps. I read something from trench eel awhile back regarding these lamps and after doing a little research I found and have now seen that these lamps are very common in this state. Now I want one and will have to see if I can do a "deal" in order to get a working one! Usually a carton of Beer can get you anything out here!

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Can you post a google street view link to your area if it's available? I'd like to see what kind of lanterns you use over there if I recognise them!

trencheel303 said:

I do mean like that, but that doesn't look like a Westinghouse OV-xx. We do have cobra heads here like the WRTL Arc, Philips Iridium and Urbis ZX3, but I prefer the now discontinued Westinghouse design.

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It has the GE stamp on the bottom. I understand your pain completely. These don't have
quite the hulking presence.

I have only for sure ever seen LPS in one place here in the US.

33°38'52.23"S
134°53'27.09"E

Here is a good place to start from!


Can you post a google street view link to your area if it's available? I'd like to see what kind of lanterns you use over there if I recognise them![/QUOTE]

Near lake newland conservation park? There's no lighting at all around there.

trencheel303 said:

Near lake newland conservation park? There's no lighting at all around there.

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Ha! So much for accuracy there. About 20km out. Try Elliston. Start around the Hospital a Area and work your way almond that road back into town ans all along the beach front!

Ah right I see now. Those look like high pressure sodium to me, helped by the day burner near the highway which was definitely glowing orange. So not mercury, and the luminaire is the wrong shape and size for SOX so they have got to be SON - high pressure sodium.

Most street lights in my area are all 35W SOX based .

2.5Kw of Mercury lamp ..

normal_IMG_0100[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr