Author Topic: Buildings with pre-EPACT F40T12 fluorescent tubes still in use?  (Read 929 times)
WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
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Buildings with pre-EPACT F40T12 fluorescent tubes still in use? « on: April 27, 2022, 02:54:53 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Does anyone know if there are any commercial buildings and schools in the USA and Canada that have large installations of pre-EPACT full power halophosphate F40T12 fluorescent tubes still in use on any magnetically ballasted rapid start and preheat F40T12 fluorescent tube fixtures as of 2022?
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

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Re: Buildings with pre-EPACT F40T12 fluorescent tubes still in use? « Reply #1 on: April 28, 2022, 11:09:02 AM » Author: arcblue
Yes. There is a town named Kitsault in British Columbia, Canada, that was abandoned in 1983 but because of its remote location and someone taking care of it, it has been basically preserved as it was this entire time, and has not decayed badly or been vandalized. Look up videos on YouTube. The electricity has remained on and the houses, commercial buildings, library, school, grocery store, bank, post office, bar, apartments, all still are as they were in 1983 and had been occupied previously for only 3 years. So, all the fluorescent fixtures are T12 and there are HPS cobraheads and post top Twist Paks and such, and probably many 1980s incandescents that still work. I am not sure how much MV and MH is there, but there appears to be some. It’s possible some fixtures that have been used often this entire time have replacement lamps, and a few lamps/ballasts don’t work as seen in some of the videos, but it’s a very well-preserved time capsule as most of the lights have rarely been used. I suspect most of the 4’ fluorescents are full 40w halophosphate cool whites on rapid start ballasts as that was what was most popular at the time. The 34w tubes became more widespread in the mid to late 1980s but it’s possible they were used here.

I would love to visit, but it’s about a 17 hour drive from Vancouver on isolated roads. There is a phone number to call so you can get a tour and not be trespassing.

I think for any other large installations to still exist and be in use, it would have required many years of being unused, very sporadic use, or a good stock of replacement lamps as it’s been a long time since the 1980s. I have come across a church or two with T12 CW lit rooms still, apparently rooms not used for long hours.
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joseph_125
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Re: Buildings with pre-EPACT F40T12 fluorescent tubes still in use? « Reply #2 on: April 28, 2022, 05:34:23 PM » Author: joseph_125
Barring abandoned buildings, I think buildings that aren't in use regularly are a good place to look. Churches seem to be a good spot for older lighting for this reason. I'd imagine there are probably a lot of church gyms and classrooms that are infrequently used enough to still be using them. Another good place to check are state fair buildings. Some of them are really only used for a few weeks every summer so the infrequent use means that old lighting persisted in them longer than other places.

That town in BC looks amazing, it looks very well preserved for a abandoned town too. There's probably still some MV around too. MV was still used for interior lighting in Canada during the 80s, maybe that "mall" in one of the pictures I've seen has some MV recessed lights.
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Re: Buildings with pre-EPACT F40T12 fluorescent tubes still in use? « Reply #3 on: April 28, 2022, 06:10:27 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
That small town would be certainly a place worth visiting. It would be interesting to see if it has any fixtures running F40WW, F40D, and F40W tubes aside from the humble F40CW.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

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