How much can modern lamp bases rust/corrode? I have to handle my SunPulse lamp by the base, and my fingers sweat when I do that, so should I worry?

Better use gloves and/or a towel or so.

With the new products, makers can not use (for environmental reasons) the many known tricks common in the history (lead surface treatment,...), the remaining allowed methods are either way less efficient or way more expensive.
So they have quite restricted room there. So if the thing does not really need any robustness for an intended use, there expect to be none.

Better use gloves and/or a towel or so.

With the new products, makers can not use (for environmental reasons) the many known tricks common in the history (lead surface treatment,...), the remaining allowed methods are either way less efficient or way more expensive.
So they have quite restricted room there. So if the thing does not really need any robustness for an intended use, there expect to be none.

Are you talking about the blob of Lead you sometimes see on bases?

Are you talking about the blob of Lead you sometimes see on bases?

No. That distinct "blob" on the neck is just solder joint of the lead wire.
What I'm talking about is the composition of the surface treatment layer and the impact of the technology how it is made.
Doping metals by lead is quite efficient in providing quite some degree of corrosion protection, yet it was extremely cheap. Now banned (ROHS or equivalent laws), no direct replacement.
Chromium plating were very common - it's "classic" way to implement was not that expensive, but used very nasty chemicals and produced a lot of toxic waste. So that technology is practically banned today. The modification, which is capable to contain the nasty chemicals within the process is way more expensive. So practically not usable for general lamps due to cost reasons.
Using intrinsically more resistant materials for the bases made them way too expensive - the thread is rather complex shape to make, so need material which is easy to form. Those having the other required properties (like ability to make quality contacts, ease to solder/crimp the lead in wire, electrical conductivity, certain strength,...) easily corrode or cause the materials commonly used on the socket to corrode when the connection become wet...

So the typical design rely on the metals to remain dry and rather clean in the application. And if some leak happens, they are designed to sacrifice the bulb side in order to keep the socket as much as possible intact.

So what can I do about this?

So what can I do about this?

Normally, with normal use patterns for the given lamp type and within an equipment properly designed (so no water flowing onto the thread), the socket usually still outlasts the bulb itself. Either the regular lamp heat is supposed to keep it dry (street lighting, it still allows the 4 year of expected service life), or the lamp life is not expected to be that long anyway (a year or two with incandescents).
And many are assumed to be just used indoors, so no humidity at all.

But when we are talking about collection pieces - those, that are sitting barely used decades past their expected end of service life, you have to be more careful in keeping all the potential corrosive out of the reach for the bulb materials. So if you use to have sweaty hands, just use e.g. gloves to manipulate with the lamps. Anyway, greasy prints on the bulb surface tend to attract dust and make the bulbs look very dirty and in a bad shape, so yet other reason to use things like gloves or so.

Quote from: wattMaster on August 13, 2016, 03:44:05 PM

So what can I do about this?

Normally, with normal use patterns for the given lamp type and within an equipment properly designed (so no water flowing onto the thread), the socket usually still outlasts the bulb itself. Either the regular lamp heat is supposed to keep it dry (street lighting, it still allows the 4 year of expected service life), or the lamp life is not expected to be that long anyway (a year or two with incandescents).
And many are assumed to be just used indoors, so no humidity at all.

But when we are talking about collection pieces - those, that are sitting barely used decades past their expected end of service life, you have to be more careful in keeping all the potential corrosive out of the reach for the bulb materials. So if you use to have sweaty hands, just use e.g. gloves to manipulate with the lamps. Anyway, greasy prints on the bulb surface tend to attract dust and make the bulbs look very dirty and in a bad shape, so yet other reason to use things like gloves or so.

Thanks, for now I will wipe it down with a dry paper towel.
Now I just need to worry about the glass shattering.