I have found an ad from an electrical contractor magazine. It's www.thelightbulbstore.net
Is this place reliable? The lowest price for a merc lamp from 50w to 400w is $9.95. HPS is $6.25. I doubt that this place is reliable. The price is too good to be true. I want to find out from those who have experience with this supplier.

More than likely, the MV lamps are no-name imports. I see those type of prices in Ebay BuyItNow all the time. Have no idea the quality though. But $6.49 for 50-100w and other sizes sure is cheap!

Don remember you had a no name 70 watt HPS import that you called it a piece of crap.....

Well when you gave it to me.....I identified it was a USA made Sylvania :-P

Don remember you had a no name 70 watt HPS import that you called it a piece of crap.....

Well when you gave it to me.....I identified it was a USA made Sylvania :-P

Yeah, I didn't really look close at it because it was HPS and I only like them for experiments. 

Quote from: TudorWhiz on February 17, 2008, 10:04:26 PM

Don remember you had a no name 70 watt HPS import that you called it a piece of crap.....

Well when you gave it to me.....I identified it was a USA made Sylvania :-P

Yeah, I didn't really look close at it because it was HPS and I only like them for experiments. 

Don, fry a Westinghouse BT HPS then you'll be fried!

Gull Quote: Don, fry a Westinghouse BT HPS then you'll be fried!

Right. I seldomly fry lamps, much less a vintage. If I do, it'll be a cheap import. If this makes you feel better....I had a bunch of used HPS lamps and gave them to another collecter instead of frying them! 

Gull Quote: Don, fry a Westinghouse BT HPS then you'll be fried!

Right. I seldomly fry lamps, much less a vintage. If I do, it'll be a cheap import. If this makes you feel better....I had a bunch of used HPS lamps and gave them to another collecter instead of frying them! 

Don just don't fry any Sylvania or Westinghouse or GE any of the really good company imports.....Philips....it really depends Don....cuz I do like some of the Philips stuff.....just fry the Philips T-12s LOL.....

you THOUGHT that Sylvania lamp was a cheap Chinese lamp...seriously you said it was Chinese...but you were wrong all the way! I nearly fainted and bumped my head on a toilet when I found out you were gonna KILL a USA made lamp! Shame on ya! Well people make mistakes! Before I knew about lamps. i threw away or broke lamps from the 80s which could have been part of my collection :-)

Don, fry whatever you feel like frying, it's fun to fry lamps!  Only thing I wouldn't fry is vintage stuff but no problem frying new stuff.  Likely candidates are Chinese Philips mercury lamps, no name lamps, lamps you get for free.  I remember Dave fried a 50w Philips HPS and that had some cool results!

Don, fry whatever you feel like frying, it's fun to fry lamps!  Only thing I wouldn't fry is vintage stuff but no problem frying new stuff.  Likely candidates are Chinese Philips mercury lamps, no name lamps, lamps you get for free.  I remember Dave fried a 50w Philips HPS and that had some cool results!

You are missnig the point Jeremiah, a no name lamp can be made in USA and actually made in a good company...such as that Sylvania lamp Don could have fried......What if he fried a no name Westy??? Honestly you never know! Don thought that lamp was a chinese no name....but it was actually a  1998 Sylvania USA made 70 watt HPS!!!!!!!!

Quote from: J-Frog on February 23, 2008, 10:18:04 AM

Don, fry whatever you feel like frying, it's fun to fry lamps!  Only thing I wouldn't fry is vintage stuff but no problem frying new stuff.  Likely candidates are Chinese Philips mercury lamps, no name lamps, lamps you get for free.  I remember Dave fried a 50w Philips HPS and that had some cool results!

You are missnig the point Jeremiah, a no name lamp can be made in USA and actually made in a good company...such as that Sylvania lamp Don could have fried......What if he fried a no name Westy??? Honestly you never know! Don thought that lamp was a chinese no name....but it was actually a  1998 Sylvania USA made 70 watt HPS!!!!!!!!

You both make a good point; however, no need to dwell on that 70w HPS lamp anymore. It isn't vintage and luckily, for Jace, it was spared. LOL. Fortunely, this Gallery provides excellent reference in determining what sort of lamps are collectable and which are not. I've learned massive amounts of lamp info since finding L-G!

And yes Frog, if I pay for a new bulb, high quality or not, I can pretty much decide how it will be used, ie, electrical experiments, normal usage, or as a collectable. As for vintage bulbs, if I don't want it anymore, or have no space for it, I will be considerate enough to see if another collector wants it. 

Yeah and we thank you for helping us build our collections Don!

If it says Caster, fry on!