Cap down SOX experiment? « on: November 22, 2022, 07:02:35 AM » Author: AngryHorse
Following on from the interesting SOX post top picture from High Intensity I’m curious just how long a lamp would last in these conditions? So without flooding the gallery, I’ll post this here! I have taken a used lamp (not a decent new one), and mounted it cap down for a long running session!, so as not to cheat, I picked a lamp with a good amount of sodium metal still in its tube, you will also see by the photo it already has a small quantity of sodium around its cathode stems, (not previously done by me), but how it was when I received it.
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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #1 on: November 22, 2022, 07:09:15 AM » Author: AngryHorse
So, fired up at 11:21 am, I will now run this lamp for 8 hours and turn off to check results! I watched the lamp run up, and unusually after the sodium metal had liquified at 11:25, there was no movement from the sodium at the U bend as the fairly large quantity can be seen in the start photo?
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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #2 on: November 22, 2022, 07:42:15 AM » Author: Medved
The movement does not have to be that fast. Plus it may take some time for the blob to get loose and fall down to the bottom.
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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #3 on: November 22, 2022, 09:53:25 AM » Author: AngryHorse
I know this isn’t that much of a realistic test as out in the wild the sodium would be subject to movement of the column due to wind/vehicle movements and the likes?, but it will be interesting to see just exactly what happens? The lamp is being run on a Philips autoleak.
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
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Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 57,746 hrs @ 15/12/24

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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #4 on: November 22, 2022, 02:40:08 PM » Author: AngryHorse
Ok this is interesting, 8 hours and 14 minutes run time mounted cap down and the liquid pool of sodium in this lamp hasn’t moved an inch??? I half expected it to move given the run hours, even just a little bit!, I shall now keep this lamp on throughout the night and see what happens tomorrow?
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 57,746 hrs @ 15/12/24

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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #7 on: November 22, 2022, 11:46:04 PM » Author: icefoglights
Interesting experiment.  I suspect the results won't really be all that dramatic.  The sodium migration is probably going to be a slow process that happens over many hot/cold cycles.  The lamp may still have a long life running cap down, although it would increase the likelihood of the lamp failing before it's rated life.
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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #8 on: November 23, 2022, 04:22:46 AM » Author: AngryHorse
Ooooookkkk!, just switched this lamp off at, (9am here), and after 21 hours and 39 minutes the sodium has indeed started to slowly creep down the tube!, you can see the existing tiny pools of sodium still liquid and still around the cathode stems but I noticed with interest the staining around the tube dimples where the sodium had been at some point during the tubes younger years!  This was only evident by the light above from my twin 8 foot Fitzgerald fluorescent shining onto the SOX, (I hadn’t actually noticed this yesterday)! Ria you will be pleased to know I have no intention of deliberately shaking the sodium to the bottom, this is indeed a decent SOX lamp and it wasn’t my intention to destroy it, I just wanted to see what would happen under its own running conditions.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2022, 04:25:55 AM by AngryHorse »		Logged

Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 57,746 hrs @ 15/12/24

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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #9 on: November 23, 2022, 04:31:23 AM » Author: dor123
You need to run the lamp base-up now for several hours, to ensure that the sodium at the seals, will migrate back to the U bent.
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	Re: Cap down SOX experiment? « Reply #10 on: November 23, 2022, 04:45:18 AM » Author: AngryHorse
I wonder if it actually would?, from the original position of the sodium this lamp has indeed been running in its correct horizontal position during its street lighting life, and sodium still managed to find its way to the stems! Running in vertical cap up would indeed migrate it away from the cathodes, but then put back into horizontal it could actually get back there on its own!
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 57,746 hrs @ 15/12/24

Welcome to OBLIVION