Do you think 3 way bulbs are as popular as they used to be?

Sometimes I wonder, since I sometimes notice lamps in thrift stores having 3 way sockets but just regular 1 way bulbs in them.

Personally, to me I’m. But ocd so using a non 3 way bulb in a 3 way socket bothers me that it doesn’t work right. Although I know some don’t care.

I just wonder if 3 way bulbs are something that younger people don’t know about.

I know that most larger lamps and especially floor lamps still come with 3 way sockets… but the led 3 way bulbs tend to cost quite a bit, unless you get them at Dollar Tree.

My dad never liked the 3 way bulbs, he said the higher wattage always burned out quickly so it acted like a regular bulb anyway. Plus he said the sockets would wear out fast. I do remember the socket in one lamp having to be replaced 2 or 3 times. Now he just puts a regular led bulb in that lamp. But if that led burns out I may give him a 3 way one to use.

I do have some 30-70-100 and 50-100-150 W incandescent 3 ways in my collection (primarily newer ones I bought right before the ban) and others I’ve gotten in lamps I bought.

But mostly I don’t use them because I feel like I’m wasting electricity due to the higher wattages.

The 3 way CFLs didn’t seem to catch on as well, but I have seen one or two lamps with them… I’ve yet to see a used lamp with a proper 3 way led in it through.

 I have 1 of the 3-way CFLS and it SUCKS ! It's really dim on start-up . I also have a couple of the LED 3-ways and they're actually not too bad .

I haven’t had any CFL 3 ways. I have some LED ones, but I find them a bit dim. Otherwise they’re not bad. And in general I don’t like the upward directionality of snow cone LED in a floor or table top lamp. I want more of the light to go downward.

I have a 2-pack of 3-Way GE energy smart 50/100/150 which I have yet to open since I don't have a 3-way socket. They were sold by Sam's Club.
Will post on the gallery in a little bit. I honestly do want to compare with an incandescent 50/100/150 3-way.

A quick pic before I do the real gallery pic:


But I do remember my first experience with 3-way and the grandparent's house as a kid. I started freaking out because when I turned the knob to turn it off, it just kept getting brighter!
Otherwise, I haven't seen a 3-way since then. Even dimmers are disappearing.

I recently found a SAL led bulb which can be stitched between 2700k, 4000k & 6500k IIRC. Do three-way lamps have a brightness switch on the fixture?

I recently found a SAL led bulb which can be stitched between 2700k, 4000k & 6500k IIRC. Do three-way lamps have a brightness switch on the fixture?

With three way, it's a specific switch+socket combo. The switch controls which of the terminals get power to control the brightness.
The order is how they wired it. So it can be wired low-med-high or high-med-low.

Thanks for that! Interesting to hear that the dimming is mechanical. .

Thanks for that! Interesting to hear that the dimming is mechanical. .

Yup!
For one last thing, I attached a comparison between a "regular" CFL base and a 3-Way CFL.
Notice the additional metal ring/terminal before the screw. On a "traditional" incandescent 3-Way, that band runs to a lower-power filament and the center terminal runs to the higher power filament.
Yes, literally two bulbs in one.
So on low, the outer ring is energized, medium only the center and full power both are energized.

Neat!

Sometime in the early 1960’s,my mother purchased two table lamps at a thrift store. They were the type that used the 100-200-300 mogul base three way lamps. We had the lamps until we moved in 1995. I changed the sockets numerous times, and as was mentioned the higher wattage filament always burned out first. As my fathers’( and my) eyesite got worse with age,we needed more light. And the bulbs, as with any type that is becoming obsolete, started rising in price. I got a mogul to medium adapter and a standard clear 300 watt medium base lamp. The table lamps now gave much more light for a fraction of the cost.
The 100-200-300 watt lamp had a lumen rating of 4950 on the 300 watt rating. The standard 300 watt medium base lamp is 6000.

I happened to find a Splendor 3 way incandescent at the thrift shop today. I did not take it home - the white coating on the inside had a lot of damages in it, so i assume the filament is broken and has been bouncing around inside.

I think this is the first time i've ever seen one.

I also found the box of a 9+"60" watt nightlight-room light lamp. I think it is CFL and incandescent. But sadly, the box contained a different lamp.

Those porcelain mogul 3 way sockets you’d think would be durable but the switches do indeed seem to wear out often in them. I guess due to the heat and current draw of the 100/200/300 watt bulb.

There are LED 3 way mogul bulbs available now but they’re a bit pricy at around $20 each.

I do love those antique mogul lamps, it’s just a shame the sockets aren’t what you’d expect.

Growing up, we always had 3-way lamps in all the 3-way holders. However, everyone else in my family had standard lamps and you had to click the switch twice to turn on and off. My grandmother had a couple of floor lamps that had a high-low-off switch. Those took standard lamps and the low setting added a diode to dim the lamp. I have a couple of table lamps that I converted to such a configuration. The main downside is that it requires an incandescent lamp to work properly.

My bedside table lamp currently has a 3-way lamp holder and a standard lamp because I use a 7.5 watt incandescent S11 lamp and the lamp holder is all I had on hand. Clicking the switch twice every time is annoying so I plan on changing it but I have to get around to it some day…

Growing up, my house has always had 3-way lamps in it, and still does to this day.  Tried some 3-way fluorescents of various types, and they never really worked all that well, so pretty much stuck with incandescents until 3-way LEDs became decent.  My last hold-out is the mogul lamp in the living room.