With the advent of the 2017 (?) ban on 2-pin PL-S lamps, are there any 4-pin equivalents that could run on 120V magnetic gear with an external starter ? I have searched for such lamps but no success. I do like the PL-S lamps so I am wondering if eBay will be the sole supplier of such lamps in the future. Of course, I am referring to use in Canada. I have not read anything suggesting a ban of 2-pin PL in Canada, only in Europe, but maybe Canada will get the idea to do the same...

Currently almost no PL fixtures are sold for household use in Israel. Desk lamps, recessed fixtures and other fixtures that were once sold with PL lamps, sold today with E14 and E27 energy saving CFLs (Called "EL" in the commercial sector) and LED.

4-pin versions of 2-pin lamps do exist, and are easy and cheap to come by online. 7 and 9 watt units can also be found in stores, and are usually packaged by companies such as Coleman and Rayovac for lanterns, at an exorbitant price. As far as I know, the 4-pin units have the exact same electrical properties as their 2-pin counterparts, and so should have no problem running on the same ballasts with an external starter. 

http://www.bulbscanada.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=63_269_641

Where do you have read that the pl-s lamps will be banned in europe? They should not be banned, at least not the 9 and 11w which are rated "A".

Unfortunately, I do not recall where. I do recall however that (at least) one of the reasons being the difficulty in operating the 2-pin lamp with integral starter on HF ballasts. When I get more details, I will post my results here.

time to stock up on good quality 5000k 13w pl.
i have a bunch of stuff that uses them.right now i get ge and sylvania usa made for +- $2 ea.i need to look at the text of our bulb ban crapola here.

But the morons have pushed through bans on the 2-pin lamps instead of a standard allowing their HF operations...

For the household use, it is not longer than about a year, when IKEA still offered fixtures for these lamps. And even many desk lamps are using these lamps too.

I hope the ban is written so it does not ban the lamps alone, just the low efficacy jokes sometimes included in those desk lamps.

Unfortunately, I do not recall where. I do recall however that (at least) one of the reasons being the difficulty in operating the 2-pin lamp with integral starter on HF ballasts. When I get more details, I will post my results here.

But EU will no more ban magnetic ballast, seemy post. I don't see any reason to ban a light source with an energy class A: the 11W model with a decent ballast put the same lumens and about the same power consumption of a 15W cfl, the 9W the same lumen of a 11W cfl with 12-13W of power consumption. I also didn't read nothing that lead to think that pl-s lamps will be banned.

Quote from: sol on March 11, 2014, 08:06:26 PM

Unfortunately, I do not recall where. I do recall however that (at least) one of the reasons being the difficulty in operating the 2-pin lamp with integral starter on HF ballasts. When I get more details, I will post my results here.

But EU will no more ban magnetic ballast, seemy post. I don't see any reason to ban a light source with an energy class A: the 11W model with a decent ballast put the same lumens and about the same power consumption of a 15W cfl, the 9W the same lumen of a 11W cfl with 12-13W of power consumption. I also didn't read nothing that lead to think that pl-s lamps will be banned.

There were some indications within the product roadmaps published by some major makers. and at least one of them have stated, the PL-S would be phased out because of their incompatibility with HF ballasts.
But that was quite some time ago, when only dimmable HF could reach the "A" grade. In the meantime the rules for the individual classes have changed, so probably that assumption become outdated by that moment.

But anyway, i see the PL-S being used very rarely, so even they won't be banned, I see quite high chance they are going to be phased out by the makers just because of too low demand, so sales volume...

Almost all compact fluorescent desk lamps in Israel used PL-S in the past. Now they are rare in this application because the inefficient energy saving CFLs and LED took their places. PL-S has used to be found also in household garden recessed fixtures in the past, but have been replaced by CFL and LED fixtures.

From what I read, there is no doubt the PL-S is on the way out in Europe. However, here in North America, there is an extensive selection of (expensive) fixtures, mostly for outdoor, on the Home Depot website. Most are 13 watts, but there are some 7, 9 and 28 watters as well. I would imagine the PL-S is here for the near future, but long term we'll have to see...

Here in Switzerland there are still some fixtures sold with pl-s lamps, like desk lamps, little waterproof fixture, but actually they are rarer than some years ago.

Desk lamps are still fairly common here too. I have four and I find they work well. One is on the computer desk, another at bedside and the another on the piano. The remaining one is this one , a home made accent lamp. Most had 4100 or 6500 K lamps that I changed to 2700K to match other lamps in the house. At my place of work, there are about four exit signs that each use two 7 watt lamps. They were installed in 1988 and they are neglected with stuck starters, but all still work. The ones that have been replaced failed in other ways (mainly vandalism ; it is in a high school). The lamps last 2-3 years. I also have a couple of work lights that use PL-S.

@ too many bulbs, where do you find 5000k lamps for $2?  I need to stock up, as I have lots of fixtures that use these PL-S 13 watt lamps.

Take your pick

http://www.1000bulbs.com/category/13-watt-2-pin-gx23-plug-in-compact-fluorescents-5000k/