What are good options for "Disposable Lighting"?
Disposable Lighting is lighting where it is not special enough to have a spot in out collections, but is used as a light in a fixture you use a lot, or that would be our solution.
Example: You want to show your collection in a show case with built in lighting, but you don't want to use your special bulbs for it, so you get a "Disposable Lamp" to use in the show case.

And, another question, is it safe to underdrive a 400 Watt MH or HPS bulb at 250 Watts?

To me "disposable lighting" means either glowsticks (that use chemical reaction to make light, and are really single use), or (in another sense of "disposable") Ebay-quality lighting components..

The lights i use at home are off the shelf lamps of standard types (T8, CFL, Incandescent) that i can go and buy more at anytime. If i see that some lamp is no longer available in the shops, i may consider to take existing ones out of service and into collection, and put up something new thats available at the shop



The MH may get damaged - Halides that are not fully vaporized may concentrate in a pool and damage the arctube there. At 250W i doubt it will get to high pressure so its probably safe as long as kept on 250W, but if you run the lamp at 250W lng enough to damage it, then run the damaged lamp later back at 400W, then it might explode. Dont know whether 250W is or isnt sufficient to vaporize all halides

The HPS will be safe either way

To me "disposable lighting" means either glowsticks (that use chemical reaction to make light, and are really single use), or (in another sense of "disposable") Ebay-quality lighting components..

The lights i use at home are off the shelf lamps of standard types (T8, CFL, Incandescent) that i can go and buy more at anytime. If i see that some lamp is no longer available in the shops, i may consider to take existing ones out of service and into collection, and put up something new thats available at the shop



The MH may get damaged - Halides that are not fully vaporized may concentrate in a pool and damage the arctube there. At 250W i doubt it will get to high pressure so its probably safe as long as kept on 250W, but if you run the lamp at 250W lng enough to damage it, then run the damaged lamp later back at 400W, then it might explode. Dont know whether 250W is or isnt sufficient to vaporize all halides

The HPS will be safe either way

In this situation it means Ebay quality components, but it could mean so-so fluorescents, in my situation, my Litemaster takes 2 F15T8 tubes, it came with two Ace Hardware Cool White tubes, but I want those for my collection. What will be my most likely choice is a GE Kitchen & Bath tubes, which I think is a Halophosphate and Triphosphor combination, because the CRI is 70-71, and usual Halophosphate warm white tubes are usually 52.
And for the other desk light, we just got some cheap FML 27 Watt tube on Amazon.
What would a under driven MH or HPS look like? And could you fix the MH bulb that would be damaged by 250 watts? And how long is "long enough"?

Underdriven MH would probably look like one of the colors it goes through while warming up, except there it won't contunue but will stay on that color. HPS would be dimmer and with lower CRI

I dont know the "how much" things

The ballast however might not be too happy to run a lamp that does not warm up for long times, it may be overheating

Underdriven MH would probably look like one of the colors it goes through while warming up, except there it won't contunue but will stay on that color. HPS would be dimmer and with lower CRI

I dont know the "how much" things

The ballast however might not be too happy to run a lamp that does not warm up for long times, it may be overheating

I was wondering how long it took do "damage" the MH bulb.
I won't worry about a ballast overheating, because my electronic one (The odd Lumatek ballast) has a switch for dimming between 400 and 250, which means it can run 250 watts without overheating. Even on 400 watts, it gets just a little warm.

Thing is, a 400W lamp powered at 250W is not electrically the same as a real 250W lamp. Its arc voltage is different. This may cause overheating of Magnetic ballasts, with Electronic less likely to be a problem

Thing is, a 400W lamp powered at 250W is not electrically the same as a real 250W lamp. Its arc voltage is different. This may cause overheating of Magnetic ballasts, with Electronic less likely to be a problem

Bingo. I would hope for a Mercury-ish color from the 400 watt lamp because fewer of the salts are vaporized.
Update: I tested the HPS and MH:
HPS: Slightly warmer, almost no color rendering, but blues really show for some reason.
Regular MH: Starts off a MV color, then white with everything having a green color.
I haven't tested grow light MH yet.
Update: I tested the grow light MH, and it just looks completely normal, no special effects or tinges.
Update: I tested my MV with an improved switching setup, and the light look very white with a little extra green, but a very pleasing light, one that I would like outside in the dark. It's a shame MV isn't used more! 

Also, one more question, (I don't want to start any more threads right now) what if you coated a fluorescent tube with DX phosphor? Then you would get a MV color easier.

Fluorescent lamp + DX phospohrs = Red/pink colored fluorescent lamp. DX phosphors prouces a red light, that corrects the greenish white of clear MV lamps to a cool white light

Fluorescent lamp + DX phospohrs = Red/pink colored fluorescent lamp. DX phosphors prouces a red light, that corrects the greenish white of clear MV lamps to a cool white light

Then why aren't DX phosphors used in fluorescent lamps?

Cree calls all traditional lighting "disposable".

Cree calls all traditional lighting "disposable".

That's crazy! 
Would you consider an Internet-Connected Air Cooled Networked T5 High Bay fixture "disposable"?

In their wonderland it is disposable, and their wonderland is what they are trying to sell

In their wonderland it is disposable, and their wonderland is what they are trying to sell

Uh-oh.
Better not buy CREE's products! 

Cree products are junk. Go figure.