HomeBrewLamps
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So i have an american made alto bulb... and i've heard alot of people talking badly about them.... whats wrong with them?
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~Owen
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Lodge
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18W Goldeye / 52W R&C LED front door lighting
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Roi_hartmann
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Based on what I've heard here during all these years especially some types of Alto lamps are especially prone to short life. I ofcourse have no first hand experience since they don't sell them here but I've always liked the coloured encaps.
I have few F20T12 cw Altos in my collection and one of those I used up suffered broken cathode eol only after few years but I don't know if it was bad luck or poor quality.
I've been thinking to get some reduced wattage altos to test those out on GE electronic rapid start ballast but I would have to figure out where to source those in the first place.
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Aamulla aurinko, illalla AIRAM
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RyanF40T12
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They have very weak filaments and poor lamp life. The first gen Altos were very good though.
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The more you hate the LED movement, the stronger it becomes.
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sol
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Not all Alto lamps are bad, it depends on the batch and the factory location. At my place of work, in my room there are 16 fixtures of 2 lamps and all are Alto except one lone GE that is original to the fixtures. They were spot-replaced starting in about 2009, and only one has failed since then. They have developed a slightly yellow tint, though. Makes the room look like the diffusers have yellowed a bit although not the case. On dark days, the lighting is certainly not of a good colour (makes the room kind of drab).
On the other hand, I have a daylight F15T8 that is also Alto, but made in Holland. That one has been running on a switch start circuit 24/7 since July 2011. That is more than 52 000 hours.
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HomeBrewLamps
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Interesting..... Wonder how long the one i got will last, i dont use it regularly, bt maybe i will mount my fixture as a worklight or something when i move out
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~Owen
Scavenger, Urban Explorer, Lighting Enthusiast and Creator of homebrewlamps ![Color changing lamp :colorbulb:](/Smileys/default/ccicon.gif)
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Lodge
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18W Goldeye / 52W R&C LED front door lighting
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Interesting..... Wonder how long the one i got will last, i dont use it regularly, bt maybe i will mount my fixture as a worklight or something when i move out
For home use they are not bad, but commercial use where they are on for 18 to 24 hours a day they don't seem to last as long,and yes the older ones did last a good bit longer..
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mbulb146
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F96T12 60W Altos are pretty much worthless. They dimly striate and flicker even on a hot summer day.
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xmaslightguy
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Somewhere There Is Light(ning)
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Some Alto's are just fine, and can easily last 10+ years of daily use (hell I've seen them outlast ballasts) Others are crap and go mercury starved way before they actually EOL...this is what really gives Alto's a bad image .lol.
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ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!
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sol
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Conclusion : it depends on the batch. That makes the quality of Alto lamps unpredictable.
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