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PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 6:12 pm 
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Seems odd that there can be something so fundamentally wrong to cause that many lids to go astray  :shock:
Could it be a balls-up on the part of the one fitting the lanterns maybe?  :oops:
Appears to be a push button clip rather than a 2-position clip like the Iridium so maybe easier to NOT clip securely. Once it's open i guess the wind just rips the heavy ally lid off the hinge pin.....


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:49 pm 
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I've noticed that a fair few of the P567s around Bournemouth have tape holding the bowl to the canopy. I always thought these were quite sturdy lanterns, but an example in my town has been hanging open too, so maybe the clip is a weak point? Or maybe it is just crews being too rough when it comes to lamp change. As the lantern only has one bowl clip, I guess if this, or the part of the bowl becomes damaged, there is nothing else to act as support.

However, the P567 should have clip pieces which hold the bowl hinges in place meaning it won't be possible for the bowl to fall completely from the lantern (if they are attached), meaning the bowl can easily be fixed one way or another when noticed. Quite clever really!

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PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:30 am 
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I suspect the ridge made of GRP over which the stainless steel clip 'springs' over may break off over time.


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 8:23 pm 
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Indust wrote:
I've noticed that a fair few of the P567s around Bournemouth have tape holding the bowl to the canopy. I always thought these were quite sturdy lanterns, but an example in my town has been hanging open too, so maybe the clip is a weak point? Or maybe it is just crews being too rough when it comes to lamp change. As the lantern only has one bowl clip, I guess if this, or the part of the bowl becomes damaged, there is nothing else to act as support.

However, the P567 should have clip pieces which hold the bowl hinges in place meaning it won't be possible for the bowl to fall completely from the lantern (if they are attached), meaning the bowl can easily be fixed one way or another when noticed. Quite clever really!


The P567 doesn't have the best of build quality, and after 20 years on the road are a bit ropey! The bowl clip is only plastic and this simply wedges over the lip of the bowl. They have the tendency to try to undo themselves and even as you clip it shut you can feel it springing open again! Not surprised you've seen tape employed :roll:


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:58 pm 
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I have recently acquired a new P567A, the lantern is all aluminium and is able to be mounted post top or side entry.
The design has been much improved and the clip is aluminium, much like the ones used on the newer Urbis Sapphires.


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 10:55 pm 
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It's probably been mentioned but Alpha 4s and 8s both suffer chronic loss of bowls. Alpha 4s just seem to lose them regardless of where they're installed, as I believe the clips are only glued on. I'd say at least 50% of Alpha 4s (and that's being kind) that I see are missing bowls, various others have cable clips to hold it on. Poor things. Alpha 8s also lose bowls in high wind areas, which is unfortunate as we still have a load installed around exposed shoreline areas that have been there since at least the early 90s. Many near where I used to live are sans bowl, probably well into 2/3rds of those remaining.

That's all that I can think of having seen from personal experience. I've heard that ZX3s like to lose their lid/canopy in high winds, but have personally never seen that myself.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:50 am 
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The issue with Alpha 4 and 8s is that the plastic of the clips goes brittle with age and then snaps which means the bowl gets lost.

The ZX3 design flaw is that when the canopy is opened for servicing, the clips can fall out leaving a flappy canopy.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:10 pm 
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Gramma6 wrote:
The Alpha 2000 might be sturdy but it ain't tough enough to handle Blackpool Prom!  :lol: Many of the A2000s on the Prom have been casually replaced and all of the A2000s north of Talbot Square up to Bispham (a good two-mile stretch) were replaced just seven years after they were first installed. The main problem with the A2000s is the strong winds get hold of the canopies and blow them off or they get ripped off the lantern and hang loose. Now most of the replacements on Blackpool Prom (over 90% of them I would say) are WRTL Vectras which seem much more sturdy. I've seen one of these that had the gear-tray hanging open once (an older Vectra from c.1998 further up the Prom) but on the whole they've behaved themselves well and on the whole you rarely see Vectras with any kind of problem.

The funny thing was the previous lanterns to the Alpha 2000s on the Prom were very flimsy-looking GEC post-tops and yet these lasted for about 15 years with no problems and were only replaced because of the rewiring of the Illuminations and tramway in 1996 (they needed replacing because the light output from them was very poor as well).


Slightly off-topic I know, but I remember when I was small (3) visiting the Illuminations.  I think I remember the old lamp standards (Not sure what model?) having coloured bulbs put in them for the illuminations period.  This always fascinated me!  I miss those old post-top lanterns, I thought they added to the charm of the Illuminations.  The new taller columns and modern-style luminaires do not have the same "charm".

I am talking 1977 for the year when I was small BTW, but I also seem to think the GEC? lanterns were still in-situ when I visited in 1988 (daytime) and 1990 and also mid 90s.


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 6:56 pm 
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The design faults with the Philips Luma really surprise me, in the sense that lots of authorities still purchase Lumas and it is still a product on sale despite the lantern's design faults.

The big design fault, as mentioned previously and affecting larger variants, is that the lantern bodies shear from the spigots or the aluminium bodies themselves actually shear. The design of the lanterns and grade of aluminium used is clearly an issue. As a result, many have fallen from columns. Highways England has put out safety alerts relating to Luma failures, and in many parts of the country an extensive programme of retrofitting Lumas with straps is being carried out, which I think and hope Philips rather than the taxpayer are paying for. These straps serve to catch lanterns and hold them swinging in the air to the columns.

The other design fault that is really apparent is dirt ingress into the optics. Diesel particulates are drawn in through the lantern gaskets by the heating and cooling effect of the LEDs and drivers, and this blackens the optics. Some lanterns fare worse than others, and some areas are also worse than others, which is unsurprising if you have a pollution hotspot. The effect of this will be to reduce light output. This was never an issue with its discharge predecessor the WRTL Arc nor much of an issue with many discharge lanterns for a couple of decades beforehand.

Of course, there is the third design fault which is that of parts of the LED array failing too.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 26, 2019 4:33 pm 
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More on the Luma...

It's interesting to note just how many Lumas on Highways England's network have failed in terms of the lantern body detaching from the spigot. In contrast, I think I am yet to see a Hampshire/Southampton/Portsmouth variant fail in this manner. This is especially surprising on the M275, where all of the Lumas on the Portsmouth City Council part of the motorway south of the Tipner Sails Bridge are intact but several on the Highways England part are broken, literally within sight of each other. This despite all lanterns at this location being equally exposed to prevailing weather conditions and of roughly the same age. phosco152 wondered whether perhaps the installation process of the Highways England lanterns resulted in damage, with perhaps an electric drill with hex head used in place of a standard hex key hand tightened. Does make you wonder.

Also, the optics of some of the M27 and A27 Lumas at Portsmouth are really getting black and filthy now. Interesting to note, the worst affected lanterns are those that are north facing, and as lanterns are orientated away from north and towards south, they become progressively a lot cleaner.


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