It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:10 am

All times are UTC






Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 71 posts ] 


Author Message
PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:27 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:20 am
Posts: 1047
Location: Cleveleys nr Blackpool
Must be high-wattage MRL6s then as the bowls are usually pretty sturdy when used with SON lamps. I remember in the 80s I used to pass an Alpha 8 MK II quite often where the bowl had a big brown hole burnt in it and it was like that for about three years before it was replaced. I think it ran 250w SON-E.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:22 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:17 pm
Posts: 411
MRL6 lanterns do have a design fault but only as the lantern ages:

The fault is with the lamp holder support screws that hold the support to the body. Over time the plastic that the support screws to cracks around the threads, this causes the lamp holder, lamp and support to drop down into the bowl. 150W SON ones will sit there and make a brown mark, 250W ones will burn stright through the bowl. I have seen many with the lamp poking through the melted bowl with dripping plastic. :shock:


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:29 am 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
Ah thanks for that nugget of information... that actually does explain why a lot can be seen with holes in the bowl!
:D

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:29 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:13 am
Posts: 106
Images: 9
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Hi I'm Jake for anyone who missed my "Hello I'm new!" post in the greetings section!

I've noticed a fairly common issue with the 100w versions of the Thorn Beta 79; the entire lampholder support tends to break away from the canopy leaving it laying in the bowl. I've seen a couple with holes in the bowl where the lamp has melted its way through completely! Perhaps the assembly is just too heavy for such a lantern?

Also, almost all of Sheffield's Z9554M lanterns have had their bowls have faded quite badly to the point where the refractors aren't really effective at all. It's strange considering this lantern often replaced failed MA50s which (in my opinion) had a much better refractors and light distribution. (Not to mention that it's not uncommon to see them with a small pond inside the bowl, perhaps this is just the council not securing the bowl properly?)


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:29 am 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
To be honest, the Philips MA50 has a much better optical system than the Z9554M. Both have fibreglass canopies and so can be liable to failing, which is the normal cause for water pooling in the bottom... the Phillips MA50/60/90 bowls all have a little bung at the bracket end of the lantern that can be removed to allow a water pool to drain out!

York only has about half a dozen Z9554M lanterns, the rest are older Z9554's with metal canopies, but round here I haven't particularly noticed bowls going cloudy on them... maybe Sheffield's are made of Acrylic or something... Although Sheffield's record of lantern maintenance isn't exactly A grade!

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 7:38 am 
Offline
Site Administration
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:38 pm
Posts: 3402
Images: 27
Location: Salisbury
The aim of the small bung in the Philips MA lanterns - and this comes from the installation and servicing literature - is to allow any condensation that forms inside the lantern to be drained. Given the volume of air contained, this could have been a problem otherwise. It wasn't designed as a drain for "release of rain" as Philips designed the lantern to be considered full sealed.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:49 am 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:49 pm
Posts: 814
Images: 108
JakeB wrote:
Hi I'm Jake for anyone who missed my "Hello I'm new!" post in the greetings section!

I've noticed a fairly common issue with the 100w versions of the Thorn Beta 79; the entire lampholder support tends to break away from the canopy leaving it laying in the bowl. I've seen a couple with holes in the bowl where the lamp has melted its way through completely! Perhaps the assembly is just too heavy for such a lantern?

Also, almost all of Sheffield's Z9554M lanterns have had their bowls have faded quite badly to the point where the refractors aren't really effective at all. It's strange considering this lantern often replaced failed MA50s which (in my opinion) had a much better refractors and light distribution. (Not to mention that it's not uncommon to see them with a small pond inside the bowl, perhaps this is just the council not securing the bowl properly?)


Firstly, welcome to the forum!  :)

Yes at home in Wiltshire, we too have quite a few gear in bowl MA50s that have pools of water sitting in them - We have loads of Z9554Ms and nearly all of them had bowls full of water. A few were so bad that the lamps stopped working. However the council made a decision to source new bowls and fit them onto failing examples and it has made all the difference.

At uni in Ceredigion, there are a few GEC Z9554s though the ones with deep bowls have all been replaced now. The remaining examples are in poor condition with cracked bowls or missing bowls and one is even missing the bowl and the lamp!

_________________
"I used to rule the world... Now I sweep the streets I used to own."
Remembering GEC.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 3:41 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:17 pm
Posts: 411
Phosco152 wrote:
The aim of the small bung in the Philips MA lanterns - and this comes from the installation and servicing literature - is to allow any condensation that forms inside the lantern to be drained. Given the volume of air contained, this could have been a problem otherwise. It wasn't designed as a drain for "release of rain" as Philips designed the lantern to be considered full sealed.


The Philips MA 30 also has a bung in the bowl, but I'm guessing condensation will form in this lantern due to the large alu canopy?


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:56 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:20 am
Posts: 1047
Location: Cleveleys nr Blackpool
The GEC Z9554M seems to rival Thorn's 1980s range in the missing bowl stakes!  :mrgreen:


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 5:57 pm 
Offline
Site Administration
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:38 pm
Posts: 3402
Images: 27
Location: Salisbury
It looks like the Philips Iridium 2 has a major problem with the canopy fastening mechanism. On the M6 around Birmingham there was a stretch of around a mile of these lanterns, 15-20 had lost their canopies....


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by  


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 71 posts ] 

All times are UTC



You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests



Search for: