Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[vitanola]

Sure, unless they're CFL Christmas lights.

People can cite all of the facts, figures, and science they want to. In my experience, in our home, I've concluded CFL bulbs simply do not light the room(s) as well as their incandescent counterparts. The CFL bulbs might produce more light, but that light sure doesn't disperse the same as the light produced by incandescent bulbs.

In some fixtures. In well designed fixtures, however, CFL lights work splendidly. They work particularly well in IES semi indirect reflectors as commonly found on 1930's and 1940's quality table and floor lamps. They also work well in satin opal hanging bowl semi-indirect fixtures, and in opal "schoolhouse" fixtures. Basically any of the fixtures promoted in 'Twenties, 'Thirties and 'Forties by GE, Westinghouse and the NELA in their "Better Light for Better Sight" campaign will adapt to the more efficient bulbs vey well indeed. Remember that there have been a tremendous number of pretty poorly designed light fixtures installed in American homes, particularly in the 'Eighties and 'Nineties. It seems to me that in those years resifpdential lighting design retreated to a level of primitivism which we have not seen since days of the Taft.

 

[Zombie_61]

So if you have a lamp with a 60W incandescent, and you replace it with three lamps with 60W CFLs, you can't tell a difference?

So, you're saying in order to get the most out of CFL bulbs you need to use three lamps instead of one?

In some fixtures. In well designed fixtures, however, CFL lights work splendidly...

The incandescent bulbs I've used in my 52 years on this rock worked the same regardless of the type of fixture I put them in. So far, I'm still not clear on the advantages of CFL over incandescent.

By the way, I'm sincerely not trying to be a wise guy here. I have heard and read that CFL bulbs are supposed to be a major improvement over incandescent bulbs, but so far I haven't seen any practical evidence to support that.

 

[PADDY]

As a young lad in Belfast (N. Ireland ) I remember the milk being delivered by horse and cart in large silver milk urns. Again the 'rag & bone' man would go up the street with horse & cart.
Police Officers at night would wear a black cape and night helmet.
The washing would be wrung out in an old hand turned mangler.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We have a guy here who delivers fresh farm-grown vegetables in a horse-drawn milk wagon. Everybody here is used to him, but the tourists gape every time.

 

[HudsonHawk]

So, you're saying in order to get the most out of CFL bulbs you need to use three lamps instead of one?

No, I'm saying that fluorescents use one third of the energy as an incandescent. One incandescent is the equivalent power draw of three CFLs and produces ten times the amount of light.

So far, I'm still not clear on the advantages of CFL over incandescent.

Lower power usage
Longer life
More light output

By the way, I'm sincerely not trying to be a wise guy here. I have heard and read that CFL bulbs are supposed to be a major improvement over incandescent bulbs, but so far I haven't seen any practical evidence to support that.

The evidence if their advantages is everywhere and is overwhelming. They are objectively measurable. Whether you think those things are an improvement is up to you. I get it if you don't like CFLs or have a nostalgia thing for incandescents. But their advantages cannot be legitimately argued.

 

[jamespowers]

Must have LED's in the house.
25w would be my guess.

It's hard to compare 1 pound of bacon to 10 pounds of celery.
Celery is weighed by density, while bacon is weighed by taste.
Taste always outweighs density, especially when it concerns celery.
Therefore 1 pound of bacon DOES weigh more than 10 pounds of celery.
Somehow in my exhausted state, that makes sense. :boxing:

Agreed.

 

[jamespowers]

Lower power usage
Longer life
More light output



The evidence if their advantages is everywhere and is overwhelming. They are objectively measurable. Whether you think those things are an improvement is up to you. I get it if you don't like CFLs or have a nostalgia thing for incandescents. But their advantages cannot be legitimately argued.

Obviously they have to use less power---being so damned dim.

I have never experienced longer life out of a single CFL. I even had one explode. That was just wonderful.
More light output is a fantasy unless you are really using three to one incandescent. Then you lose that whole less power advantage.

The crazy buzzing, UV exposure and mercury vapor involved definitely outweigh any benefits they might even have. I would choose the LED if I had to make a choice as they actually put out a decent amount of light.

If you have evidence then by all means share it. Put in the links, photos and videos. So far all I see is someone who appears to work for the CFL companies. lol lol

 

[HudsonHawk]

So far all I see is someone who appears to work for the CFL companies.

What you see is someone who doesn't let his preconcieved opinion get in the way of the facts. But by all means, keep using as much power and burning as much fuel as you can. I work in the oil business. I'm getting rich off your stubbornness.

 

[Matt Crunk]

I've mentioned this before in other parts of the Lounge, but one of the things I miss, which I experienced in my youth, is restaurants with dress codes. I remember fondly going out to dinner with my parents to places where coat and tie were required. Everyone there would be dressed up and it made for a nice and elegant evening. Even as a small child I could appreciate this.

I was recently watching the film ILLEGAL (1955) on DVD with a commentary track featuring actress Nina Foch, and she remarked that back then you could tell a person's "standing" by the way they were dressed, but nowadays even at some of the finer restaurants in Manhattan people go in dressed like they just came from the beach. Sad.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have never experienced longer life out of a single CFL. I even had one explode. That was just wonderful.
More light output is a fantasy unless you are really using three to one incandescent. Then you lose that whole less power advantage.

I think there are a lot of cheap, crappy imported CFLs on the market. The one I had that shorted out and almost caught fire was one of these -- some kind of generic Wal Mart product. If I hadn't been in the room and smelled the ozone and seen the smoke, there could have been disastrous consequence. That was when I went back to incandescents -- there were a lot of cheap crappy incandescent bulbs on the market, but at least they didn't have cheap crappy circuitry in the bases to short out.

On the other hand the industrial-grade CFLs we use in the marquee at the theatre have lasted nearly ten years with only a handful of failures. But they also cost sixteen dollars a piece, which is not what Joe Lightbulb wants to pay for his bedside lamp.

 

[Zombie_61]

The evidence if their advantages is everywhere and is overwhelming. They are objectively measurable. Whether you think those things are an improvement is up to you. I get it if you don't like CFLs or have a nostalgia thing for incandescents. But their advantages cannot be legitimately argued.

I don't particularly care for the "mercury" issue (which I admit has been blown out of proportion by the detractors) or having to drive across town to dispose of them properly (which is something I'd bet most people who use them don't do), but otherwise I have nothing against CFL bulbs except for my observation (and my wife concurs) that they simply don't light a room as well as incandescent bulbs, and therefore are not a suitable replacement in my opinion. I really don't care what a light bulb is made from or how it works as long as it does what it's supposed to do--provide an adequate amount of light--and in my experience CFL bulbs fall short of that goal when compared to their incandescent counterparts. Surely I'll get used to them, especially since it appears I'll soon have no choice in the matter, but the transition won't be as simple as "they" say it should be.

Regardless of our differing opinions, I thank you for the information. :yo:

 

[jamespowers]

What you see is someone who doesn't let his preconcieved opinion get in the way of the facts. But by all means, keep using as much power and burning as much fuel as you can. I work in the oil business. I'm getting rich off your stubbornness.

Dude, I drive 50and 60 year old cars. I support you as it is. :rofl:

I would like to see those "facts" though.

 

[jamespowers]

I think there are a lot of cheap, crappy imported CFLs on the market. The one I had that shorted out and almost caught fire was one of these -- some kind of generic Wal Mart product. If I hadn't been in the room and smelled the ozone and seen the smoke, there could have been disastrous consequence. That was when I went back to incandescents -- there were a lot of cheap crappy incandescent bulbs on the market, but at least they didn't have cheap crappy circuitry in the bases to short out.

On the other hand the industrial-grade CFLs we use in the marquee at the theatre have lasted nearly ten years with only a handful of failures. But they also cost sixteen dollars a piece, which is not what Joe Lightbulb wants to pay for his bedside lamp.

Holy Crimony! That is scary! Mine just went Zoot! and Boom!
When I look where they are made, ALL of them are made outside the US. Environmental laws make it nearly impossible for them to make just about anything containing mercury stateside.

I don't mess with industrial grade CFLS so I don't know there. I use the LEDs in my workshop and they are ok---aside from the buzz.

 

[jamespowers]

I really don't care what a light bulb is made from or how it works as long as it does what it's supposed to do--provide an adequate amount of light--and in my experience CFL bulbs fall short of that goal when compared to their incandescent counterparts.

And that is the most sentient point right there. I don't care either if they WORK.
Then again the soylent green lights are another story....

 

[HudsonHawk]

I don't particularly care for the "mercury" issue (which I admit has been blown out of proportion by the detractors) or having to drive across town to dispose of them properly (which is something I'd bet most people who use them don't do), but otherwise I have nothing against CFL bulbs except for my observation (and my wife concurs) that they simply don't light a room as well as incandescent bulbs, and therefore are not a suitable replacement in my opinion. I really don't care what a light bulb is made from or how it works as long as it does what it's supposed to do--provide an adequate amount of light--and in my experience CFL bulbs fall short of that goal when compared to their incandescent counterparts. Surely I'll get used to them, especially since it appears I'll soon have no choice in the matter, but the transition won't be as simple as "they" say it should be.

Regardless of our differing opinions, I thank you for the information. :yo:

The mercury issue with CFLs is not only blown out of proportion, it's downright deceptive. Yes, there is a small amount of mercury in the CFL, less than 1% of what is in the old mercury thermometers. So having a old thermometer in you house is about 5 times more dangerous than a house full of CFLs. Secondly, the biggest source of mercury to the environment is electricity. Incandescent bulbs are electricity hogs, and while there is no mercury in the bulb, an incandescent bulb contributes 3 times the amount of mercury to the environment than do CFLs, simply by the enormous amount of electricity production required to operate them.

As for your feeling that CFLs don't provide enough light, you might try simply getting a higher watt CFL. If you're replacing a 40W incandescent, and you feel the 40W CFL isn't enough, put in a 100W CFL. A 100W CFL still uses less power than a 40W incandescent.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Dude, I drive 50and 60 year old cars. I support you as it is. :rofl:

My oil company cronies and I thank you.

 

[jamespowers]

My oil company cronies and I thank you.

I like oil companies. I is not like we run around on sun power. lol lol

 

[jamespowers]

The mercury issue with CFLs is not only blown out of proportion, it's downright deceptive. Yes, there is a small amount of mercury in the CFL, less than 1% of what is in the old mercury thermometers. So having a old thermometer in you house is about 5 times more dangerous than a house full of CFLs. Secondly, the biggest source of mercury to the environment is electricity. Incandescent bulbs are electricity hogs, and while there is no mercury in the bulb, an incandescent bulb contributes 3 times the amount of mercury to the environment than do CFLs, simply by the enormous amount of electricity production required to operate them.

As for your feeling that CFLs don't provide enough light, you might try simply getting a higher watt CFL. If you're replacing a 40W incandescent, and you feel the 40W CFL isn't enough, put in a 100W CFL. A 100W CFL still uses less power than a 40W incandescent.

Do they make 1000W CFLs? That might work.
Nothing will beat a Metal Halide bulb.

 

[LuvMyMan]

One very interesting point here. Most "environmentally friendly" devices made and that are "advertised" as being "green", actually cost the environment more harm that good, due to what it takes to manufacture them.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Do they make 1000W CFLs? That might work.
Nothing will beat a Metal Halide bulb.

Three words: carbon arc lamp.