From digest.v7.n413 Fri Oct 10 05:52:52 1997
From: Nahdiah Hoang <hoang_at_io.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 05:48:15 -0500
Subject: re: household bulbs

Before anyone embraces the following suggestions per Mpotheau, please consider a more intelligent approach.

The safest are fluorescent lamps, with a lens. Some facts. 1.) Fluorescent lamps are gas discharged. There's hardly any heat to speak of that can ignite fumes or worse, your skin and eyes. 2.) A Lens of some type will capture any fragments of glass, if you ever drop it hard enough to shatter.I seriously doubt that you will ever crack a fluoresent lamp in your lifetime. Look at how the lamp locks onto the two sockets.
3.) More efficient use of electricity. one 26w = 100w incandscent. One 18w=one 100w incandescent w/ the coating. 4.) For example, there's portable task lights using one f40 biax lamp (a common t5 size close u-bend lamp), Electronic ballast, Miro 4 aluminum reflector, and DR acrylic prismatic lens that puts out 3600 lumens with a task distribution of 0.5(!) SC, and 96% efficiency. THe whole system soaks up just 42w. You would need a 250w incandescent to duplicate the lumen output, and then the archaic bulb shape still could not be engineered well enough to hit 0.5 SC, and 70% of that energy is nothing but heat. 5.) This is the 90's. Let's get with the green lights program and conserve energy. From: Mpotheau_at_aol.com
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 19:08:48 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Drop Lights

Household bulbs should never ever be used in drop lights. The safest ones are the rough service bulbs which are coated. These bulbs are nearly shatterproof, a very important feature.

A Sunoco station around the corner from me was removing a gas tank. They had the old low-tech drop light with a household bulb. As the tank was being removed some spillage ocurred. One of the guys tripped on the wire for the drop light sending it to the ground. The bulb shattered, making a spark and setting the place on fire. Incredibly no one was hurt. Fortunately that station is just around the corner from the fire department. And since there was not a working fire extinguisher on the property the firemen had their work cut out for them.

And, when you are working on your car it is not the worst idea to have a functioning extinguisher handy.

Pizzafest 98 Lives
Circle Tire Co. (We don't sell tires)
Michel Potheau BMWCCA#0000002 BMW Club France #0000013 mpotheau_at_aol.com
Enjoy your BM