How Authentic Is A New "Antique" Light Bulb? 

There is a company making carbon filament bulbs...or was a few years ago. I have one. I first saw them at a display at a local museum, and asked about them. Sold through a lighting firm in Seattle that sells antique reproduction lighting fixtures. Right off the top of my head, I can't think of the name. The bulb package and bulb itself doesn't have a name on it. A carbon filament, to me, looks like a bright kerosene lantern...a similar color. This company also sold 240 volt antique style bulbs with tungsten filaments. Running on 120 volts, they last almost forever. Cool old bulb....

Tungsten filament bulb Life vs voltage is proportional to ~(V_Rated/V_Op)^12, so at 1/2 voltage it will basically last forever

One practical use for these bulbs would be in a "dim bulb tester" setup for servicing vintage radios and other vintage electronics. I originally looked on these "antique" bulbs with disdain because the main place I see them is in bars and restaurants where the energy waste is a double whammy (you have to light the bulb and then pump out the heat with hvac). Knowing that there is one legitimate use for them makes me feel much better about them - besides, they are pretty when run at low voltage!

Replaced all of the incandescents in my House the day I purchased it with LEDs and never looked back. Love the look of the vintage looking LED bulbs that have a string of LEDs as "filament". Less vintage, more of a Steampunk look. Love it. Also saves a bunch of power.

I found 'the light bulb conspiracy' documentary interesting. Modern electronics suffer from planned obsolescence. The "lasts 0.9 years" is the elephant in the room.

Good to know these are out there, and there's at least something similar that's still real incandescent. I imagine this is the kind of thing you'd want to use on a dimmable socket!

These old lightbulb videos are very illuminating

I have two lamp like that from Philips, 60W 230V but not so bright. Very interesting!

I use one of these vintage-style bulbs for a bedside lamp. But I run it with a dimmer circuit to stop it being too bright, it probably increases the life too.

Just put two in series for half the voltage - used to do that with standard tungsten lamps for decorative use.

If I somehow became wealthy, I'd want to have displays of genuine vintage bulbs like Fran's running all the time. Like, keep them all undervolted and at a stable temperature. That'd be cool

There used to be some device that fit under standard incandescent light bulbs that claimed to reduce the inrush current so that bulbs would last longer. I have my simulated vintage bulb on a dimmer.

I love the new Edison bulbs out there and the ones that are LED are super cool.

The technical term tor that little nipple on the bulb is an exhaust tip. You are correct that it is now hidden inside the base shell in modern bulbs.

I really enjoyed this video. Electrical history is very interesting. Perhaps you should do a series focusing on the wiring and hardware of yesteryear?

I loved those videos on old lighting tech. One thing that would be neat to add, get a diffraction grating and place it in front of the camera with it pointed at the different light sources. It's also interesting in that now they have antique-style Edison bulbs using LED filament. If you can find ones that don't flicker, they do put out a fairly pleasing quality of light.

Edison noticed that the inside of his carbon filament lamps blackened with age. When powered by dc there was a shadow in the blackening caused by the negative end of the support wire. Carbon atoms were shot off the positive end of the filament and those that headed towards the negative end hit the support and didn't hit the glass behind it leaving a clear shadow. He had some bulbs made with extra wire electrodes to investigate this and discovered that a current would flow between the electrode and filament when the filament was negative. He had invented the thermionic diode but as the current it could pass was too small to be any use for anything at the time he didn't develop or patent it. That was left to Fleming some years later when he used it as a radio detector. The first diodes were effectively light bulbs with an extra electrode so they must have been LEDs but totally different to what we know as LEDs.

It would be a nice addition in a restaurant or bar that has art deco decor.

Reminds me of when 125V 200W and 300W lamps were standard test equipment. They were approximately 75 and 50 ohm loads useful as dummy loads for RF transmission up to their rated power and much cheaper than the fancy dummy loads capable of sinking that much power. I still have a 200W lamp and socket and three sockets in series for using 100W lamps since 300W lamps were specialty items. Anything more than a few minutes at significant power levels made so much waste heat, including that the RF Power amps were also producing lots of heat as well. I used grounded aluminum foil to greatly reduce RF radiated while testing.

I always enjoy your light bulb reviews!

Got a few pre WWII Siemens ones, B22D and 16 and 32 candlepower rating, 220V operation, made in the infamous Phoebus Cartel days. Lovely lamps, with the nice carbon filaments in them. Would send to Fran some, plus the matching sockets, but shipping to the USA is going to be around $200 just for that.

The bulb on my desk lamp has a natural tinted glass, it's not quite yellow like they've done on that bulb but more of a subtle yellowish-black tint that's darker at the top, it's been pointing upwards for quite a few years until I decided to twist the lamp back to its original shape, it's one of those flexible ones but I made it for 12 volt, bought a box of *100* light bulbs thinking they wouldn't last more than the advertised "1000 hours"... still haven't gone through a single one and it's been like 6 years.

Hola from a NYC woman musician now retired in Baja. Been fighting with my router an hour already. Love your channel. Flea market opens soon.

Neat light. Definitely for use on a dimmer only. Or wire in series, as other suggest. 👍

Back in the 70s before they moved it, the First Street fire house in Livermore where the old bulb was hanging was a pleasant place to burn a doobie and tip a beer and look at the bulb. I suppose I could have been the only person that was aware of that, but if there was a Pitch Drop experiment going on at a cool spot I could easily stare at one of those. Anyway I figured that the low lumens of that dim red bulb was a defective oversized filament and that was why it was maybe burning a little cooler than most. It was hanging about five from the ceiling so the wire absorbed vibrations from Earthquakes and whatnot. There is a plume of Tritium coming from one of the little reactors out there at Lawrence Lab that leaked for a week or so after one of those. Engineering is not easy for everyone.

It's a shame they only rate it to last 0.9 years, you could probably get more use out of it being gentle with the voltage though

I kinda prefer the modern incarnation tbf. Maybe not as vibrant colours but it surely look the part otherwise (and has a much longer life expectancy) :)

Oh yes, you tickle my mind. Thanks. Really interesting and great explaining

If you get a couple of those and wire them in series, it might look the part better. I also wonder if maybe a 220v version of it might work better.

That is so cool!

Another great video !

There's something satisfying about operating vintage equipment.

put 2 of them in series for extended ... 'fun' ;-)

Hi Fran hope you're having a great day. Be safe

I love these things!!

What a bright idea! : - )

Looks cool if you use it at the lower voltage and can see the filament. 🙂

I will have to look for some 😊

Couldn't you put a heavy-duty diode in line with the ac voltage to that bulb and it would basically have it coming-out as a pulsating DC of half the voltage. That would be about what that light bulb would require I would think.

Oh the light bulb, the first man made product that was made to last way less than it could in purpose so they could sell more, a work by Phoebus cartel where all the manufacturers got in an agreement not to make light bulbs that lasted too much as they noticed that they could last for ever and that way once someone bought one they will never buy another😅 I use incandescent bulbs for testing crts and etc and 25w ones for keep the baby chicks warm and happy in a card board box 😊

A number of years ago, "they" were selling doodads that would make an incandescent bulb a very long time. The doodads were round and thin like a Tums tablet and were put in the socket and the bulb would screw down like normal. It was a diode. The advertising for them never mentioned the resultant lesser light output.

I have an antique lamp (was kerosene) that I use on a timer every evening. I put a diode in the socket, it dims down the bulb and it lasts for years. The bulb you're showing would be perfect for this lamp.

Hi Fran!

my dad used 2 lamps (bulbs) in series… as a tester, if connected to 220vac bulbs ligt at full brightness if 110vac bulbs would be dim. you could also do 3 lamps in series getting long life an dimmer brightness.

Excellent, ta

I'm not even sure if filament bulbs are even still available over here. Maybe for cars.

Neato!

New but still a real deal... ish. Looks the part, technology may be real but we never know untill someone takes it apart and analyzes it. It's Vintage Reissue time! Like a SMD Brooklyn Overdrive... may be close but still ain't gonna be the same as the old ones.

I have a folded version of a fake antique that emits broadband noise around 70 MHz. It might be interesting to use a spectrum analyzer on that bulb and see if it is a common problem. No idea what the natural resonance of that filament will be. My hypotheses is the stand wires are alternating plates and the filament ends are alternating cathodes, so forward biased diodes generating noise. Gasses etc. In the bulb probably changes characteristics too.

I remember .....and I'm 69.......my grand mother had a bonafide old one like this in a closet.....not sure what happened to it.....I remember the little tip/nipple.....thanks for the feature will share....🎶😎🎶

Pretty cool. Put it in a porch light with a dimmer?

I would connect them in a series, three or four bulbs together - that way they would last a long time and be a nice decoration.

I got this video suggested as something I would like!!! Fran I was an original subscriber years ago!!! I cant believe youtube dropped me as a subscriber!!! I thought you stopped uploading! Glad you are still on. I will binge watch to catch up!

It could be good to custom-wire a small chandelier so that pairs of these are in series - maybe three in series in a large chandelier.

Run a diode in series that can handle 1 amp and 120 volts reverse voltage. I would never run this at full voltage. Get two and run them in series. Have Ron at Glasslinger make you some more bulbs. Very cool Fran, thanks for sharing!

Maybe you could run the new version as a pair, wired in series. I would gain a few lumens, extend the life and make it look more appealing.

the 1000 hours life is the perfect compromise between efficacy and life expectancy. Reducing the voltage extends the life, but it also reduces efficacy.

Glad YT algorithm dropped this in my recommendation as I am trying to find more female host STEM channels for my (5&8 yo) boys to watch.

For a cheap and dirty dimmer that maybe could be built in a light socket, how ‘bout a diode in series? Wondering how it would look. It would be easy to try.

Wondering if the tungsten bulb you showed is banned along with most of the other E26 incandescents, or if they consider it exempt as a 'specialty' bulb? Anyway, I like the look, but it's crazy it lasts less than a year (major deal-breaker for me). I think the Edison style LEDs make more sense for most people. They use way less energy and are supposed to last 10 years or more.

At least the bulb is incandescent

Ten percent less voltage doubles the life of an indescent bulb. Halving the nominal voltage increases the service life by a factor of more than a thousand. I use dimmers and variable transformers, but also simply motor capacitors (e.g. 10 ɥF) in series for voltage reduction and a filament-friendly soft start. Two incandescent lamps in series also work beautifully and almost forever, over a hundred years, theoretically.

I have an led bulb for 15y now. Still working

I wonder if a diode in series would be sufficient to reduce the brightness to a suitable level.

Very...ahem...enlightening.

As it is wolfram wire. Maybe put 2 in series?

Would love to see someone actually start making low volumes of carbon filament lamps... maybe that's a solid reason to take up glassblowing? lol Also seeing this reminded me to check on how that shelby bulb at Livermore fire station's doing... *HOW IS THAT SUCKER STILL GOING AFTER NEAR 120 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS OPERATION!? THE RATED LIFE ON THOSE THINGS WAS LIKE 40 HOURS!!!*

If you operated that bulb at the yellow heat shown, 50V or so it would last practically forever, the gas fill in the lamp is low pressure argon and nitrogen and the temperature is low enough that sublimination of tungsten is negligible. There is one catch though, running too cool, about dim red heat, will cause the metal to become extremely brittle over time.

great.. I'm at work and the Fran song is stuck n my head.. which is fine except; I'm not Fran!!!

So is the coating of the carbon on the inside of carbon filiment bulb, graphene?

Just needs a retro firehouse to put it in?! Use a Big Clive style capacitive dropper?

Tungsten is not a black body radiator (like carbon), that is why it is more yellow and not orange

Wire 2 or 3 in Series ?

I enjoyed the video. Thanks 😊

You can run it on a dimmer to make the power low enough.

Just put two or three of them in series, and make a decorative lamp.

needs a ballast resistor??😎

👏👏👏👍

Polk Salad Annie!! It's her, I know it is - see there's her g'tar...

Use a 1N4004 in series that should give you 50V~ depending on your mains voltage.

What would Edison do…? ;)❤

Bulbs grow lamps glow

I love electric lights.

i like led.

All my LED’s are set at 50% power. Will last years more. Great video.

Am in the kingdom of Eswatini and love your channel 😍

😅💜

What, no teardown? .9 of a year isn't much of a service life. Looks cool tho.

The best thing about filament lamps is that they do not flicker when filmed. Too bad energy has become so expensive. Those cheapo ac leds that cut off a phase are a menace to everyone with an interest in filmmaking. Thanks for the nice video.

Why tent the glass? Just make the real deal. I wish they would bring back the one and a half volt dry cell.

8:13

How many engineers does it take to screw in one of those?

The new bulb would need some adjustments in Europe. We use 230V.

This video was a bright 💡 idea.

The filament of the new bulb reminds me of razor wire on a prison wall.

I sae some real carbon filament reproductions online too

They don't rate it to last very long.

I just use a 4.5W LED classic style lamp for my heavy brass antique lamp, Looks close enough for a lot less $$, runs cooler (easier on the glass shade) with less power.

Sad to have to bring it up but you have one of those scam bots going rampant in the comments section.

LED are such bad light... can't use them... but incandescent lightbulbs are becoming rare and expensive (in Canada anyway)