• Lighting
  • You can still buy incandescent bulbs in the US

Decorative lighting apparently.. go on Amazon, search for "Edison bulbs", select incandescent to weed out the LEDs. They are more amber and dimmer than what you're used to, but who cares?

I have an Edison bulb for years in one of my lamps. 40w I think. Good brightness for watching a flick.

Tip: When handling them, don't get your finger oils on them because it'll create a hot spot. So wear gloves or wash your hands first.

    Good find! They look awesome too.

    I believe appliance/fan bulbs are also available, such as here: https://www.bulbs.com/product/40A15C? I understand an LED bulb might melt in an oven, but I don't really understand why a fan can't use an LED, too much movement?

    (I have not ordered any and can't vouch for any supplier -- just passing it along.) My local HW store apparently sells GE Edison Bulbs.

    Sunspark and dimmer than what you're used to

    Is lumens "additive"? If I have two 300 lumen bulbs, in two separate lamps next to each other, is that basically the same as one 600 lumen bulb that I'm used to?

    Yes, they are additive together if they are next to each other.

    If you are able to get them (I am), you can still use 130v rough-service 100w bulbs. In a 120v circuit they will be equivalent to 75w in brightness more or less. Examine your socket to see if it has markings that indicate what it can handle. I just grabbed a table lamp that I've only ever used 60w and lower in.. looked at the molding on the socket. It says 250v 660w. That's a lot. The wire gauge going into it is 18, so it can handle 100w no problem. This one would be fine because there's no enclosure or shade over the bulb, it's open to the air and the base is pointing up not down. Be careful with antique cloth wrapped wiring or enclosed fixtures.

    The edisons are dimmer for sure (but nicer looking), but you can use rough-service too. A 100w 130v would generate about 76 watts of heat on a 120v circuit, vs 90 that it would on a 130v circuit.

    I think you can get away with a lot. A19 is just the shape of common regular bulbs. The base itself of the regular A19 bulb is E26. I'm looking at a PS25 bulb here on a website that is an E26 base and is 300w. It's 3900 lumens. I could absolutely use that on my table lamp though I wouldn't want to be looking at it directly.

    Oh, the thing about appliance bulbs, if they have E26 base, then yes they will work fine too. But I think 40w is the max they come in so that's not really that useful except for certain things like maybe a pantry closet. E26 is the important number you care about, this is the threading of standard sockets. Some appliance bulbs are E15, so this is why one must look to see what # it is.

    The reason for the LED bulbs not always being good in fans is because some fans come with dimmers and dimmers aren't really compatible with LED bulbs. LED bulbs are also sensitive to heat buildup (enclosed fixture), and also if too many LED bulbs are used they might also interfere with a fan's remote control (they have electronics, I actually had to change the frequency used by the radio in the fan because it was turning on by itself which is kind of a scary thing to happen your first night in a new house, LOL).

    Poking around the hardware store page here, they have E26 from GE in 150w (2710 lumens) and 200w (3780 lumens), A21 bulb shape. I have to think about this one.. the kitchen overhead fixures ARE rated for 150w even with the enclosure, but the wire behind them is 70+ years old.

    60w 120v 2-pack E26 base $10 meant for aquarium canopies. Tube shaped. "Bulbrite B60T10C 60-Watt Incandescent T10 Tubular Bulb, 120V, Clear (2)"

    if you wire the incandescent bulbs in series by pairs, eg. two 100w in series will run at half load and will give the same amount of light as one 100W, then they will last indefinitely, you will never replace them, take my word, this trick was used to convince people about the long life of leds, but thats because they make incandescent bulbs shine so bright now that they last little by design.

      After weeding out any LED Bulbs and trying the newer decorative incandescent ones, which were unpleasant, I ended up ordering halogen bulbs from Amazon.

      They come with a 2700k warm white spectrum and you can get them with 40, 150 or 250w, the latter ones probably being special products for ambiental photography lighting.

      Anyways. Since they emit a pleasant warm white colour and are 100% flicker-free, I can enjoy my evenings again, without starting to suffer from flickering/PWM related headaches.

      beyondthelight

      There are these ready made light fixtures called golden balls, its a socket that you put two incandescent bulbs and it wires them in series into a single socket. You will never have to replace bulbs with this thing and gives a nice golden light.

        13 days later

        beyondthelight Can you provide a link? I tried searching "golden ball light fixture" and couldn't find what you posted.

        By the way, is that your idol on the wall?

          mrcnski

          Its an image and you will never find those fixtures online, because its a relic of old world technology only found in hard to reach places that hold on to the true light, but I opened one for you, its a pretty simple circuit, Im sure somebody can 3d print that, or not? idk. But seriously you will never have to replace the bulbs you put in that socket again.

            beyondthelight Well, that's all very mysterious but not very helpful.

            About the idol, please consult Scripture to find out God's opinion on those. Here's the second commandment (removed by the Catholic church):

            You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I YHWH your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

            ~ Exodus 20:3-6

              I went to a thrift store today and found some working halogen/incandescent bulbs, and two very nice high-wattage lamps. I paid less for it all than a single high-wattage lamp on Amazon!

              mrcnski

              Oh sorry, I sacrificed one for you and still was not helpful, sorry to waste your time, and thank you for your citation, but I didn't ask you for your opinion regarding that.

              Yes those are almost it, but the inside is wired differently, these are wired in series, not parallel

              dev