Hi, all! I am the fellow who was inthe video clip showing how an old Nernst lamp is built. (Rick "C-6" Delair), and just wanted to say, I want to make a potato peeler Nernst lamp myself! Also, I wonder if there is a way to make the original Nernst glowers? We have a few at the Edison Tech center, and I REALLY want to get one going again! Any suggestions are welcome, and out site is
www.edisontechcenter.org so check it out. I collect light bulbs, and the Nernst lamps belong to the owner and founder of the Edison Tech Center, John Harnden, bit I am kind of the "caretaker" of then so to speak. John had put a GE NE-35 neon lamp in one saying these just glowed very dimly, with a weak orange glow like the neon lamp, but I know this is untrue. What John saw as a kid, was the heater glowing in a Nernst lamp with a failed glower. Alot of heater failures were due to dead glowers running constantly. The iron wire ballasts had a limited life span as well. One of the Nernst lamps at The Edison has a burned out heater. This is a VERY COOL technology, and is really 'high tech' even today---amazing it was made over 100 years ago! I also love early fluorescent lighting---pre-World War 2 stuff and stuff made during the war, as well as immediate post-war fluorescent stuff is GOLD to us collectors. Collectors tell me as far as they know, I am the only person to have 4 working fluorescent desk lamps, all different makes, from April 38, 1938 (fluorescents were introduced on the market in USA on April 21, 1938!) to about July 1939 era, with the now rare GE (and 2 other makes licensed to GE's patents, Garfield and Dongan Electric) "Thermal Auxiliary" ballasts with a built-in thermal-switch starter. I also have an equally rare January 1939 Westinghouse "Glow Switch Auxiliary" ballast with one of the first glow switch starters, which are ubiquitous starters in most ole fluorescent fittings in the US and UK, etc. I am still looking for GE's other early ballast, same era as the Thermal Auxiliary ballasts, called "Magnetic Auxiliary" that uses a magnetic vibrator or "buzzer" switch starter, also built-in. I made a working replica using a regular choke type ballast and a 24 volt AC coil relay from a rooftop air conditioner unit, installed in a gutted-out old case from ballast for 2 F96T12 slimline lamps that was bad. It works exactly like the original, so kind of MY "Nernst replica" in a way! I hope to find a Magnetic Auxiliary ballast equipped desk lamp or early fixture soon. This old stuff is cool and often difficult to find. Anyway, any reply would be appreciated! Cheers! Rick "C-6" Delair!
