# Vintage Lamps For Laboratory Props



## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

I bought some vintage style lamps on eBay to use with a future Frankenstein's lab prop.

Since all of my props run from low voltage (12V or 24V), I need to light them without using mains voltage.

I chose 110V lamps so I could run them at the lowest voltage possible. 24V was too low however and experimentation with power supplies showed that around 50V - 60V is ideal for a dim, vintage look.

I've just ordered a boost converter (eBay again) to bump the lamp voltage up into that range. It can power a few lamps in parallel.

I've started a project page with some details.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Interesting, post up dates of your project as you work on it. Any non-frosted bulb looks better and if you can tint the glass, even more so.


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## MBrennan (Sep 22, 2008)

I've always liked the look of these when dimmed.

Looks like vintage old tubes.










Dimmed to about 60-70VAC


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## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

They do look very cool. The eBay seller I got mine from also had a lot of other shapes and sizes.


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## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

The boost converter from eBay arrived the other day, so I hooked it up today to see how well it drove the 110V lamp at 50V DC. I think it looks nice.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Very pretty


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## fogkeebler (Oct 2, 2015)

that's slicker then snot. I have a boost converter laying around and i may have to look into adding that


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Neat. I have several of those bulbs around the house - just because I think they look cool. Just to mention another option if a person didn't need/have the boost converter - I suspect you could run 2-3 bulbs in series at mains voltage and cut the brightness, too. Each bulb would then see 1/2 or 1/3 the full voltage and give a dim glow.

Interestingly, they also make "Long LED Filament" bulbs which replicate the traditional 'Edison' bulb very closely. ...at least at full brightness.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/long-filament-led-filament-antique-edison-bulbs/










Though somewhat counterintuitively, when you dim an LED, the color usually gets 'cooler' (higher color temperature, or more blue light). So at full brightness, they are a very close match to the standard Edison bulb...at 1/6 the power.... but when dimmed, the color changes and you no longer have that warm, old-timey glow.


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## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

I did look at LED version of those lamps, but they didn't look as nice as the filament type.

The other issue is that you can't run most of them at a significantly lower RMS voltage or on DC.

Since I wanted low voltage and DC, the 110V lamps and boost converter suited my needs.


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## Sytnathotep (Oct 10, 2011)

I saw that my local Lowe's carried a selection of these type bulbs. Maybe you could have a look if one is near you, but I couldn't guess if their prices are comparable to your source on ebay.


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## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

"Lowe's" over here (Australia) is a menswear store. lol

That's why I grabbed them off eBay, since some sellers have 110V and 230V versions.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I think those style bulbs are about $10+ tax...for one bulb... at Lowes, Home Depot and similar stores here in the states. You can pretty easily find them 4 for $10, free shipping, or cheaper, on ebay.


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