New Light Bulb Law, Will it effect Collectors?

[beetlehorn]

Just wondering if anyone has heard any news in regards to the new light bulb law that will take effect now. Will MV and MH bulbs also be included? If so I think I will buy several in case they won't be available in the future!

[rjb]

Incandescent bulbs are so grossly inefficient that they make great heat sources. I use them in my Berlese funnels just as a heater to dry out the detritus and drive out the critters. Not sure what I'll use next when I can't get incandescents. Maybe I'll just rig up a heater wire.

[beetlehorn]

I wonder if the new law will also include fluorescent tubes like the 40 watt blacklighting rigs many moth collectors employ, including myself. I will do some research on this matter, and then hopefully I can clear things up a bit for the night collectors that read this forum. Any additional information would be appreciated here.

[beetlehorn]

OK, so far I found out that only incandescent bulbs will be affected on a nationwide basis in the US. Here is one article on the matter of new laws for 2014.

www.cnbc.com/id/101303132

I still think I will go ahead and stock up on my blacklighting equipment anyway, just in case. I don't want to look back someday and wish I had.

[leptraps]

I have responded to this question several times on this forum. The 2005 Energy Bill eliminated Mercury Vapor bulbs and ballast. Both the manufacture, sale, import and export. The same bill eliminated the incandescent light bulb with the final step in 2014.

However, the MV bulb has numerous industrial and medical applications that were excluded in the Bill. Many curing ovens, water treatment, sewage processing, and algae control use MV bulbs. Also for scientific uses, which includes the collection of insects. There are only three (3) bulb types that are still manufactured and sold for the above applications. 160 Watt, 250 Watt and 500 Watt Mercury Vapor and all are Self Ballast Bulbs. The problem with the larger bulbs 750 Watt, 1000 Watt and 1250 Watt is the Glass of the bulb. These large bulbs were used in Street Lighting, Parking Lots and other applications were large bulbs were required. To set up and mass produce these bulbs requires minimum quantities of 5000+. With only a very limited market, they have been replaced with Metal Halide. I still have a source for 160 Watt, 250 Watt and 500 Watt MVSB bulbs.

Metal Halide Bulbs will soon be replaced by new more energy efficient Twin Arc bulbs (??) by 2018.

As for UV Fluorescent, as long as there are flies and mosquitoes, there will be fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs are used in fly traps in restaurants, grocery stores, food manufacturing and process plants world wide.

As for LED, I know that several manufactures are working on new UV technology, but they have yet to solve the problems related to UV.

Also, MV bulbs used in curing ovens, water treatment and sewer processing. The new infrared bulbs will replace them in the near future.

If you can purchase MV bulbs and ballast (Some Metal halide ballast will operate MV Bulbs). I would suggest to get them while you can.

[wingedwishes]

As long as there is a demand, there will be a supply. True - it will cost more but if drugs are smuggled why not lights? Currently, there are no dogs trained to sniff out a light bulb. I am making fun but there was a case where bales of marijuana were legally sold in Romania as "mulch" instead of as a drug. The aquarium industry also was a big user of MH for reef set ups.

[Deleted]

I use fluorescent UV bulbs on my light sheet rig so this change wont affect me collecting wise. On a side note I have been buying every incandescent bulb for my house that I can get my hands on. I hate the new compact fluorescent bulbs and they don't last as long like they claim.

[58chevy]

I stocked up on MV bulbs(400W)about 3 years ago. I already had one ballast and bought a second one about a year later. I have some fluorescent UV bulbs (350nm) that are at least 5 years old. Does anybody know how long they typically last? Over the years, I have had very good luck collecting at gas stations (MV lights). Sadly, it looks like those days will soon end.

[smallcopper]

Likewise I stocked up some time ago on MV and incandescent bulbs for use in the field and at home. It's a shame really, as in the house I completely approve of the imperative to consume less energy... but the quality of light from the flourescent bulbs is simply awful.

[leptraps]

You replace your incandescent 60 Watt with a Compact Fluorescent of the same wattage, the brightness or lumme is 35% less. To compensate, you replace the 60 Watt Compact Fluorescent with a 100 Watt Compact Fluorescent. Now you have the brightness you like, and you are paying more in eclectic power than you did when you were using the 60 watt Incandescent bulb.

Our congress at its finest. Is this(Or was) a great country, or what??

Below is photograph of the entire copy of the of the 2005 energy bill the ushered out MV & Incandescent light bulbs. I paid $68.00 for the unbound copy. it weighed 10.7 pounds and the cost of the postage was $12.40

Attachment Deleted








Please note the page layout. They only use 44% of the actually paper size, And they only print on one side. Imagine the number of trees required to make the paper to print it. The majority of the paper used by the US Government has their origins in the National Forests. And one last thing. This was authored, supported and past into law by the Democraps.

Here is some food for thought, maybe we should have the government look into improving our sex lives...................

[nomad]

Jan 9, 2014 5:38:07 GMT -8 smallcopper said:

Likewise I stocked up some time ago on MV and incandescent bulbs for use in the field and at home. It's a shame really, as in the house I completely approve of the imperative to consume less energy... but the quality of light from the flourescent bulbs is simply awful.

Surely, they will never ban M.V. Bulbs for use with the Robinson trap in the U.K.

[Deleted]

That's quite a stack of paper. The page layout must be to inflate their ego, or perhaps fool the public into thinking they're actually staying busy??

[smallcopper]

Jan 9, 2014 13:33:17 GMT -8 nomad said:

Jan 9, 2014 5:38:07 GMT -8 smallcopper said:

Likewise I stocked up some time ago on MV and incandescent bulbs for use in the field and at home. It's a shame really, as in the house I completely approve of the imperative to consume less energy... but the quality of light from the flourescent bulbs is simply awful.

Surely, they will never ban M.V. Bulbs for use with the Robinson trap in the U.K.

There was talk of it a few years ago here in the UK, which was when I erred on the side of caution and stocked up on bulbs - on the basis that sitting on the shelf in the cupboard under the stairs they weren't going to go off! So I have a dozen spare MV bulbs for the trap, and well north of a hundred incandescent bulbs or varying outputs for the house. Enough to see me under the sod!

[exoticimports]

Here's an indirect impact:

I recently vacationed at a spot where I'd previously picked up some rare sphingids at the lights on the lodge. However, when I got there all the outdoor lights had been switched to florescent. Result: no sphingids, no moths, virtually no bugs!