Idea: can this be built? Adapter for 3-way sockets.

[N8N]

Was just thinking about this... there's a big hole in the residential lighting market for energy-saving bulbs that work in 3-way lamp fixtures. I've found a few CFLs that don't actively **** me off, but they're dim. I've also seen mention of a Switch 3-way, but it's ludicrously expensive, and even dimmer.

Currently I'm using two L-prize bulbs in a Y-adapter and a 1" socket extender in one room for room lighting (no ceiling fixture.) It works, and is bright enough, but now my torchiere has no 3-way function. No biggie there, but there are a couple lamps in the living room that have 3-way CFLs in them for lack of any other lighting options.

My first thought was why is there no 3-way adapter that would be something like my Y-adapter hack but would have three sockets, then when you turn the key you would light 0, 1, 2, 3 sockets then cycle back to none. that would work in torchieres but not in most floor or table lamps. Someone make one of these, I'll buy it tomorrow.

Second thought - would it be possible to cram some electronics in a socket extender type format with a 3-way base but regular Edison socket, that would act as a fixed level dimmer for a dimmable LED bulb? e.g. two dimmed levels and then position 3 would be 100% brightness. I'd buy that tomorrow too.

C'mon, someone make this. I'll buy it and I won't even ask for royalties.

 

[LEDninja]

According to wikipedia the 3 way lamp is really 2 way.
Position 1 low;
position 2 medium;
position 3 low and medium (it is not high as such).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-way_lamp

So the adapter would only have 2 sockets, one for low, one for medium and when you put the switch in the high position both bulbs would light up.
It should not be too difficult to produce but the low demand would make getting a UL listing quite cost prohibitive.

 

[N8N]

well, I was going to use three L-prizes in the torchiere. (I actually do understand how the 3-way bulb works.) The way it traditionally works is relying on one filament being twice as bright as the other to produce the three distinct light levels. I suppose I could put a "100W" alien head in one socket though. That solves one problem, albeit at the cost of an expensive alien head and some CRI. (I already have a couple unused L-prizes.) I can probably build that by destroying a readily available Y-adapter and a 3-way incan for the base.

Now that leaves the issue of table lamps though... there's just not enough room to shove two or three bulbs in those, and even my idea would probably require a harp extender. But that's doable. My problem is I know SFA about electronics...

 

[jhellwig]

You could convert it to an electronic 3 way. Most touch lamps are like that.

With electronics and house lighting where they are. The conventional three way bulb is obsolete. It can be done with electronics. Lamps are no longer the main source for most room lighting. (I know there are still 3 way lamps available and there are still room with no overhead lighting.)

 

[carnal]

Get a lamp from a thrift store like this and put 4 L-prize bulbs in it. I'd be killer bright! I found one for $10 today.
I've seen them on Ebay listed as 6-way lamps. The middle socket is usually a 3 way.

Get one without the big mogul socket, in the middle or you'll have to get an adapter for it. And don't use the glass diffuser, if it has one. (They were for up to 300W bulbs)
You could even reserve that center socket for an upshooting LED lamp of some sorts, to illuminate the ceiling, big time.

With the modern torcherie style floor lamp. I think you loose a TON of light shining DOWN, because the plastic diffuser is blocking direct light, from going downwards.
A diffuser should only block a few degrees, and keep the direct light out of our eyes, weather at standing or sitting angles.

Using a lampshade style of floor lamp, you loose much less light in the downward direction, bein's it is OPEN! I've noticed a big gain.

The L-Prize, base down, is putting out a ton of light at low angles to the floor, & I say block as little of it as possible.

This gives you TONS of flexibility on how much light you have, and keeps that LOVELY high efficiency & CRI of the L-Prize.
Brian

 

[yuandrew]

Other than the Switch 3-way bulb, a friend from another lighting-related board I frequent mentioned a Feit-Electric LED bulb that was 3-way sold under the Utilitech/Lowes in-house brand. I believe it is the A/OM2200R/LED from what he described but I'll have to verify.

The closest thing I could think of is a ceiling fan light kit that does this ( http://www.tropicalfancompany.com/images/OwnersManual/3-way-switch.jpg ) using a special pull-chain switch arrangement. I think you could start with something similar and use a base from a 3-way CFL.

 

[N8N]

You could convert it to an electronic 3 way. Most touch lamps are like that.

With electronics and house lighting where they are. The conventional three way bulb is obsolete. It can be done with electronics. Lamps are no longer the main source for most room lighting. (I know there are still 3 way lamps available and there are still room with no overhead lighting.)

Will a touch lamp controller properly dim a LED bulb? If it does that's a good idea for the table lamps. I've only messed with one and it was a little tiny thing that used a candelabra base bulb. The original touch controller fried (in a smelly and unpleasant manner) and the replacement seemed to work OK but occasionally would come on when nobody was around (no pets)

 

[wws944]

Maybe it will not be too long before we see some alternatives to the Switch bulb? http://www.allledlighting.com/author.asp?section_id=3160&doc_id=561025

I have a few 3-way lamps. But they really aren't used that much. So I have taken the lazy route of just screwing in 1-way bulbs.

 

[jhellwig]

Will a touch lamp controller properly dim a LED bulb? If it does that's a good idea for the table lamps. I've only messed with one and it was a little tiny thing that used a candelabra base bulb. The original touch controller fried (in a smelly and unpleasant manner) and the replacement seemed to work OK but occasionally would come on when nobody was around (no pets)

We have one on my wife's side of the bed. It takes a medium base bulb. I have one of the sylvania 40 watt equivalent leds that was recalled in there and it dimms just fine.

 

[MichaelW]

Stopped in Lowes yesterday.
$40 Utilitech 3-way bulbs. Two different variants: 30/70/100 & 50/100/150
Unfortunately only 2700K. Couldn't find any online info about these.

Oh, and they are remote phosphor design.

 

[gajslk]

Lamps are no longer the main source for most room lighting.

No, they're used for reading. And when you get older, 150W in a nearby lamp is about right. But apparently no one(else) reads anymore, so there you go ...

Gordon

 

[N8N]

I read, it's part of the reason I'm asking! And yes, when I was a kid, if I was reading without a light on, I was always told to turn the light on, didn't want to strain my eyes. (didn't seem to work, as I'm blind as a bat without my glasses and always have been, but I do remember at the time that a 150W incan was considered minimum for a reading light - but today you can't buy a single CFL or LED that bright...)

 

[MichaelW]

Yes you can, they are located on the bottom shelf at Home Depot. It just isn't cost effective to do so. Plus a CFL that large takes proportionally longer to light off.
So two smaller + cheaper bulbs plus splitter = smile.

 

[N8N]

Yes you can, they are located on the bottom shelf at Home Depot. It just isn't cost effective to do so. Plus a CFL that large takes proportionally longer to light off.
So two smaller + cheaper bulbs plus splitter = smile.

I have actually tried a 40W CFL. Subjectively, it was no brighter than a 23W CFL, two L-prizes are actually brighter, and it took ages to warm up :/ Won't make that mistake again.

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 4

 

[N8N]

Stopped in Lowes yesterday.
$40 Utilitech 3-way bulbs. Two different variants: 30/70/100 & 50/100/150
Unfortunately only 2700K. Couldn't find any online info about these.

Oh, and they are remote phosphor design.

Interesting, I was in Lowe's today for something else and your reply was in my head, however I didn't see any in my local store and couldn't get any hits on a web search. Any chance of scanning the bar code if you go back? (I love QR Droid for this kind of stuff, smart phones are really handy sometimes.)

I did see a Sylvania 20W LED "bulb" on offer, 1600 lumens, that might work well mated with an L-prize with my original Y-adapter idea. $40 and only 81 CRI though. (not on package, but got the data sheet, again by scanning the bar code.) Didn't feel like taking a chance until I had a chance to sit down with a broadband connection and see about people's subjective impressions of the light.

 

[N8N]

Well, I did it today... made myself a 10/20/30 watt, 940/1880/2820 lumen Philips L-prize 3-way "bulb" and put it in the torchiere of concern.

Was it worth it? Meh. Cost me about $20 in supplies plus three L-prizes and a 3-way CFL which I had to destroy for the base, and a couple hours of fabbing. But it's done now, and it works. Pics sometime this weekend after the epoxy sets up. It might even fit in a table lamp with a large shade, if you did something funky with the harp, but you'd have to beg and plead to get me to make another one (but when I post the pics, you'll hopefully get the idea if you want to make one for yourself.) Because it uses three separate bulbs (lighting 1/2/3 as you turn the key) you could mess with the bulb sizes to get the desired lighting levels; I just happened to have L-prizes laying around.

I don't think the Y-adapter and two different output bulbs in it idea will work after doing this; I had an idea to take a socket extender and add a "ring" to it with a copper washer, then wire it internally to the two different sockets of the Y-adapter, but the material of the ones that I can get is too hard to work with without breaking/shattering. I think it might actually be Bakelite.

So nice to have the amount of LIGHT that we used to take for granted back in the days of 50/200/250W 3-ways and haven't seen since...

 

[N8N]

Well, no pics. Apparently not only will my new laptop (the only one that works ATM) not read my external hard drive, it won't read the SD card from my phone either. I hate computers so much... this year I've had THREE die on me, two of them hard drive failures and one unknown, the guy I asked to fix the desktop (first one to fail) still has it two months later, I'm scared to give him any more...!

 

[MichaelW]

Interesting, I was in Lowe's today for something else and your reply was in my head, however I didn't see any in my local store and couldn't get any hits on a web search. Any chance of scanning the bar code if you go back? (I love QR Droid for this kind of stuff, smart phones are really handy sometimes.)

Living la vita Amish, so no radio telephone.
For the 30/70/100 [A21 size]: Item# 424732, Model# LA30/100R/LE 0017801998832 600/1100/1600 lumens, 8/16/22 watts
For the 50/100/150 [A23 size]: Item# 424733, Model# LA50/150R/LE 0017801998849 800/1600/2200 lumens, 10/22/32 watts

 

[jhellwig]

No, they're used for reading. And when you get older, 150W in a nearby lamp is about right. But apparently no one(else) reads anymore, so there you go ...

Gordon

Ipads and lap tops are backlit.

 

[gajslk]

Ipads and lap tops are backlit.

And they're very hard on my eyes if I read for more than an hour. E-ink is much better. But you need a lamp at night. 150W is about right.

Gordon