Worlds Longest Running Bulb 108 years

Jason_Tx

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There is a light bulb in Livermore California that has been burning since 1901.

The Shelby Electric Company made the bulb. It was handblown and then outfitted with a carbon filament. It has about 4 watts of light.

The Centennial Bulb

Live Web Cam of the Centennial Bulb

Guinness Book of World Records


The fire department claims that the bulb is at least 108 years old and has only been turned off a handful of times.
If that is true, your looking at approx 946,080 hours of run time


FYI, the 2nd longest running bulb is in Fort Worth, Texas. Its been there since September 21, 1908.

Worthless information? Probably everywhere except here on CPF it is.:thumbsup:
 
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gswitter

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I remember seeing a feature on the bulb in Livermore on Bay Area Backroads or Evening Magazine (local SF Bay Area shows) a while back. I've been curious to stop in and check it out when I pass through the area.
 

mdhammack

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I wonder how long it would last overdriven?:thinking:

That is pretty interesting though, guess they don't make 'em like they used to.
 

leukos

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The fire department claims that the bulb is at least 108 years old and has only been turned off a handful of times.
If that is true, your looking at approx 946,080 hours of run time

Sure makes an LED's lifespan of 50,000-100,000 hours seem awfully short lived...:laughing:
 

Jason_Tx

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Sure makes an LED's lifespan of 50,000-100,000 hours seem awfully short lived...:laughing:


When I wrote this post, I thought of this but left it out to see who would be the first to mention how this incan kicks the LED @ss... :crackup:
 

saabluster

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Sure makes an LED's lifespan of 50,000-100,000 hours seem awfully short lived...:laughing:

Nice try but my money would still be on the LED. Remember the LED does not go :poof: at 50,000-100,000 hours. Its output is just slightly lower. It will still outlast an incan. ;)
 

Crenshaw

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I thought there was already a thread on this....:thinking:

I know i read it somewhere, and where else if not CPF?

Crenshaw
 

Monocrom

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I thought there was already a thread on this....:thinking:

I know i read it somewhere, and where else if not CPF?

Crenshaw

Maybe one of those other sites that we never speak of in public? ...

Oh darn, I spoke about them! :ohgeez::stupid:
 

Dioni

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Sure makes an LED's lifespan of 50,000-100,000 hours seem awfully short lived...:laughing:

:laughing:

I would love to see this on the bulbs of flashlights, but without losing power, of course.

This bulbs dond't know what a orverdrive is. :grin2: :poof:
 

ampdude

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Nice try but my money would still be on the LED. Remember the LED does not go :poof: at 50,000-100,000 hours. Its output is just slightly lower. It will still outlast an incan. ;)

I'll believe it when I see it. Which won't be in this lifetime.

My experience is many LED's go *poof* in a lot shorter period. :)
 

jerry i h

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The pictures of the bulb
http://www.centennialbulb.org/bc/sis3.jpg
http://www.centennialbulb.org/intrvw/sister/sis17.jpg
Look very much like this modern reproduction:
http://www.tubedepot.com/al-f1893.html
Kinda hard to tell, since the pictures are taken from an oblique angle, reflections, and the distortions from the envelope.

Actually, there is a whole class of these modern day reproductions. There is one called "squirrel cage", which I have: really cool, and so far they last as long as regular bulbs. The only problem is the orange tinge: kinda like living in a jack-o-lantern. Google "antique reproduction light bulbs", and you get lotsa places to buy 'em. Some actually seem to be made of a carbon filament that is an unsupported loop, that you have to install vertically.
 

ypsifly

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Where I work we have a collection of late 19th/early20th century bulbs including many made by Edison and Westinghouse. I've been told that many are still in working order.

As a side note....we also have the entire Menlo Park Laboratory, which as most of you will know, is where the light bulb was invented. We not only have the building, but when it was moved they even trucked in the dirt from the ground surrounding it.
 

Monocrom

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Where I work we have a collection of late 19th/early20th century bulbs including many made by Edison and Westinghouse. I've been told that many are still in working order.

As a side note....we also have the entire Menlo Park Laboratory, which as most of you will know, is where the light bulb was invented. We not only have the building, but when it was moved they even trucked in the dirt from the ground surrounding it.

Another example of how things were done back before America became a disposeable society. Even the bulbs were made to last.
 
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