4 pin 70watt fluorescent replacement

[lpcmidst128]

I have a floor lamp (torchiere) which is a dimmable fluorescent. The bulb is a circle type which uses a 4 pin that plugs onto the ballast. On the bulb it says E2C 70 watt. I had this floor lamp for many years and the bulb is not as bright anymore so I'm looking to find a replacement bulb for it.

The ballast is a Maxlite SKE70D and list that the following can be used: E2C65 (1amp/68watt), F2D55/GRY10q-3 (0.92amp/58watt), and E2C40 HO (0.88amp/55watt). There is another label on the fixture that says to only use 4pin 70 watt E2C CF lamp or 70 watt 2D CF lamp. I can't seem to find the 70watt bulbs anywhere. Thanks.

 

[ponygt65]

Call (or email) Maxlite and ask them for the replacement lamp part number and the nearest distributor.

http://www.maxlite.com/PDFs/FocusSheets/Torchiere.pdf

 

[Lewis]

We have this identical Maxlite torchiere lamp and it is no longer lighting up.

How can you test to see if the ballast or cord is working?
We know that the EC2 70W bulb works as we put it in another torchiere lamp.

Can anyone guide us as to how to test the ballast with a multimeter etc.?

Thanks..

 

[kethd]

If you put the bulb in another unit and it works, that is pretty conclusive! It would be even more conclusive to take the other working bulb, from the good lamp, and try it in the bad lamp...

Normally, you could just assume at this point that the problem is a bad ballast. Do you have any reason to think the lamp cord or switch is bad?

In my experience with fluorescent lighting, there is always some hum, clicks, etc from the ballast etc. If you listen very carefully in a dead still room with a known-good lamp installed, and it does not flicker at all or make any clicks or humming noises at all, I think you can assume the problem is in the cord/switch/wiring. If there is some hum etc you can assume the problem is the ballast.

You could use a multimeter to test all the wiring, make sure the ballast is getting power... But I mostly advise against this -- it is dangerous to trace plugged-in wiring that way! You could check for continuity with the lamp unplugged, from the AC plug prongs to the ballast inputs, but I fear it might be inconvenient and inconclusive.

About time to retrofit that lamp with some nice custom BridgeLux LEDs!

 

[Lewis]

Just verified both bulbs work in the good lamp and both bulbs don't work in the bad lamp. The wiring in the bad lamp tested ok to the dimmer switch input (We tested with power off using an ohmmeter for continuity). We don't know how to continuity test the ballast, or better yet, how to continuity test the 4 prongs where the bulbs plugs in to at the top of the lamp. Two of the prongs read zero (0) ohms and seem to make no difference when we adjust the dimmer switch. We have tried to look at the dimmer switch itself, but we can't get to it entirely with removing one of the pole couplings and the pole couplings seem to be glued in pretty tight.

Finally, there was no hum, clicking, or bulb flickering with the good bulb in the bad lamp.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again..