Ask LiveJournal Electrician: light fixture maximum wattage?

[randomness]

We have this old swing-arm lamp that takes three position bulbs. The socket is stamped 250W 250V, but I can't tell if it's just describing the socket or if the wiring in the lamp itself is rated for 250W.

Most modern swing-arm lamps I've seen have a tag that says they're limited to 150W. I figured I'd ask around before I put a 250 watt bulb in it and started a fire. :)

Anyone have any thoughts?

Comments

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

I think a 250 watt bulb is almost unbearably bright and you'd probably be more comfortable with less brightness. I also think 250 watts will run up your electricity bill, so even if you want that much brightness, you might be happier with something with the same light output but better energy efficiency, and that would likely mean a bulb under 150 watts of actual usage anyway.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

This is why I'm looking for a three-way bulb for the three-way socket. The bulb will probably be run at its low power output normally, and only be run at high at particular times.

There are lots of three way bulbs. What is currently in the socket is, as I mentioned above, a three-way CF with a 26W maximum. I doubt it ever produced more than 1800 lumens. I'm looking for something brighter.

My baseline here is a fixture I have in CT which has two 42W CFs (around 2600 lumens each) and a 60W halogen (around 850 lumens) for a total of just over 6000 lumens. It's a nice amount of light, although when the halogen burns out I'll be swapping in another CF of equal or greater wattage, which should get the thing up over 7500 lumens.

A couple of the 50/200/250W three-way bulbs max out at 3955 lumens, which even from a point source isn't that bright, although I recognize it'll be warm. There's a 70/170/240W which maxes out at 3600, which might do.

What I'm really really looking for is a three-way CF that does something like 20/40/60W, which would put out around 3500 lumens at the max rating and be no problem for the wiring, but no one seems to want to build a three-way CF that bright. There's a 60W CF (3500 lumens), but it's single-brightness. Also it's $45.

The brightest three-way CF I've seen is a 22/33/55W, but it's a big fat circle and only puts out 2700 lumens. And it's $36. If it were cheaper I might pick it up as a retro statement; I used to have one in my room as a kid, but it's a little expensive and clunky to get as decoration.

Ultimately, I'll probably pick up the 70/170/240W or the 50/200/250W--neither of which costs more than a few bucks--if I can be sure the wiring won't fail. But I'm still looking at the switch.

And now I've probably written more about light bulbs than you ever wanted to read.