# Festive lamp question.



## gafftapegreenia (Nov 27, 2007)

What type of lamp do these pictures show? They are the same type, just different colors. The reason I included two pics is that colored lamps of this type are often sold during the holiday season.
What type of lamp is it NOT, but quite similar to, and often labeled as on the packaging it is sold in during the holiday season?
What are the advantage and disadvantages of this lamp?


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## Logos (Nov 27, 2007)

They look like PAR 38's to me. But that is just too easy.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 27, 2007)

Yes. They LOOK like PAR 38's. However, they are something else.


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## avkid (Nov 27, 2007)

Here are the claimed specs. from GE:

Bulb PAR38
Base Medium Skirt (E26/50x39)
Wattage 75
Voltage 120
Voltage (MIN) 75
Initial Lumens 1050
Initial Lumens (Hor) 14
Initial Lumens (Vert) 1050
Color Temperature 2850 K
Rated Life 2500 hrs
Rated Life (Vert) 2500 hrs


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## fosstech (Nov 27, 2007)

Could this be related to a similar question asked waaay back in March?

If so it really isn't a PAR at all...it's a BR38.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 27, 2007)

Fosstech, you payed attention. Yes, this was mentioned back in March, but being as I saw them in the hardware store, I decided to ask it again. Being me(some might just say OCD) I get annoyed with the mislabel and felt like asking it again.

Why would the consumer be drawn to purchase this lamp instead of, say, a colored PAR38? What is the biggest difference between a PAR38 and a BR38, and hence my issue withthe mislabel?


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## Van (Nov 27, 2007)

One has a "B" in the name and the other has a "P" and an "A".


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 27, 2007)

Ok, but it does matter than the BR uses a "traditional" incandescent filament whereas modern PAR38's use halogen-tungsten sources. Because BR38's aren't halogen-tungsten, they usually cost about half as much as a PAR and also are less efficient. The glass is made heavier for use outdoors, but it is still a BR and not a PAR.


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## Van (Nov 27, 2007)

The PAR, in PAR 38 stands for Parabolic Aluminized Reflector. The shape of the reflector is a parabola, it's coated with aluminium to make it reflecftive. 
So, does the B, in BR38, stand for Basic Reflector or Bronze Reflector or maybe Brominized Reflector, Bastardized reflector, Broadway reflector, Bunny reflector, Boring Reflector........ Stop me, please, anyone, anyone.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 27, 2007)

We know that an R40 is a reflector lamp. A BR is an improved version of the R design. I have heard it called a "Bowl Reflector", but that is unconfirmed.
Note the diffrences in the R vs. the BR. The BR is alot more "rounded", as well as having a "bulge" near the neck. A BR38 is aluminum coated like a PAR, but it uses the BR shape
R is on the left, BR on the right.


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## Van (Nov 27, 2007)

gafftapegreenia said:


> We know that an R40 is a reflector lamp. A BR is an improved version of the R design. I have heard it called a "Bowl Reflector", but that is unconfirmed.
> Note the diffrences in the R vs. the BR. The BR is alot more "rounded", as well as having a "bulge" near the neck. A BR38 is aluminum coated like a PAR, but it uses the BR shape
> R is on the left, BR on the right.


 
So, BR would stand for either "Bowl Reflector" or "Bulge Reflector". I'm going with Bowl, as Bulge might start a Battle. 

The 38 stands for 1/8's of an inch, the distance across the lens. 
I like these labels a lot better than ANSI codes which don't "stand" for anything, and have no consistency at all.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 27, 2007)

I seem to recall seeing "bell reflector" somewhere, or it could just be "better reflector". Fun stuff.


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## Charc (Nov 27, 2007)

'Prolly like a BR30 or something, but often referred to as an R30 on the package, because they are interchangeable, and it's best not to confuse things, isn't it?

(Am I right or close? I just skipped the thread.)


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## avkid (Nov 27, 2007)

gafftapegreenia said:


> I seem to recall seeing "bell reflector" somewhere


Photography or possibly film lighting.
http://www.photoflexlightingschool.com/How_Products_Work/Comparing_Primary_Reflectors/index.html


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## thebikingtechie (Nov 28, 2007)

There's also the obvious base difference. Or is that too obvious to count.


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## icewolf08 (Nov 28, 2007)

thebikingtechie said:


> There's also the obvious base difference. Or is that too obvious to count.


There is no base difference if we are talking about only medium screw base lamps. The PAR 38, BR 38 and R 38 all come in medium screw base.

I believe this was mentioned before, but the denote a lamp as a PAR only refers to the reflector, thus why the Source 4 PAR EA is technically a PAR type fixture even though the lamp is not integral to the reflector. If a lamp or fixture has a parabolic aluminized reflector it is technically a PAR.

Therefore, calling the OP lamps PAR is not incorrect (unless they are not parabolic aluminized reflectors). The "R" and "BR" prefixes may give more definition as to what the lamp/reflector actually does, if the manufacturer wants to call it a PAR they are not wrong.


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## derekleffew (Nov 28, 2007)

Thus far no one has mentioned "ER" lamps as in 120W/ER40/FL. Does the "E" stand for "ellipsoidal," or "enhanced," or something else? I don't know. But I was surprised in 1987 when my supplier told me he could no longer get 150W/R40FL lamps for my R40 strips, so I had to buy 120W/ER40/FL and change them a circuit at a time. Beam shape didn't matter so much, as I was using R120, R121, R122. But the 120W lamps were dimmer, by just a little. Thus began the migration to "Wattmizer" lamps, where they cheat you on the wattage and hope you don't notice the loss of output. I solved that problem by upgrading to MR-16 MiniStrips, which come with their own set of problems, but an EYC is an EYC.


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## ship (Nov 28, 2007)

Anyone notice gafftapegreenia posted a photo on the left of a different non-BR lamp? Than derekleffew later brought up this lamp type to the conversation? 

One in the same person or teaming up to play a trick on all of you?

By the way, shop at a home center, you get what their buyer's think you will buy. Shop from a distributer and you can have what ever you wish including Fushia in color if desired, much less dipped or tuff coated. Some high wattage versions even come with collector grids or are ANSI coded as Photo Flash/Flood lamps.

I find the glass on a PAR lamp is often just a wee bit thicker than any BR, R, or ER lamp thus a bit more damage resistant for portable fixtures, and tend to use R-Lamps for a powder puff like soft lighting effect the PAR won't give. (Miss any? How about HYR lamps, KR lamps, not mentioning K-19 lamps.)

Also, there are some krypton and halogen R-type lamp types in addition to plant light, black light, neodymium and not all PAR lamps are halogen.

Not sure where my notes are from on these descriptions:
BR = R-Lamp with Par Like Shape, (Squat test Reflecting area and Lens, Seemingly Widest Beam Angle) Binary Reflector
ER = R-Type Lamp Shape With Longest Elliptical Reflector Shape, Seemingly Narrowest Beam Angle. An incandescent lamp with an elliptically-shaped reflector. This shape produces a focal point directly in front of the lamp which reduces light absorption in some types of luminaries. It is particularly effective at increasing the efficiency of baffled downlights.
K = Milk Bottle/Beer Bottle Shaped Bulb. (Arbitrary Designation)/Narrow focus Directional Reflector.
PAR = Parabolic Aluminized Reflector Par lamps rely on both the internal reflector and prisms in the lens for the control of the light beam.
R = R-Lamp Reflector Spotlight, Blown Glass Globe Shaped Reflector and Lens, Very Rounded.
R-57/R-60 = BR or R lamp shape with coned/nipple top instead of rounded.
RP = R-Type lamp with a Parabolic Reflector and more straight angular sides and sharper angles. Bow Shape Lamp, Sharp arc like angles, all sides with approx. the same arc & angle.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 28, 2007)

Thanks ship, I think I'm going to let this stop bothering me now. I think this should be transfered to the the wiki under "reflector lamps".

Me and derek are certainly NOT the same person.


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## derekleffew (Nov 28, 2007)

gafftapegreenia said:


> ...
> Me and derek are certainly NOT the same person.


 That should be "Derek and I are certainly..." But we do sometimes think alike, which scares me more than you.


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## gafftapegreenia (Nov 28, 2007)

derekleffew said:


> That should be "Derek and I are certainly..." But we do sometimes think alike, which scares me more than you.



I enjoy scaring people.


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