Benjamin RLM F40 Preheater

Found this beauty recently at a antique mall over in Michigan. since it was so massive and longer than regular F40 fixtures, I thought it was a T17 lol.

It's my heaviest built preheater too, both the channel and reflector is made with very thick sheet metal. The channel is painted grey and the reflector is porcelain enamel. Grey on the bottom and grey on top. I've included shots of the overall inside; the original Jefferson brick tulamp ballast with the Spec No. 6 mark; the fixture labels...interesting that the reflector was a separate part back then, and the interesting lampholders. The actually work like plunger holders but look more like regular sockets. I wonder if this was a early version of the turret holders.

It didn't come with lamps or starters so I stuck my pair of Sylvania /CWP lamps that got displaced from my CGE turret in and put in a pair of Sylvania FS-4 plastic canned starters for now. I'm short on metal can FS-4 starters so I'll have to buy a pair soon lol. It did come with a cord already attached but since it's a two prong unpolarized cord, I'm planning to swap it out with a modern grounded cord and add a inline ballast fuse. Again I have to run to the store to get the parts :P.

Not sure when this was made exactly, I didn't check the ballast yet for date code to avoid disturbing the cloth wires but the overall design and the Spec No. 6 mark seems to suggest late 40s.