Craigslist Score 7/9/2017: Two Benjamin Mini-Mercs!

They have different length down rods so they must've originally been on a sloped ceiling. Came with GTE Sylvania 175W /DX cleartops from the 70s (date code 40, dunno what it is but the bases are engraved ...74 75 76 77... and so on) and the lamps have plenty of life left in them.

The seller had bought a house years ago that had these in them. The guy he bought the house from was the owner of a construction company so he likely got these from there, and they appear to only be lightly used so they were probably leftovers from a job back in the day. Anyway, the Craigslist seller moved to his current house nearly 20 years ago and had taken these with him, intending to install them in his new house, which never happened. So after all this time he figured he'd sell them. So now I have them!

They've been cleaned (the porcelain reflectors came clean with just a wet sponge!) The bare cast aluminum blocks that join the down rod to the ballast housing are twist-lock, meaning the fixture detaches from the down rod without tools (twisting the fixture disconnects it electrically and physically). It's a good thing too, since the ballast housing is crammed a PITA to close with that tension band.