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Arrow 2x40 Preheat Shoplight (1950's)
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Special thanks to Mike for this fixture. It's a real beauty and if I'm not mistaken he partially restored it, as well as rewired much of it, though the ballast and sockets and pullchain switch and starter sockets are indeed original as far as I can tell.
It's not as heavily built as a late '40s Mitchell I have but it is in better condition.
Whenever I see the modern garbage T8 shoplight fixtures at box stores now I just think "I wonder if this will be a universally adaptable piece of usable technology in another 50 or 60 or 70 years I can just run to Walmart to buy lamps and starters for?"
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I always thought of using shelf brackets to wall mount some industrials too but never found the need to at the moment.
I have a similar looking light that I got from Mike (but different brand) when we briefly met for a trade a few years ago. Not sure what it had before Mike got it but I used some used /CW CGE mainlighters in it for a while, I think it now has a pair of Westy /WW lamps. The mainlighters got moved to the CGE turret.
Yep Joe got one of the two Lehrolite shop lights from my aunt's basement. Joe's had a broken socket and no lamps (wasn't even hooked up to power!) and had a vacat mouse nest in it. It was fully restored. Ballast worked great though! I noticed it was a little more flickery and dimmer than a typical preheat ballast of the era. I have the other Lehrolite shop lights restored with an NOS 1980s Bonusline preheat ballast since the Ad-Lite died. When my aunt and uncle first bought the house, it would only light one lamp. I gave them a pair of lamps and starters for it but the fixture still only lit one lamp. Then I guess it died completely and my aunt gave it to me to fix up (and keep). Unsure what went on with that ballast but it was a weird failure mode.