I just scored another lamp of my personal favorite color: 90CRI deluxe halophosphor 5000K. It's a 2013 Sylvania "Daylight Full Spectrum" which AFAIK is the new Design 50. It was abused by being misinserted in a fixture with one of those awful LPF magnetic rapid start ballasts that almost NEVER stop flickering/rectifying (Is it any wonder why homeowners don't like fluorescent lights?). It would just BARELY light, along with it's identical twin. Took it home, and tried it on the ballast that least likes to start lamps: one of those Lithiona shoplights with a LOA type "preheat with electronic "starter" type ballast. It lit but didn't seem super happy. Next was a LPF magnetic rapid start like the one it was on, in which it lit. To make sure it was in really good working condition, I tried it on a full-power Univesal Therm-O-Matic: lit right up! Now it's running in an 80s-90s LPF shoplight next to a GE warm white Mainlighter...looks cool with 3000K and 5000K actually! My one acceptable color mismatch is daylight and warm white. It's BLACK, though, on both ends, for a brand-new lamp! (Maybe a bit defective?) We'll see how long it lasts before it quits rectifying, then it's time for the shunted 2-lamp HPF ballast I have, then my lamp-cooker 277v Advance T8 balallast, then of course HazMat.
Also I was visiting with the former teacher with the woodshop full of old RS shoplights today along with another somewhat-fluorescent-inclined person (Who gave me the aforementioned lamp). His place is still fed by cartridge fuses, and one of them had finally corroded off at one end (the endcap pulls right off). (a 50 amp 120v leg of 240v cartridge fuse that looks ancient). Since part of their place is without power as a result, we were admittedly contemplating sticking something like a piece of copper pipe in there temporarily! It's not nearly as bad as it sounds since their brand-new generator (house is off-grid) has breakers on it as well, so it's not like it's a totally unfused line. I did joke, however, that if there was a ReStore in the area (we're all garage-sale type people anyway) I'd be driving right down there and looking for a suitable fuse. It's always nice when people with similar hobbies/knowledge can help each other. The friend who gave me the daylight Syvania lamp was pretty sure he can solder the old fuse back together, though...I did take that opportunity to educate them on the dangers of wax paper capacitors in vintage fluorescent starters and how they can be clipped out quite easily.
Would a large electric motor (namely a commercial-grade 240v table saw) run at all on only one 120v leg, albeit with harder starting? His table saw had been having issues starting (dimming the lights (old Sears shoplights with full power ballasts) way down till it starts, etc)? We think that's why...