CU Phosco P111

This lantern entered the Collection without ever being used outdoors - it is brand new and was still contained within its CU-labelled packaging. As with the larger P109, the P111 is commonly used in areas where "heritage" lighting is appropriate, as seen here, but these lanterns are normally geared to run SON lamps; a SOX example (of which this is) is far more uncommon. LED versions of the P111 exist in Derbyshire, and I did have such an example in the Collection for a brief period; however, it was faulty, and ended up being passed on to another collector.

The lantern comprises an aluminium canopy and base; both are painted black, and ornate latticework is applied to the circumference of the canopy. As the bowl is completely transparent, a refractor ring provides the optical control, though the lamp's length prevents complete control by the refractor.

A wire support beneath the refractor ensures that the lamp remains vertical during operation. The circular white baffle plate above the refractor acts as both a reflector and a means of attaching the lantern's control gear.

In order to ensure that the refractor is correctly orientated when the lantern is installed, a small "Across Road" indicator is cast into the rear portion of the lantern - visible to the right of the spigot entry in the above photograph.

The latticework forms a hexagon in the canopy.

The centre finial unscrews; with this removed, the canopy can be raised and access to the lantern's innards can then be gained.

The gear components are rather tightly packed on the other side of the reflector. The centre bracket that the finial screws onto must be removed, and the gear tray rotated slightly, before the lamp can be changed. It is probably the fiddliness of this action that made the SOX version of this lantern all the more uncommon - the lamps could simply be removed from below the refractor on SON or MBF versions.

There is little installed in the base section, save for the main connector block and earth connection point. The metallic structure of the lantern provides the earth path for the control gear components.

Although the refractor appears to be glass, it is actually just moulded plastic. Two nylon screws secure the refractor to the vertical support rods.

The lantern was fitted to a post-top stand in October 2018, and then powered up. The images below demonstrate that, despite being shorter than the lamp, the refractor still works quite effectively.

Lamp warm-up video:

Testing with my energy monitoring device revealed the following results.

Test Voltage (V)	Current being drawn at full power (A)	Measured wattage (W)	Apparent Power (VA)	Frequency (Hz)	Power Factor	True Power (W)	Difference to rated wattage	Percentage Difference
244	0.28	50	68	49.9	0.74	50.56	15.56	44.45%

D.W. Windsor Iffley | Thorn Beta 2

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