Ring Slimline Fluorescent Fitting

Acquired in April 2020.

This new, old stock domestic fluorescent batten was purchased for use in my second Pearce Gowshall K30 traffic bollard, owing to the original lighting unit having been lost prior to acquisition - conveniently, the fitting was just the right size to serve as a suitable replacement.

The fitting's box indicates that it underwent its Quality Control test on the 24th April 1998 - just as well; had it been faulty almost 22 years later, I wouldn't have been happy!

The fitting is designed to run a 600 mm (2 ft) 18 Watt T8 (one inch) diameter fluorescent lamp, although it would run 20 Watt T12 (one-and-a-half inch) lamps as an alternative too.

Removing the lamp requires it to be turned through 90 degrees, where it will then pull downwards from the two lampholders. A ballast and starter switch are housed in the channel above where the lamp sits; a capacitor is installed, although this is only for reducing Radio-Frequency Interference, and not for Power Factor correction - indeed, the instructions that were supplied with the fitting comment that it is only intended for use in domestic settings, owing to the low Power Factor.

The fitting appears to be made by Tamlite but branded for Ring - the ballast revealing the true manufacturer. As can be seen, the ballast carries the manufacture date of the 20th December 1997 (which was a Saturday), and very precise manufacturing time of 08:42:11!

The GE-made starter switch was produced at the company's Enfield factory (historically, a Thorn factory). Not too many years later, GE moved production to the Far East, making this quite a rare starter.

The lamp supplied carries Ring branding, although, with it having been made in Germany, is likely to be a Narva product. The date code ||| TT represents February 1998, which tallies with the age of the fitting.

The fitting is seen installed within the K30's internal steel frame - if anything was born for the job, the Slimline Fluorescent Fitting was - there are some images of the side of the box that suggest possible locations for the fitting to be used, but oddly, none of them include being placed inside the carcass of an illuminated traffic bollard!

Once the fitting was connected up, and the lamp re-installed, the frame was ready to receive its outer bollard skin once again.

The single 18 Watt lamp illuminated the various panels very evenly, though not as brightly as they appear to be here. After these pictures were taken, the fluorescent lamp was substituted with a 10 Watt 600 mm LED lamp instead.

Testing with my energy monitoring device revealed these results after the change to the LED lamp was made:

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