What are these?

TupeloTechie

Active Member
I recently picked up some lights off of ebay, just a random lot of instruments. I did this for the two pars in the middle of the pic. But I was wondering what the other two lights are, I'm thinking about just chunking them, but was just wondering what these were.
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You got yourself some old Radial ERSs. Even if you don't plan on using them, I wouldn't throw them away, that's a piece of history you've got there.
 
I have 4 of the ones on the right. I think they're pretty cool. Well not literally. I believe they are Kliegl. I like how the shutter assembly is designed, as well as the spun aluminum lens tube. These are also pre-gobo :)
 
I recently picked up some lights off of ebay, just a random lot of instruments. I did this for the two pars in the middle of the pic. But I was wondering what the other two lights are, I'm thinking about just chunking them, but was just wondering what these were.
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Use care--there might be asbestos in those fixtures.

Two are PAR64 units, and two look like Kliegl elliposidals.

Actually, the dumpster might be the right place for them, even considering history.

ST
 
yes I physically have them, they have no markings on them and the one on the right does not even have a lens... the one on the left has one lens that looks like an inverted fresnel.

I bought this for the 2 par 64s

Steve, none of the fixtures have any wiring, would any asbestos be in the actual fixture?
 
Any fluffy white wiring would be a red flag. Generally, the bad stuff was used on the power cord and was terminated by a crimp. I have not seen any used for the light bases on pars, but I have not seen every par ever built. The lekos might have it right up to the screw terminals on the base, but it looks like yours have the bases missing.
 
Seal the Kliegls in a plastic bag and throw in a mailing carton, address it to:
Endicott Performing Arts Center
102 Washington Avenue
Endicott, NY 13760-4311

Then send me the bill.
 
All are very old indeed. Not sure if Kliegl for any of them. Something in me says they are not but not sure what. Agreed with SAWYeR, don’t throw away history - are you a lighting guy or not? If as STEVETERRY says they are, they are an earlier generation or style than I have ever seen but its very possible, go to the Kliegl website to find a match. But I would avoid the boat anchor advice from him - come on Steve, old stuff is cool and great to learn from. As with avkid, I also will accept them to my growing collection.

Inverted Fresnel lens is fine - it’s a step lens and how it was done for such a size of fixture. On the other hand, possible asbestos shows in the photo.

Overall, have fun and learn from them. On the PAR 64 fixtures, if they came with lamp base, ensure they are not arched silver or black and or they have sufficient tension to support lifting and shaking a lamp by way of them. Otherwise buy Sylvania PAR 1 lamp bases for them over others - good stuff. On the Radial Lekos, history, care for them and bring them up to spec as you have time. Very odd sorts of them but respectable in type.
 
Forgot about that part. Yes, if the Kliegl (found the match on Kliegl.com) has a lamp base, the insulator could be asbestos. The great thing about these old radial fixtures though, is that any electrical lamp base parts are interchangeable with Fresnel's electrics such as the 65Q if you have any old ones laying around. I'm still getting my own up and running. I recently hit one with some black engine paint and it looks great for such an old instrument. Looks pregnant compared to a source four or even a 360Q though. I guess that's the neat part about these things is seeing how some things change over the years of development.
 
I, too, do not think the ERSs are Kliegl, they look more like Century (Lighting Corporation of America) to me. I don't see lamp caps on either of them, and if so, asbestos is not an issue. Paint them up nice, and make table lamps out of the fixtures, and put them back on ebay for a nice profit! You'll need to fabricate a yoke for the one on the right, but that's not difficult.

As for amber drift, all incandescent lamps exhibit this phenomenon. If these fixtures had their original medium prefocus sockets, the EGG lamp would give a color temperature of 3200K. They may have come with a medium or mogul bipost socket, and would need a T14 lamp. The 8" may have taken up to a 1M lamp, but the 6" topped out at 750W.
 
I, too, do not think the ERSs are Kliegl, they look more like Century (Lighting Corporation of America) to me. I don't see lamp caps on either of them, and if so, asbestos is not an issue. Paint them up nice, and make table lamps out of the fixtures, and put them back on ebay for a nice profit! You'll need to fabricate a yoke for the one on the right, but that's not difficult.
As for amber drift, all incandescent lamps exhibit this phenomenon. If these fixtures had their original medium prefocus sockets, the EGG lamp would give a color temperature of 3200K. They may have come with a medium or mogul bipost socket, and would need a T14 lamp. The 8" may have taken up to a 1M lamp, but the 6" topped out at 750W.

The dead giveaway on Kliegl is the silver metal u-bail that hinges up to lock the cap in place. These units used medium bipost T-14 lamps as opposed to the medium prefocus T-12's found in Century units.

ST
 
You mean the "lamp cap yoke"? My copy of Photometrics Handbook shows Altman and Times Square ERSs with that accoutrement, in addition to Kliegl. Notice the lack of ventilation holes on the Kliegl 1365 picture. The PH is sadly lacking in photos of Century Lekos prior to 1965, but I'm still putting my money there. TupeloTechieKid, take the 8" step lens out in the sun and measure the focal length. It's either 8", 9", or 12"; I bet 8".
 
I have a fifth unit in addition to the four kliegls, and the ventilation holes are different. Maybe they changed a few times. My units also have plano convex lenses as apposed to a 6" step lens listed in the catalog for 1365.
 

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