What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

--
Gloria

Gloria wrote:

What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

A B type light bulb is a candelabra shaped bulb.

hvacrmedic

One site I looked at said it was a torpedo shaped bulb and one site said
that there were two types of incandescent light bulbs. Both were wire
filaments inside a glass bulb, but type B was in a vacuum and type A was
not. I'm confused! I just wanted to replace one of the burned out bulbs in
my bathroom ceiling fixture.


"RP" wrote in message
news

Gloria wrote:

What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

A B type light bulb is a candelabra shaped bulb.

hvacrmedic

Gloria wrote:

One site I looked at said it was a torpedo shaped bulb and one site said
that there were two types of incandescent light bulbs. Both were wire
filaments inside a glass bulb, but type B was in a vacuum and type A was
not. I'm confused! I just wanted to replace one of the burned out bulbs in
my bathroom ceiling fixture.

Just find one that fits and call it a day. It doesn't matter what
physics are used to make the light, it only matters what the wattage
rating of the fixture is, the size of its base, and what shape that the
fixture will accommodate. Just forget that you ever read type-B

hvacrmedic




"RP" wrote in message
news

Gloria wrote:


What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.


A B type light bulb is a candelabra shaped bulb.

hvacrmedic

On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 21:41:50 -0600, "Gloria"
wrote:

One site I looked at said it was a torpedo shaped bulb and one site said
that there were two types of incandescent light bulbs. Both were wire
filaments inside a glass bulb, but type B was in a vacuum and type A was
not.

What was it in?

I'm confused! I just wanted to replace one of the burned out bulbs in
my bathroom ceiling fixture.

I agree with RP's second answer, and further I'd like to suggest that
we're looking at this backwards. The goal is not to find a type B
bulb, I suspect. I suspect it says Type B to make it easier for the
owner to find the right bulb. You don't say how old this fixture is,
but I'll bet there was a time when at least some places knew exactly
what a type B bulb was** and it would save the owner from knowing the
exact base dimensions, or base type, or bulb shape, something like
that.

But if knowing it is type-B no longer makes one's life easier, then
look for a bulb that matches the shape of your other bulbs and use
that, liike RP says.


**have you looked in google for old references)

http://www.topbulb.com/find/visual.asp There is one on this page,
but it doesn't seem to say which bulb it is. Oh, it is in the source
code but I don't have the patience to figure out which it is. But you
can probably tell from the pictures.


"RP" wrote in message
news

Gloria wrote:

What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

A B type light bulb is a candelabra shaped bulb.

hvacrmedic



Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

That refers to the shape of the bulb. Check out the GE lamp catalog on the
top of page 3 to see the "B" shaped bulbs:
http://www.gelighting.com/na/busines...candescent.pdf

Candelabra refers to the size of the base that the bulb has, not the shape
and size of the glass.



"Gloria" wrote in message
...
What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

--
Gloria

John Grabowski wrote:

That refers to the shape of the bulb. Check out the GE lamp catalog on the
top of page 3 to see the "B" shaped bulbs:
http://www.gelighting.com/na/busines...candescent.pdf

Candelabra refers to the size of the base that the bulb has, not the shape
and size of the glass.

Incorrect. B followed by a number (for example: B-10) indicates a
candelabra of ten eighths inch diameter. Suggest you read the link you
posted again.

hvacrmedic


"Gloria" wrote in message
...

What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

--
Gloria

The fixture is fairly new, 3 years old and this is the first time I've tried
to replace one of the bulbs, it holds 2. Inside the fixture it says "to
reduce the risk of fire, use type B bulbs only" and there is a pic showing
candelabra-looking bulb, but smooth on the end. The bulbs that are in the
fixture were bought when I bought the fixture at a lighting showroom. It is
out of business now. The old bulbs don't say anything on them, but they look
like short torpedo shaped bulbs.
"mm" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 21:41:50 -0600, "Gloria"
wrote:

One site I looked at said it was a torpedo shaped bulb and one site said
that there were two types of incandescent light bulbs. Both were wire
filaments inside a glass bulb, but type B was in a vacuum and type A was
not.

What was it in?

I'm confused! I just wanted to replace one of the burned out bulbs in
my bathroom ceiling fixture.

I agree with RP's second answer, and further I'd like to suggest that
we're looking at this backwards. The goal is not to find a type B
bulb, I suspect. I suspect it says Type B to make it easier for the
owner to find the right bulb. You don't say how old this fixture is,
but I'll bet there was a time when at least some places knew exactly
what a type B bulb was** and it would save the owner from knowing the
exact base dimensions, or base type, or bulb shape, something like
that.

But if knowing it is type-B no longer makes one's life easier, then
look for a bulb that matches the shape of your other bulbs and use
that, liike RP says.


**have you looked in google for old references)

http://www.topbulb.com/find/visual.asp There is one on this page,
but it doesn't seem to say which bulb it is. Oh, it is in the source
code but I don't have the patience to figure out which it is. But you
can probably tell from the pictures.


"RP" wrote in message
news

Gloria wrote:

What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.

A B type light bulb is a candelabra shaped bulb.

hvacrmedic



Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

This isn't rocket science. Loot at the bulb you
took out and replace it with one that looks like
it--base size and bulb shape..

Watch the sites that you go to. Incandescent
light bulbs for house use are basically all the
same with different size bases and different shape
and size glass. The site that mentioned two types
of incandescent bulbs is incorrect. There are in
fact lots of different types based on filament,
the gas, the coating of the bulbs, etc. None of
which is important to the homeowner other than for
looks and color of the light.


Gloria wrote:
One site I looked at said it was a torpedo shaped bulb and one site said
that there were two types of incandescent light bulbs. Both were wire
filaments inside a glass bulb, but type B was in a vacuum and type A was
not. I'm confused! I just wanted to replace one of the burned out bulbs in
my bathroom ceiling fixture.


"RP" wrote in message
news

Gloria wrote:


What is a type B light bulb? I have a light fixture that says to use only
type B bulbs and has a pic of what looked to me to be a candelabra shaped
bulb. I bought some but nowhere on the package does it say what TYPE the
bulbs are.


A B type light bulb is a candelabra shaped bulb.

hvacrmedic

I received this answer from GE

Thank you for contacting GE Lighting. I am happy to assist you.

Type B refers to the shape of the bulb. This is the most common
decorative shape. The "B" stands for "blunt tip". To view an example of
this shape, please go to the following link and click on "chandelier" (not
sure whether you need a small base or medium base, so just choose
accordingly) in the "decorative" section. You will see "bent tip" and
"blunt tip" categories. You want to look at the blunt tip bulbs.

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/products/

In article , Gloria wrote:
One site I looked at said it was a torpedo shaped bulb and one site said
that there were two types of incandescent light bulbs. Both were wire
filaments inside a glass bulb, but type B was in a vacuum and type A was
not. I'm confused! I just wanted to replace one of the burned out bulbs in
my bathroom ceiling fixture.

In the "lamp" (lightbulb) catalogs, next to filament designation you see
"class", which I always saw being B or C. B is vacuum, C is gas-filled
(typically a mixture of argon and nitrogen).

The other B is bulb shape. B is roughly ellipsoidal, but generally
pointier at the tip than E (ellipsoidal).

Some other bulb shapes:

A - "regular lightbulb shape" - (one explanation I have hears is "average"
between S and PS that works well for hydrogen fluoride frosting).

BR - bulge reflector

C - candelabra or candle flame shape

F - flame shape, similar to C or between C and B

G - globular

K - one of the reflectorized shapes

PS - pearshape - an S on a tubular neck

R - reflectorized and suitably shaped

S - "straight-sided" - roughly a hemisphere on a cone

T - tubular

Size numbers with these are overall diameter in eighths of an inch in
the USA, millimeters in some other locations.

- Don Klipstein )

In article , RP wrote:


John Grabowski wrote:

That refers to the shape of the bulb. Check out the GE lamp catalog on the
top of page 3 to see the "B" shaped bulbs:
http://www.gelighting.com/na/busines...candescent.pdf

Candelabra refers to the size of the base that the bulb has, not the shape
and size of the glass.

Incorrect. B followed by a number (for example: B-10) indicates a
candelabra of ten eighths inch diameter. Suggest you read the link you
posted again.

hvacrmedic

Most incandescent lamp catalogs do actually explain "candelabra" as a
base size. That is the base that most C7 holiday and nightlight bulbs,
most S6 industrial indicator lamps and some chandalier bulbs have.
I should have been thinking of that when I wrote the "C" entry in my
post on bulb shapes.
In fact, the C9 Christmas bulbs normally don't even have a candelabra
screw base, but an intermediate screw base.

- Don Klipstein )