Glow switch starter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A glow switch starter or glowbottle starter is a type of preheat starter used with a fluorescent lamp. It is commonly filled with neon gas or argon gas and typically contains a bimetallic strip and a stationary electrode. The operating principle is simple, when current is applied, the gas inside ionizes and heats a bimetallic strip which in turn bends toward the stationary electrode thus shorting the starter between the electrodes of the fluorescent lamp. After about a second the starter's bimetallic strip cools and opens the circuit between the electrodes, and the process repeats until the lamp has lit. One disadvantage of glow switch starters is that when the lamp is at the end of its life it will continuously blink on and off until the glow switch starter wears out or an electrode on the fluorescent lamp burns out. Glow starters have a relatively short life, and light fittings enable the starter to be changed easily. Electronic starters, being interchangeable and using the same casing as a glow starter, last for many years.
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The glow switch starter was invented by E. C. Dench in 1938.[1]
With automated starters such as glow starters, a failing tube will cycle endlessly, flickering as the lamp quickly goes out because the emission mix is insufficient to keep the lamp current high enough to keep the glow starter open. This runs the ballast at higher temperature. Some more advanced starters time out in this situation, and do not attempt repeated starts until power is reset.[citation needed] Some older systems used a thermal over-current trip to detect repeated starting attempts and disable the circuit until manually reset. The switch contacts in glow starters are subject to wear and inevitably fail eventually, so the starter is manufactured as a plug-in replaceable unit.
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