Manual starters

[Jack_T]

I've seen these on American fittings, but I wondered if fittings with manual starters were ever used in the UK?

[Tom]

Only on things like desk lamps, I've got an old twin 15w bench light with a push button starter. I've seen them on a couple of blacklight fittings too. I used to have one years ago and fitted a proper starter to it!

[Andy]

I used to have a 22w circular magnifying lamp with a push button starter. You needed to hold down the button down for a couple of seconds to preheat the tube.

[Todd-uk]

I had the use of a manual start desk lamp once upon a time and I'd love to acquire one for my study but they are rare as teeth on a hen. Just for fun I put a press switch into an old starter body, it works a treat with T8 lamps even 2 footers but T12s tend to self ignite.

[Jack_T]

Only on things like desk lamps, I've got an old twin 15w bench light with a push button starter. I've seen them on a couple of blacklight fittings too. I used to have one years ago and fitted a proper starter to it!

I thought this was the case, it'd be quite hilarious if they did it on ceiling fittings! I can just imagine people standing on chairs to start each lamp!

[Simon_R]

Back home we had a Tricity Marquis cooker it had a 15w T8 fluro in the splashback/control panel that had the off/on push button switch incorporating a manual starter but mostly it used to self start.

[FrontSideBus]

Would be fun to have a switch on the wall marked "Off-Run-Start"

[SuperSix]

Such a thing should be possible a 3 position reactive switch! Flick it down for preheat, wait a couple of seconds and release and the lamp should ignite. When you want to switch it off flick the switch up to break the circuit, extinguishing the arc and then when you release it the lamp shouldn't ignite again until preheated.

[neosodium]

I have one of the old manual start desk lamps, it has a great big square clunky push switch. Usually has to be held down for about 5 seconds minimum for the tube to strike properly. If not preheated the tube will still strike but it will only light dimly.

[Jack_T]

I like the old manually started lamps! They're quite interesting things...