bluewren said:
post 105139 I believe it is, Judi......go back to the beginning of this thread and read through again. There is plenty of info.
Thanks for directing me back to the beginning of this thread. It's been some years since I've read it in its entirety.
I re-read it carefully the second time, taking notes as I went, just like I had done the first time. Most of the information (and Narouz's carefully thought out analyses and questions) is in the first half of the thread, although it gets interesting again when haidut gets involved near the end.
I know that Peat recommends plain incandescents - to me and to plenty of others. He okayed the incandescent 300W bulbs I was purchasing a few years ago.
I have never seen him recommend infrareds, in fact he has said the infrared or at least the far infrared light isn't beneficial.
He says plain incandescents are fine but if you can get slightly stronger voltage bulbs than the voltage you run at home (e.g. in the US you'd get 130V and run it on 120V), it's even better as the wavelengths are pushed towards the red and orange.
He also says the wavelengths between approx 600-850nm are most beneficial. (That does include some of the longer near infrared wavelengths.)
What throws a spanner into the works is that peatarian quoted him saying:
"Plain incandescent bulbs are o.k., but the best kind are used by farmers for incubators, etc., and are designed as 130 volt bulbs, so when they operate on 120 volts they have a bias toward the longer wave red color, and they have an internal reflector. They are often called "infrared" or "heat lamps," but they have a clear glass front."
(my ephasis)
They're
CALLED "infrared". He didn't say they
ARE infrared.
Does anybody else understand by this that there are bulbs on the market that are infrared but not good for our purposes (i.e. they are mainly infrared, with no red or orange wavelengths), while these higher voltage bulbs that are good for our purposes, might be called "infrared" possibly inaccurately?
Not sure if I'm making myself clear here: what I mean is - could it be that the 130V bulb Peat recommends is closer to the red and orange than to infrared when run on 120V, whilst other bulbs called infrared are just near and far infrared, with hardly any red and no orange? Meaning we shouldn't just buy any old bulb that is called infrared?
Could it be just semantics?
I guess I might have to ask Philips unless somebody can chime in.
Bluewren, I think your bulb looks like the one Peat means, I hope I can find it in Bunnings. Thanks.