Re: bulbs for a Rotary machine?
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:51 am
Since you haven't told us what make and model of machine it is or showed us a picture, we can only guess.
You may be getting watts and volts confused here. 6.3 VOLTS (not watts) was a popular lamp voltage, since it was the standard heater voltage for vacuum tubes. Most 6.3V bayonet or screw-in pilot bulbs, as used in pinball machines and old radios, would have been in the region of 2 watts. If your 12 volt, 5 watt, bulbs are dimmer than your 6.3 volt bulbs, then the lamp voltage is probably 6 volts. There used to be 6V festoon bulbs, back in the 1950s and earlier when there were also cars with 6V batteries, but I don't know where you'd find them today.
You may be getting watts and volts confused here. 6.3 VOLTS (not watts) was a popular lamp voltage, since it was the standard heater voltage for vacuum tubes. Most 6.3V bayonet or screw-in pilot bulbs, as used in pinball machines and old radios, would have been in the region of 2 watts. If your 12 volt, 5 watt, bulbs are dimmer than your 6.3 volt bulbs, then the lamp voltage is probably 6 volts. There used to be 6V festoon bulbs, back in the 1950s and earlier when there were also cars with 6V batteries, but I don't know where you'd find them today.