Are most 500W bulbs for pools 130V vs 120V? Concerns?

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bostonpool

Well-known member
May 29, 2017
110
Worcester, MA
Hi folks:

My older, Anthony Model 20 pool light says it can take up to a 500W, 120V bulb.

INYOpools shows the 120V, 300W bulb as the only they recommend.

I purchased both the 300W, as well as the 120V 500W from INYO. When the parts arrived, I was a bit surprised to see the 500W is actually shown as a 130V bulb.

Now...I know that the line going to my lamp is only 120V. But is there a concern with running a 500W 130V bulb only on 120V? I've done some research and most folks say this is ok as it means it will run cooler, a bit dimmer, but extend life.

Just wanted to check with this excellent hive-mind to get your thoughts? Any concerns with using the 500W 130V bulb in my 500W 120V max light?
 
The rule in incandescent bulbs is that they can run at lower voltages than they were designed for, but not higher. If it is rated 500 watts at 130 volts then you should only see about 456 watts actually used when on 120 volts.
 
Household voltage is never going to be an exact value.

The power company does their best to maintain the voltage in a range of about 110 to 126 volts or 220 to 252 volts.

The "nominal" (what's it's called) voltage might be referred to as 110, 115 or 120, but it's all the same thing.

There's no 130 volt supply. The 130 volt rating is a maximum rated voltage that should not be exceeded.

It just means that the bulb was tested up to 130 volts and passed the quality assurance test.

The wattage is probably going to be based on the average voltage supply, which is going to be about 120 volts.

You can test the actual wattage with a watt-meter or check the voltage and amperage and multiply them together to get the wattage.

In any case, a bulb listed as 130 volts is designed to work on the same power supply as a bulb listed as 120 volts.

The 130 volt might be better quality, but otherwise it should be exactly the same power usage.
 
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