Age/purpose of this industrial spotlight?

[capn]

Just picked up this spotlight just for a nice industrial indoor lamp/light. Works great. Someone added a switch at some point and the rubber cord has some chunks out of it. Super thick glass lens, at least 1/2". Very heavy piece.

I believe it is cast aluminum. Pyle and Underwriter's Laboratories are both still companies but I can't find anything about this specific piece relating to its age or exact purpose. I have seen a few floating around stating they are US Navy. I also think it could be for the railroad. The "R" that is printed in the last pic is in at least 4 places on the light.

I would appreciate it if anyone had any info on this.

[bigwull]

i would have thought that its ..exact purpose....was self explanatory....wher e there is darkness...let there be light....

[capn]

i would have thought that its ..exact purpose....was self explanatory....wher e there is darkness...let there be light....

Let me re-phrase,

Curious who these were marketed to.
The Navy? Railroads? Etc?

I know it's a light, but it obviously isn't a light for the everyday civilian to carry around and shine at things so I'm just curious of it's application.

And I am more-so curious about its age. I'm bad at aging these things

[frogpatch]

That appears to be a vapor tight portable flood that is rated for high water pressure locations. It could be used in a factory where steam is present, an area that gets hosed down, a ship, a train, or anywhere it would be exposed to extreme moisture. With the right lamp it would make a great flagpole light or accent uplight for a big tree. I cant read the voltage or wattage. I do see it is class I which would include explosion proof fixtures where paint fumes or high concentrations of dust or flammable particulates may sometimes be present. But those would be class I div 1 or 2. I think this is strictly a waterproof fixture by the way the cord is attached. It was expensive probably selling for around 300.00 when new.
Pyle National made all kinds of specialty fixtures.

[capn]

That appears to be a vapor tight portable flood that is rated for high water pressure locations. It could be used in a factory where steam is present, an area that gets hosed down, a ship, a train, or anywhere it would be exposed to extreme moisture. With the right lamp it would make a great flagpole light or accent uplight for a big tree. I cant read the voltage or wattage. I do see it is class I which would include explosion proof fixtures where paint fumes or high concentrations of dust or flammable particulates may sometimes be present. But those would be class I div 1 or 2. I think this is strictly a waterproof fixture by the way the cord is attached. It was expensive probably selling for around 300.00 when new.
Pyle National made all kinds of specialty fixtures.

Cool!
Thanks for the detailed response. I know nothing about these things.
That makes sense especially with the thick almost naval looking glass as well.
The voltage rating is 250 volts/300watts

I am going to replace the cord. Having it be a waterproof light is there anything particular I need to get when re-wiring it?

[capn]

PS. Any idea of age/era?
I honestly don't know if it was made in the 40s or the 90s

[frogpatch]

I just saw that is a group D it looks like which means it can be used around fueling areas. I have been out the the lighting industry for a few years so I m a bit rusty on the codes. The age is hard to tell. There is no zip code after the city so that would be an indication. I will try to research it. The cord would be an 12 or 14 SJ cord which you can by at any electrical supply. It probably had a hot, neutral and ground (3 wire)

[capn]

I just saw that is a group D it looks like which means it can be used around fueling areas. I have been out the the lighting industry for a few years so I m a bit rusty on the codes. The age is hard to tell. There is no zip code after the city so that would be an indication. I will try to research it. The cord would be an 12 or 14 SJ cord which you can by at any electrical supply. It probably had a hot, neutral and ground (3 wire)

Thanks again!
And yep, it is a "D".

For age, are there are any markers to look for that might indicate a period?

[frogpatch]

I see there is a CSA listing. That is the Canadian version of UL. You may be able to look that up online. There should also be a UL listing number that you could look up. Those often begin with E. The parts have not changed in 75 years. The wire, lamp holder and housing do not give much indication. Let me see if I can find anything out. There is another one online but the guy who has it is not sure about it either. It is a nice fixture and with some creativity it could be put to many uses. Even indoors if you reduce the wattage a bit. Does it have a label inside recommending a lamp type. It looks like it has a Par38 in it now, but it might have originally had another type. Does it have a built in reflector? Is there a plug on the end of the cord?

[frogpatch]

Now that it is dark I can see my screen a little better. It looks like the label on the back calls for a 300R SP which would be a slightly larger lamp that looks like an indoor flood but is a spot light. A few people online feel that these were used on ships. The powerful spot would be good for searching the water. My feeling is that it was made in the 40s, 50s or 60s because of the lamp it is calling for. Halogen would make more sense in the 70s, 80s or 90s. I also notice that your has a what looks like a 250 Volt maximum. If it has a plug is it a normal 120 volt configuration with two vertical poles and a ground. If so it was probably changed.

Here is a slightly different one on Ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-PYLE-NATIONAL-CO-PORTABLE-FLOODLIGHT-FOR-HAZARDOUS-LOCATIONS-U-S-NAVY-/370601395806

[capn]

Now that it is dark I can see my screen a little better. It looks like the label on the back calls for a 300R SP which would be a slightly larger lamp that looks like an indoor flood but is a spot light. A few people online feel that these were used on ships. The powerful spot would be good for searching the water. My feeling is that it was made in the 40s, 50s or 60s because of the lamp it is calling for. Halogen would make more sense in the 70s, 80s or 90s. I also notice that your has a what looks like a 250 Volt maximum. If it has a plug is it a normal 120 volt configuration with two vertical poles and a ground. If so it was probably changed.

Here is a slightly different one on Ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-PYLE-NATIONAL-CO-PORTABLE-FLOODLIGHT-FOR-HAZARDOUS-LOCATIONS-U-S-NAVY-/370601395806

I did see that one on ebay.
There is also an identical one on ebay as well:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-PYLE-NATIONAL-CO-PORTABLE-FLOODLIGHT-FOR-HAZARDOUS-LOCATIONS-U-S-NAVY-/221260699929?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33842a5919

Mine has a 2 prong plug, not grounded. Appears to not be original though. I will probably replace with a grounded plug. I will also probably just replace the bulb with a lower wattage daylight bulb. I will be using this as a indoor lamp.

The info on the plate is as follows...I tried searching it but can't find any info. my guess was 40s-60s as well.

CSA listing: 14895
Lamp Type: 300R/3SP
CAT. No" FEA-1112
NO: 8254011

Thanks Frogpatch! You've been super helpful so far.
It's fun learning about these things

[mart]

I could see the back of our 30 acre pasture with that !!

[capn]

Frogpatch,

PS:
Do you know how the light doesn't overheat?
Being completely sealed in cast aluminum and glass I don't see how the heat ventilates.
The person I bought it from said they would run it for up to 5 hours at a time and it didn't get that hot...just curious how

[cogar]

I have never seen a UL tag like that one.

Uh, what I mean is, UL getting "top" billing over the mfg's name.

[sugarcube5419]

just to help you date this, our neighbors when I was growing up in the 60's had two in the front of their house and used them for a light at night at the door....

they do fine in the rain, had them out until they moved.