Those little G.E. glowlights

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Those little neon (?) lights that plug into an AC outlet so you know that the outlet has power?

I've been told that G.E. has discontinued them. We use them in Alaska on our extension cords (along with a cube tap) so we know that when we plug in our cars in cold weather that the outlet is actually working.

If anyone knows of a source for these, or has any of them kicking around in a junk drawer somewhere and would part with them, I'd be grateful.

tanstaafl.

Is it just a tester or is it something that remains attached to the cord the whole time and the car plugs in through it?

I do know that you can get extension cords that have a light built into them so that you can see that there's power. (The Coleman yellow ones with the clear plugs are the ones I'm thinking of.) Don't know about an additional device.

A cheapo LED nightlight not work?

Like this?

Wait, are you talking about one of those things like the thing on the right in this picture, with the two leads and the little pulsing red light at the end?



If so, just get one of the things in the middle. It's easier to use, safer, and gives you more information. They're still only $5.

I don't know about ones that plug into the end- but I have seen extension cords with neon bulbs in them so you have a visual cue when they are powered. Maybe you could still find one of those?

s it just a tester or is it something that remains attached to the cord the whole time and the car plugs in through it?

No, it's... imagine if you took a lamp cord, cut the wire flush with the plug. The plug would then be about the size and general appearance of the G.E. glow light. It's just a tiny neon light built onto a 110 vac plug, you just plug it into an outlet (or in my case, one of the sides of a cube tap on the end of an extension cord) and it sits there and glows happily for a few years before it wears out.

I do know that you can get extension cords that have a light built into them

Yes, I have one of those that I keep in the car when I have to plug in someplace other than at work. At work, I have a semi-permanently installed extension cord that stays attached to the building, with a cube tap on it. Unfortunately, it does not have the built-in indicator.

If I can't come up with one of the neat little G.E. lights, I'll just spend a couple of bucks and buy a cheap night light. It will use about 20 times the electricity (10 watts vs 1/2 watt) which means it will cost my employer the better part of 17 cents a week (figuring 10 cents/KWH). When you consider that they are running three 50,000 watt transmitters and one 25,000 watt transmitter 24 hours a day, I guess I can slip my 10 watt night light in under the radar...

Big problem, though, is bulb life. That night light bulb won't run four or five years like the little glow lights.

tanstaafl.

An LED or a vastly underpowered incandescent bulb would last virtually forever. Seems like you could buy a replacement AC plug, a small rectifier and an LED and build yourself one for about $3 that would last longer. RadioShack also sells neon bulbs.

How about just shortening an extension cord with an indicator to a foot or two and permanently attaching it onto the end of your car's cord? Then you'd have a glowing indicator everywhere you plugged in. I would assume a dead plug is fairly rare, so losing the ability to tell if it's dead till before you plugged in wouldn't cause you too much trouble.

Matthew

Quote:

If I can't come up with one of the neat little G.E. lights, I'll just spend a couple of bucks and buy a cheap night light. It will use about 20 times the electricity (10 watts vs 1/2 watt)

The cheap *modern* "glowing green pad" night lights we use here consume somewhere around .001 watts. Tough to see in daylight, but quite visible in dim/dark conditions. The even have a model with a photosensor to switch it off during daylight, but the sensor doubles the power consumption!

Cheers