Review on OttLite T18330 Replacement Tube Bulb by Deejay Cowan

This bulb fits my Ott-Lite Crane table lamp. It lights up. There's nothing remarkable about that. So she gets three stars because... it's okay. My Crane lamp is at least six or seven. All the time he had the original lamp that I used every day. The only reason I had to replace it now was pilot error. I forgot to turn it off so it ran for about 11 hours straight and I think he suffered heat stroke. Finding a replacement lamp was not easy. Originally made in Thailand, the 18W lamp was U-shaped like the current 13W Ott lamp, but with a four-pronged base. The packaging says "18W" and "508 technology". The 13W bulb is not compatible with this bulb. The current version of the replacement bulb has four main differences: • Two parallel tubes instead of one U-tube • Notchless base • Warmer color temperature • Made in China Due to the two tubes I wasn't sure if it's the right bulb, although in the reviews was said to be so. And since some reviews criticized the short lifespan, I ordered two. The old lamp had a notch on each side of the base that matched two lugs in the lamp socket. I think this was done to make the lightbulb a trait. At some point that changed. The new bulbs have no cutouts in the base and will not fit into the old socket without minor modification. Using long-jawed pliers, it was easy to break the small walls that make up the protrusions and twist them out. Using a flathead screwdriver as a tiny chisel, I removed most of the remaining walls. One reviewer used a Dremel tool, which is a cleaner method. The new lamp fits well enough in the modified socket. Once the pins lined up with the holes in the socket, a gentle push locked the lamp in place with a "click". Without changing the socket, the bulb *doesn't* fit. Let there be light. It was like this. The lamp has a slightly lower color temperature than the original, so the light is very white instead of slightly bluish like the original. I prefer the previous, colder light, but I can live with this one. At the moment Made in China is a joker. There are some quality products made there, but also a lot of junk. I have no idea where this lamp falls on that spectrum so we'll wait and see. This lamp works in a Crane lamp with a slight minor modification. No magic, no glamour, three stars.