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I am looking to replace a burned out lamppost light. The currently installed lights are 75-watt GE "postlight" "saf-t-gard" (teflon-coated) bulbs with a medium (E26) base and "E17" shape.

75-watt postlight saf-t-gard

Unfortunately, it looks like these exact bulbs are not made anymore. GE has even reused the same part #90839 for some kind of miniature holiday lights. I found a listing for the original bulbs on Singaporean Amazon (2) , but it's out of stock (and I am in the U.S. anyways).

I have been trying to find a suitable replacement, but when searching for "E17", I only get results for the E17 base -- which is too small, since these bulbs use a standard E26 "medium" base.

Ideally, I'd replace these with 2700K LEDs (75W or 100W equivalent), but at this point, I'll settle for finding the right shape of incandescent (with or without the teflon coating). I have two lampposts and two wall-mounted lamps which all use this same bulb, and it would be expensive to retrofit different lamps altogether.

What is the correct shape to look up for this "E17" bulb? I can't even find it listed in GE's own list of bulb shapes. I see ED17 bulbs, but they seem to only be metal halide or sodium and require a ballast, so I am not sure if there's a different code for incandescent/LED bulbs of this shape.

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  • If you need all the bulbs to look the same for aesthetic reasons, how much to the bulbs cost that replacing 4 of them is "expensive"? It's not like you're replacing the whole fixture, you unscrew a bulb, screw a new one in - that's the advantage of the replaceable bulb.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 15:50
  • @FreeMan I can't find the bulbs anywhere to replace them! I was saying that replacing the fixtures would be expensive.
    – NickAldwin
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 15:56
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    Gotcha. However, I'd suggest that any E26-base bulb of a pleasing shape should work just fine unless the fixtures are very small and this is the only thing that will fit.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:05
  • Just a quick point: you should be seriously considering LED bulbs
    – keshlam
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:27
  • @keshlam absolutely -- if there are LED equivalents to this bulb shape I would vastly prefer them. Unfortunately, all I've found so far are "candelabra" bulbs with low brightness (and questionably safe for outdoor use).
    – NickAldwin
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:31

2 Answers 2

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E17 is a base code for intermediate base, not usually a shape code. However these look quite a lot like shape F17, which is a 'flame' shape bulb or perhaps shape ED17. I think these may have been mislabeled by GE.

If the luminaries are really E26 standard medium base enclosed, you can basically use any LED bulb that you like the shape and color of. Theoretically they should be rated for outdoor use. In practical use, I've been using indoor rated LED bulbs for more than a decade in similar situations with no issues at all. I suggest putting dielectric grease on the base before you install the bulbs, as the heat of incandescent bulbs normally drives out moisture from the base, and the LED bulbs won't do that as well. Popular shape codes that you might like are ST56 or B13.

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Shopping questions are off-topic. But there really is only one answer when it comes to finding unusual bulbs, 1000bulbs.com. I have no connection with them except as a satisfied customer. I have seen references to 1000 Bulbs in many other DIY SE answers over the years - they have a very good reputation.

For your use, I did a search for "postlight" and found a bunch of matches, such as this one. Unfortunately, a lot of these are out of stock right now, with an expected supply in April. But they are definitely out there - just might have trouble finding the desired color temperature.

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  • This isn't intended to be a shopping question, I'm trying to find what the proper term/code for the "E17" bulb shape is so that I can do my own shopping :)
    – NickAldwin
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:31
  • The bulb you've linked seems to be using "ED23" as the shape (and it looks fairly similar, though not exact) -- maybe I will have more luck searching for that shape.
    – NickAldwin
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:33
  • (though also 1000bulbs does seem to have bulbs listed under E17, but all metal halide (which presumably wouldn't work without a ballast). Unfortunate that it's named the same as a base size!)
    – NickAldwin
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:35
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    I was bouncing around between several of the results. IIRC, some said "ED17". In any case, the shapes are definitely similar. This style/shape is apparently what is understood in the industry as "postlight".
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Feb 22, 2023 at 16:42

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