Whelen Deputy vs. Rota-beam, what was the difference?

I know the Rota-beam line was considered heavy duty and the Deputy/Corporal line was light duty, but what were the actual differences? These descriptions are from the same 1970 pamphlet.


Rota-beam 66 vs. Corporal

• "Heavy duty" vs. "Light duty" description
• Metal dome ring vs. twist on dome with rubber boot.
• Screws through the doome suspending the bulb vs. internal brackets
• 6, 12, and 24 VDC vs. 6 and 12
• Prices

Rota-beam 11 vs. Deputy

• "Heavy duty" vs. "Light duty" description
• Multiple DC and AC voltages vs. two DC options
• Prices

Rota-beam 22 vs. 44 Senior Deputy

• "Heavy duty" vs. "Light duty" description
• Multiple DC and AC voltages vs. two DC options
• Prices
• Two part motor vs sealed?

This is the 1976 catalog. The "Senior" 44 and 55 sizes seem to have differing bulb holders. I'm not sure if that's just the picture though.




The "lines" begin to merge in 1980/81. The 44/55 size now houses 80h rotators.



The 1983/83 discontinuation notice for the deputy / corporal line. The 77h is added in the larger size dome.




The motor terms in the 1970 pamphlet don't seem defined, they used "sealed", "enclosed", and "two part" but sealed and enclosed may be being used interchangeably? The biggest differences seem to be in the 66 vs. Corporal, the dome and bulb mounts are very different. The other models seem much more similar, yet still get light and heavy duty labels and price tags to go with them. I know the models evolved over the years, it's interesting how differentiated they were to start.

@dmathieu may have some more insight.....

 

[dmathieu]

I know the Rota-beam line was considered heavy duty and the Deputy/Corporal line was light duty, but what were the actual differences? These descriptions are from the same 1970 pamphlet. Rota-beam 66 vs. Corporal

• "Heavy duty" vs. "Light duty" description
• Metal dome ring vs. twist on dome with rubber boot.
• Screws through the doome suspending the bulb vs. internal brackets
• 6, 12, and 24 VDC vs. 6 and 12
• Prices

View attachment 251870 Rota-beam 11 vs. Deputy

• "Heavy duty" vs. "Light duty" description
• Multiple DC and AC voltages vs. two DC options
• Prices

View attachment 251869 Rota-beam 22 vs. 44 Senior Deputy

• "Heavy duty" vs. "Light duty" description
• Multiple DC and AC voltages vs. two DC options
• Prices
• Two part motor vs sealed?

View attachment 251868 This is the 1976 catalog. The "Senior" 44 and 55 sizes seem to have differing bulb holders. I'm not sure if that's just the picture though. View attachment 251874View attachment 251872View attachment 251873View attachment 251871 The "lines" begin to merge in 1980/81. The 44/55 size now houses 80h rotators. View attachment 251875 View attachment 251878 The 1983/83 discontinuation notice for the deputy / corporal line. The 77h is added in the larger size dome. View attachment 251876 View attachment 251877 The motor terms in the 1970 pamphlet don't seem defined, they used "sealed", "enclosed", and "two part" but sealed and enclosed may be being used interchangeably? The biggest differences seem to be in the 66 vs. Corporal, the dome and bulb mounts are very different. The other models seem much more similar, yet still get light and heavy duty labels and price tags to go with them. I know the models evolved over the years, it's interesting how differentiated they were to start. @dmathieu may have some more insight.....

 

[dmathieu]

To answer the original question, The RB11 Standard, and the Deputy are the same light except the Deputy had a light duty motor, and the RB11 had a heavy duty motor. The motors and the name plates were the only differences.

 

[dmathieu]

All of the smaller Rota-Beams used the same bulbs, motors LD/HD, magnifying lenses/cages specific to height, and had the same RPM and brightness/effectiveness. The Senior models used larger magnifying lenses giving off a noticably brighter beam.

 

[JohnMarcson]

To answer the original question, The RB11 Standard, and the Deputy are the same light except the Deputy had a light duty motor, and the RB11 had a heavy duty motor. The motors and the name plates were the only differences.

The differences between the 66 and the corporal are pretty apparent. Dome retention and bulb holder style.

In the deputy and rb 11, the motor was really the only difference I could find besides voltages offered. The price gap seemed pretty big though. They kind of muddy the waters with the terms they used for the motors. I know my deputy and my rb 11 have slightly different motors, but they are different years too.

The various senior models are all obviously larger, but within that size (senior deputy, 22, 44, 55) they looked identical to me, and the motor descriptions are even more unclear. The voltage and price are all I can see for sure.

 

[dmathieu]

Senior and Senior Deputy, HD/LD motor difference. All other parts are the same.
Now to muddy it up a little more, the light duty lights sometimes came with a heavy duty motor. This may have been due to a parts in stock issue.
Voltage offerings may have been that the HD motors had more offerings than LD.
The Model 66 was originally supplied with a GLASS dome, the only of the Rota-Beams with glass.

 

[JohnMarcson]

Senior and Senior Deputy, HD/LD motor difference. All other parts are the same.
Now to muddy it up a little more, the light duty lights sometimes came with a heavy duty motor. This may have been due to a parts in stock issue.
Voltage offerings may have been that the HD motors had more offerings than LD.
The Model 66 was originally supplied with a GLASS dome, the only of the Rota-Beams with glass.

That makes sense. They all just seem to have a lot of crossover for being "different" products with such a large price difference.

 

[dmathieu]

Agreed, virtually all the same except for the motor. Like you said, that HD motor must have been much more expensive. There were also numerous motor variations used over the 36 year run.

 

[JohnMarcson]

Agreed, virtually all the same except for the motor. Like you said, that HD motor must have been much more expensive. There were also numerous motor variations used over the 36 year run.

The Rowe brand motors they used originally have an interesting history themselves.


The Rowe Industries site is located in Sag Harbor, New York. From the 1950s through the early 1960s, Rowe Industries, Inc. manufactured small electric motors and transformers on the 8-acre property. During this process, chlorinated solvents were used to degrease oil-coated metals. Waste solvents were discharged from two tanks in the building into cesspools or through a connecting pipe to an open field 75 to 100 feet east of the building. The building was destroyed by fire in 1962 and rebuilt that same year.

Rowe Industries, Inc. was purchased by Aurora Plastics, Inc. in the late 1960s, and by Nabisco, Inc. in the early 1970s. The manufacture of small electric motors and the use of solvents continued during this time. In 1980, the site was sold to Sag Harbor Industries, Inc., which currently uses the facility to manufacture electronic devices.

Groundwater contamination was discovered in the Sag Harbor area in 1983 when water samples collected from a private well by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) revealed solvent contamination. As a result of these findings, the SCDHS and EPA conducted further investigations. The results of samples collected from 46 private wells and 21 observation wells in 1984 indicated that there was a volatile organic contaminant (VOC) plume in the groundwater that was about 500 feet wide and a half mile in length. Reports from former workers indicated that solvents were stored outside in a wooded area behind the facility; this area was determined to be the main source of the contamination. After immediate actions to protect human health and the environment, and investigations, EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List in 1987.