lighting My light went boom!

D

dvdguy

Hey there,

Ive just experienced a circuit malfunction, what I mean by that is, when I was shooting a scene with my 650w arri fresnel it just died!! lol. I know I wasnt running over 2000w of power so that surely cannot be it, because I ran a lot of things the other day and it went fine.
Im thinking its probably the fact that I didnt use anything to cool off the light. It was kind of running for longer periods of time, when I probably shouldve turned it off after each take, right?

1) what do you guys think?
2) anybody have any good cheaper resources where I could buy that sort of bulb? (with fast delivery if possible)

P.S. whats weird is, when the light popped, the electricity socket also died. Is that normal? Cause when I plug in any other devices, it doesnt read anything.
 
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dvdguy said:
It was kind of running for longer periods of time, when I probably shouldve turned it off after each take, right?

1) what do you guys think?
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Actually, it's the act of switching on a bulb that reduces its life span. Every time you send a spike of juice through a cold filament you run the risk of snapping it because of the sudden heat expansion. If you really want to maximize bulb life, plug the instrument into a dimmer and warm up the filament for a minute or two, then bring it slowly up to desired capacity. I use dimmers on all my instruments and very rarely have to replace a spent lamp. I have a Mole Junior 2K I bought 7 years ago along with 2 spare lamps and have yet to use either of the spares, and that includes a feature shoot.

Between shots, dim the instrument down to about 10% (unless you're moving it, in which case shut it off and let it cool as much as possible, as jostling a hot filament also risks snapping it).

2) anybody have any good cheaper resources where I could buy that sort of bulb? (with fast delivery if possible)
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Look up lights64 on eBay. Their prices rock.
 
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2001 Productions said:
Actually, it's the act of switching on a bulb that reduces its life span. Every time you send a spike of juice through a cold filament you run the risk of snapping it because of the sudden heat expansion. If you really want to maximize bulb life, plug the instrument into a dimmer and warm up the filament for a minute or two, then bring it slowly up to desired capacity. I use dimmers on all my instruments and very rarely have to replace a spent lamp. I have a Mole Junior 2K I bought 7 years ago along with 2 spare lamps and have yet to use either of the spares, and that includes a feature shoot.

Between shots, dim the instrument down to about 10% (unless you're moving it, in which case shut it off and let it cool as much as possible, as jostling a hot filament also risks snapping it).



Look up lights64 on eBay. Their prices rock.
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Hey, thats a great idea regarding the dimmer! Never knew it worked like that. :) You rock! Oh and, if I do run the light for a longer period of time it wont do anything to decrease the light span much than switching it on (without dimmer)?

Btw, that store you mentioned looks good too, I just hate the fact that I wont be able to shoot anything until I get it. It might take a while..

A side question: I have an 800w red, does that work with cookies just as ARRI fresnel lights? Cause if it does, I might continue with my project. :)
 
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dvdguy said:
Oh and, if I do run the light for a longer period of time it wont do anything to decrease the light span much than switching it on (without dimmer)?
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Filaments eventually burn out from use. But in my experience the filament is broken by power spikes long before it would ever burn through. Like I said, my 2K is still going strong with the original bulb 7 years and many shoots later.

A side question: I have an 800w red, does that work with cookies just as ARRI fresnel lights? Cause if it does, I might continue with my project.
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I'm not familiar with that brand of instrument (I'm assuming "red" is a brand name), but wattage is irrelevant. I personally have never used cookies with a fresnel lens because it's a soft-edged light, so I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to do.
 
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2001 Productions said:
Filaments eventually burn out from use. But in my experience the filament is broken by power spikes long before it would ever burn through. Like I said, my 2K is still going strong with the original bulb 7 years and many shoots later.



I'm not familiar with that brand of instrument (I'm assuming "red" is a brand name), but wattage is irrelevant. I personally have never used cookies with a fresnel lens because it's a soft-edged light, so I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to do.
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Well, its actually called a RedHead tungsten ..but to get a better idea follow this link http://cgi.ebay.com/800W-RED-HEAD-Q...graphy_StudioEquipment_RL&hash=item19c43b6f73

Well, Ill see what I can do now, with one light less :P at the moment.Thanks I appreciate it :)
 
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hi dvd guy,

sounds like you blew a bulb which triggered the fuse to blow

check out the fuse box and reset the breaker to re power the circuit.

it is not uncommon for the bulbs to blow considering the temperature they run at and the length of time they are on,
you should always have a few spares in your kit.
i lose one on nearly every shoot but then i have about 10 of them in my kit.

a dimmer is a good idea then you can run the lamps at 90 percent which helps with bulb life and start up shock.

you should be able to leave them on all day without any problems which is why they are called continuous lighting.

always switch off and allow to cool for a few minutes before you move them.

divide the wattage by the voltage to get the amperage for a given light.

eg 2000 watt light divided by 240 volt line power = 8.3 amps draw. (based on australian standard line voltage.... use your own countrys standard)

you should be able to use the other light with a cookie (if we are talking about the same thing...)

cheers
 
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darty said:
hi dvd guy,

sounds like you blew a bulb which triggered the fuse to blow

check out the fuse box and reset the breaker to re power the circuit.

it is not uncommon for the bulbs to blow considering the temperature they run at and the length of time they are on,
you should always have a few spares in your kit.
i lose one on nearly every shoot but then i have about 10 of them in my kit.

a dimmer is a good idea then you can run the lamps at 90 percent which helps with bulb life and start up shock.

you should be able to leave them on all day without any problems which is why they are called continuous lighting.

always switch off and allow to cool for a few minutes before you move them.

divide the wattage by the voltage to get the amperage for a given light.

eg 2000 watt light divided by 240 volt line power = 8.3 amps draw. (based on australian standard line voltage.... use your own countrys standard)

you should be able to use the other light with a cookie (if we are talking about the same thing...)

cheers
Click to expand...

Thanks Darty :D
 
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no worries mate,

when you do change the bulb remember not to touch the glass
with your fingers the oil on your hand can create a hot spot causing the lamp to fail...use a paper towel, tissue, cloth etc
to hold it when inserting

i always unplug and put the plug in my pocket.... then i know it is not plugged in. it can be a shocking experience if you change the bulb with the power on.........

cheers
 
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darty said:
no worries mate,

when you do change the bulb remember not to touch the glass
with your fingers the oil on your hand can create a hot spot causing the lamp to fail...use a paper towel, tissue, cloth etc
to hold it when inserting

i always unplug and put the plug in my pocket.... then i know it is not plugged in. it can be a shocking experience if you change the bulb with the power on.........

cheers
Click to expand...

shocking indeed! :D

I dont want to imagine that. Anyway, I have an update!!

Seems my other light just went BOOM! The power switch for my room flipped and I had to reset it, when I did, my light was dead... My Redhead 800w bulb failed on me too. 2 lights in one day! I mean, what the heck is going on?! :S Now Im out of commission for a while, till I get those bulbs... Why oh why, just when Im doing good :(
Guess Ill have to focus on my scripts meanwhile...

But what could've caused it?? 2 lights ... Coincidence? I dont know..
 
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Bulbs go out too. Some cheaper high wattage incandescent bulbs only have an expected life of 40-100 hours. The arri though with a real bulb should last longer than that. Did you buy them used with a bulb in it?

When you order, order a few extras to keep in your kit so next time (it's common enough) you'll be covered.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
Bulbs go out too. Some cheaper high wattage incandescent bulbs only have an expected life of 40-100 hours. The arri though with a real bulb should last longer than that. Did you buy them used with a bulb in it?

When you order, order a few extras to keep in your kit so next time (it's common enough) you'll be covered.
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Actually, its from China :D haha. I read that these bulbs last 200 hours. I guess that answers a lot. Well, I think It's my fault really and my lack of experience with these lights. I kept switching the lights on and off frequently without giving them time to cool off. I did it in that order for 3-4 days till they popped. Well, I guess to solve things I'll buy a dimmer and and give them time to cool off between takes.

That good? :)
 
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dvdguy said:
I guess to solve things I'll buy a dimmer and and give them time to cool off between takes.

That good? :)
Click to expand...

Shutting them off between takes seems kind of excessive, unless you have especially long lapses while resetting the take. I just dim them down when changing camera setups, if it's going to be longer than 10-15 minutes before we roll again.
 
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2001 Productions said:
Shutting them off between takes seems kind of excessive, unless you have especially long lapses while resetting the take. I just dim them down when changing camera setups, if it's going to be longer than 10-15 minutes before we roll again.
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I see, so what If I move the light a lot? That means Ill have to dim it down slowly and then shut it off and wait for 5-10 minutes to cool off? Cause I move a lot.
 
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dvdguy said:
I see, so what If I move the light a lot? That means Ill have to dim it down slowly and then shut it off and wait for 5-10 minutes to cool off? Cause I move a lot.
Click to expand...

The instrument does not need to cool off completely. You just don't want to jostle the lamp filament while it's most fragile, which is while it's on or immediately after shutting it off.

Between shots I dim down the instruments (which doesn't have to be particularly slow since they are already hot), move the camera to the new setup, then start lighting the new angle. The instrument housing itself will still be hot, but the lamp filaments will have had at least a minute or two to cool and will be far safer to move.
 
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hi chilipie,

yes it was me, those cheap imitation red heads from southeast asia are dangerous.
cheaply made, they dont seem to meet any electrical standards
if you have them please get them tagged and tested by a licensed electrician (which is a legal requirement in this country).

re the bulbs, i find they last as long as they last. some seem to go forever and some last 10 min, it is the luck of the draw.
using a dimmer and running them at 90% and not moving them when on will help them last.

i have rewired some of the cheap ones for other people (to make them safe) and have been amazed at the low quality of them.

#YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR# applies

ps 2001 is right they only need 30 sec to a minute for the filament to cool before you move them when the filament stops glowing they should be ok.
cheers
 
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