Halogens

[PedroDaGr8]

yeah halogens are super fickly to oil and dust. In case you ever wondered here's why:



Halogens are under higher pressure and contain trace amounts typically of iodine which allows for redeposition of the tungsten back on the fillament. This allows them to be run at a higher temperature with out risk of premature failure. Because of this higher temperature and pressure, the glass on halogen bulbs is not the same as the glass on your incandescent bulbs. The higher temperature and the different glass are what cause the problem. When you touch the glass with your hands you deposit trance amount of oils on the glass. Now while off this is not a problem, but when turned on and up to operating temperatures these oils get baked INTO the glass, which weakens the glass. The same thing happens with dust. I have seen on some automotive headlight bulbs (where the filament is close to the glass) the glass actually bubble. In other cases the glass gets so weak the bulb decides that it is happier inside out and *pop* there it goes.

 

[TortoiseAWD]

When you purchase the lights, open the lenses, remove the bulbs, and IPA the entire inside with a no lint cloth. This includes the electrical contact points and the bulbs. Install the bulbs. Let it dry and air out before use. Do not use bare hands to do this work. Do this with powder free IPA wiped nitrile or latex gloves. These lights fail due to hot spots. Most hot spots are due to contaminants that are wiped onto (skin oil) or falling onto the bulbs (dust). Keep them properly sealed and expose them to as little vibration as possible. Repeat process when changing bulbs.

To sum up . . .

"Didn't anyone ever tell you

to make sure your optics

are clean?"







Tort

 

[95supra]

I have a dual 250watt halogen lamp. meaning each bulb is 250 watts. Those give good enough light for me.

 

[Mindflux]

I'm lucky if my halogens last more than one sitting. I think I've put an easy dozen or so bulbs in it since I bought it a few months ago. Just a cheapy from HF though... Gonna have to step up to some better stuff here soon.

There's a recall on these. See your HF for details.

 

[heatgain]

Take it from 30 years in the refrigeration business.....any kind of heat producing quartz, glass, bulb....NEVER touch with your bare hands when installing or any other time. I use a paper towel to take it out of the packaging, wipe the bulb carefully, and install with the paper towel between your oily fingers and the glass/quartz.

No matter how clean you think your hands are, they have oils which you deposit on the quartz/glass which makes a hot spot on the quartz. Turn it on, the hot spot you made heats up more intensely than the rest of the quartz, and pffftt! Burn-out.

 

[blk45]

As everyone has said, always make sure the bulbs are totally clean. A couple of things that I have found to help are: there are "work light or heavy duty" bulbs that are built better than the cheap replacement bulbs that were designed for those old school corner lights. They are a little more expensive, but built much better. Also, when the light is on (hot) and you move it, don't just throw it around. The element is very fragile when it's hot. These two things have increased my bulb's lifespan drastically.