Omni light eating bulbs?

[David Auner aac]

Hi gals & guys,

 

I have a Lowel Omni that has been eating bulbs, never burning for more then 10min before a catastrophic lamp failure, i.e. blown lamp. Today I went into the bowels of said lamp but couldn't find anything amiss. Any ideas anyone? I used the right kind of bulbs, as listed by Lowel DYR/220 650W.

 

Cheers, Dave

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Sounds as though the lamp is applying too much voltage somehow? Check the socket with a volt meter see what it reads...

that or you've got a bad bunch of bulbs.

[David Auner aac]

Sounds as though the lamp is applying too much voltage somehow? Check the socket with a volt meter see what it reads...

that or you've got a bad bunch of bulbs.

 

Thanks Adrian! Hm, will check voltage. But how should it do that? And the bulbs were bought a couple of months apart, so I doubt that.

 

Cheers, Dave

[Adrian Sierkowski]

You'd need to get a volt meter, you can get 'em from home depot. then you put the probes into the socket and turn the light on. Same as you would a household circuit. Be careful, it is electricity (I know you know but figure I"d say for anyone else who reads this and doesn't know!) and make sure you have the meter set to A/C 220, as you're in Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimeter for anyone interested.

I recall buying mine from Home Depot here in the US for under $20. It does what I need it to.

[David Auner aac]

Hi Adrian,

 

I was not being too precise. I meant how should the fixture be applying to much voltage to the bulb! I do have a volt meter and know how to use it! ;)

 

Cheers, Dave

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Hmm.. should be 'round 220V, anything over maybe 230 would be bad and lead to shorter bulb life. I'm used to US here, so I'm guesstimating how much extra voltage. As to what's causing that in the head.. NO idea.

Could also be too much heat, perhaps, degrading the bulb, but that seems unlikely (as the reflector would probably burn well before the bulb would)

 

I'm a bit flummoxed as well... but start at voltage and work from there.

[Walter Graff]

Sockets don't produce high voltage, they only transfer what voltage is supplied. Get a meter and stick it in the outlet. Is it 220? Then that is going to be what the fixture produces. My guess is the lamp manufacturer. There are some crappy made bulbs out there. Might be your case. Who is the manufacturer? Other than that, are you spotting and flooding the lamp just before it breaks? The design of the DYR is pretty crappy as lamps go. Filiment hangs in space so is easily disrupted by spot and flood motion of Omni causing failure. If nothing works try the 500 watt version. Works the same and has a bit more strength.

[Chris Keth]

If nothing works try the 500 watt version. Works the same and has a bit more strength.

 

Beat me to it, Walter. When I worked in my school equipment facility, we always lamped omnis with 500W globes because somewhere along the line the manager noticed that they tended to last longer. We never pursued the reason.

[David Auner aac]

Who is the manufacturer? Other than that, are you spotting and flooding the lamp just before it breaks? The design of the DYR is pretty crappy as lamps go. Filiment hangs in space so is easily disrupted by spot and flood motion of Omni causing failure. If nothing works try the 500 watt version. Works the same and has a bit more strength.

 

Thanks Walter. Yes voltage here is around 220. The bulbs were all Osram, so quality stuff. No, I left the lamp burning and did not touch the fixture at all before it blew. Will try and look for the 500W version. Anyone got the lamp code for that one? Aslo any other ideas? I mean is anybody else using this bulb?

 

Cheers, Dave

[Freya Black]

Thanks Walter. Yes voltage here is around 220. The bulbs were all Osram, so quality stuff. No, I left the lamp burning and did not touch the fixture at all before it blew. Will try and look for the 500W version. Anyone got the lamp code for that one? Aslo any other ideas? I mean is anybody else using this bulb?

 

Cheers, Dave

 

Okay don't shoot me for suggesting this but is there any chance you managed to touch the bulbs while putting them in?

It can be really hard not to.

 

Also they don't like being turned on and off so much in my experience.

 

Sometimes the bulbs are just bad tho.

 

love

 

Freya

Edited April 5, 2009 by Freya Black

[Tom Hepburn]

"Anyone got the lamp code for that one? "

 

Although I didn't buy them from this place, here are the ones I used:

 

http://www.replacementlightbulbs.com/lampftk.html

 

Tom

[David Auner aac]

Okay don't shoot me for suggesting this but is there any chance you managed to touch the bulbs while putting them in?

It can be really hard not to.

 

Nope. I was very sure on that one. It's really strange! Maybe I will just try and see what happens with the next one. Any chance that any kind of orientation would also make this more likely? The failures I had were in different tilts though...

 

Cheers, Dave

[David Auner aac]

Although I didn't buy them from this place, here are the ones I used:

 

Thanks Tom, though I would need a 230V version.

 

Cheers, Dave

[JD Hartman]

Look at the lampholder contacts for signs of burning, arcing, pitting. Examine the contacts of the burnt out globes as well. Are you having similar problems with all Omni(s) or just one? One lamp which doesn't seat fully will cause damage to the lampholder and the contacts of the globe. This damaged lampholder, will now damage each globe installed.

[Jerry Donahue]

you might try just replacing the socket and wiring. I had problems with a Omni and a DP before that and just ordered replacement parts from Lowel. It wasn't that expensive and was a sure-fire fix.

[Dino Giammattei]

you might try just replacing the socket and wiring. I had problems with a Omni and a DP before that and just ordered replacement parts from Lowel. It wasn't that expensive and was a sure-fire fix.

 

+1 for this.. Sounds like a burnt or worn socket to me also. Especially if the fixture has been around for a while. As these things age, they tend to lose contact area, and trying to pass AC through a smaller and smaller contact area will create more and more heat until you get the situation your describing. Jerry's right.. Replace the socket and internal wiring.

 

dino

[Dominic Case]

If you have a single batch of bulbs, it is just possible that they are all defective. I've experienced such a problem with a batch of printer lamps. Even the best manufacturer might occasionally have a QC glitch and it's very possible that whatever is the problem (a bad batch of filament wire for example) would affect a whole boxful of lamps.

[David A Smith]

Hi gals & guys,

 

I have a Lowel Omni that has been eating bulbs, never burning for more then 10min before a catastrophic lamp failure, i.e. blown lamp. Today I went into the bowels of said lamp but couldn't find anything amiss. Any ideas anyone? I used the right kind of bulbs, as listed by Lowel DYR/220 650W.

 

Cheers, Dave

 

I suspect you are not pushing the bulb in far enough into the socket and you have an arc across the 2 prongs that are exposed

 

Also, if you don't insert the bulb all the way in and then use the focus handle, the bulb will hit the reflector and it will push against it

 

It has to be firmly seated and you are sure you are not touching the bulb with your hands before inserting or even using gloves that have residue on them

 

Also, how are you transporting your bulbs from job to job, are they in foam or wrapping or in a case?

 

David Smith

http://www.skyjamvideos.com

Edited April 2, 2010 by David A Smith

[Russell Richard Fowler]

Omni pin sockets have problems with arcing.......in the situation when I have replamped them, I checked the pins from the lamp being removed for arcing pits or color change due to heat...if so I check the socket before wasting another bulb......I sold the Omni units I had years ago.