Bare tungsten bulb safety

[andrew ward]

I just did a gag where dp gave me a 300w bulb from a fresnel and used it without a housing next to the lens to get the effect of a red eye/still photo with flash kind of vibe.

I did a job years ago where we opened the door of a 5k fres so the bulb went direct, to get hardest possible shadows. Gaffer put a net in front in case of bulb failure. But then he never had safety wires in redheads, so i thought smaller quartz bulbs would never explode. Till a blondie bubble blew and shot a spark ten feet into the centre of a 20by overhead sail and caught it alight.

Anyhoo... I built a little safety thing out of a wire scrim and blackwrap, but now im wondering;

How safe are quartz bulbs?

Most are in housings so hopefully the worst they do is crack a lens, but redheads and blondies often have no safety wires, and 1k linear bulbs in chinaballs are used near talent all the time. Is it a size thing (ie noone worries about prac bulbs exploding in your face)

Any gaffers have training on this? Ive been told to be wary and also been told not to worry by different gaffers.

Im in 240v country.

 

Thanks!

[Brian Drysdale]

I've had Redheads explode a few times, I'd use safety glass on both Blondes and Redheads. I've also had small wattage Fresnel bulbs explode, so a safety wire cage would be the sensible way to go inside a Chinaball. It could also depend on how blast and heat resistant the shell of the Chinaball is.

[Phil Rhodes]

Oh certainly. I've seen MR16s explode, and they're only 50W each usually.

[andrew ward]

Hmmm. Thats a worry. Only thing i have that is a real world consideration is 500w and 1k lanternlok bulbs.

Ive been told theyre safer as they have a double glass sheath (so you can handle them and not worry about putting the oils from your hand on like you do with other bulbs), but that could be lies.

[ian dart]

i would not recommend using any quartz globe with out a housing or wire screen

they operate under very high pressure and not safe to be around when they let go.

 

i have had several explode over the years the last was a 24v 150w dedo globe it exploded like a

gunshot and destroyed the mirror in the lamp.

 

cheers

[timHealy]

All bulbs, HMI or tungsten, can explode regardless of their size and wattage. It just happens once in a while.

 

Usually blondes and redheads are not pointing at actors. And they usually come new with a safety screen.

 

Fresnels have a lens that stops exploding bulbs from shooting out of the heads, but larger bulbs like 12 or 18k's can easily break the lens when that happens.

 

FCM's on space lights usually burn small holes through the silk and any gel.

 

Best

 

Tim