WA1111 blew, ruined my PMR - normal?

So there I was, playing flashlight. I was doing a beam comparsion between one toy and my 6xAA NimH/WA1111/5 Mega MOP reflectored 2D Mag. I heard a "pop" followed a second later by the WA1111 flaming out.

The inside of the reflector head was completely opaque. Lens and reflector were covered with a milky white deposit. I cleaned the lens, but had no luck with the reflector. I gradually escalated cleaning violence and did get the film off the reflector, but I also wrecked the finish. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/awman.gif

So, can anybody tell me:
- Is this a normal WA bulb flame out? I'm new to the hotwire biz.
- Is there a way to clean the blow-out detritus off the reflector without wrecking it? If not, should I anticipate having to replace the reflector when the bulb blows? (If so, I'm going back to KPR112's /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif )

Glad I had another light!

Thanks in advance!

Bob

Aw man, that's a real bummer. Very sorry to hear what it did to your PMR!

I have a light set up similarly with the WA-1111 and two EL AA to D adapters coming in the mail to me and am concerned. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mpr.gif This is my first foray into the hot wire field.

Britt

I've blown a few bulbs in this manner. Sometimes overdriven bulbs will expire in this non-peaceful manner. The WA01111 is overdriven on 6 cells and is liable to blow like this. It's rare, but can happen.

As for cleaning, what I did was take the reflector out of the light and run water over the surface but not rubbing it with anything. Then I plugged up the bulb hole from the back with my finger and filled it up with water and a few drops of dish detergent. Shook it around a bit and then poured it out and rinsed with running water. Never touching the surface with anything solid. Shook the loose water off and let it dry.

There may be dings in the 'flector but it should only minimally affect the beam, if at all unless it is very severe damage.

Wilkey

Wilkey: Will that approach clean off a smoke film? It wasn't just bits of junk...the entire reflector was covered with a nearly opaque white haze. Thanks much for your input (and for getting the word out to us on the possibilities of litho123's GB!). Despite this setback I'm finding the hotwire thing is pretty entertaining.

Britt: I had a light in each hand. I heard the "pop", but the WA1111 light was still shining, so I looked around to see what happened, then thought maybe the lens had cracked. About that time, the light went out. So, I was probably running the WA1111 in "smoke ejector" mode for a good three or four seconds. I expect if I'd had the presence of mind to turn the thing off at the "pop" I wouldn't have made such a mess. Hope this info is of some use to you.

Well, my 2C/3x123 GH-24 Mag is now back to a stock reflector and the PMR that I had in there is now on the WA1111 2D. Guess that'll have to hold me until the reflectors from Litho123's GB get here.

Thanks again for the advice & sympathy!

Cheers,
Bob

Bob,

It took off all the haze. Only a few nice chunks taken out of the reflector surface remained after I cleaned it out.

Maybe this will make you feel better:
Ginseng's Exploding Bulb

Wilkey

Bob, I hope I'll have the presence of mind to click it off and not hurl it from me and dive for a ditch. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

Good advice on the cleaning, Wilkey, I'll remember that.

Britt

Oh man, you guys are lightweights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. But coming from a full blown looney like me, that's not saying much. I blow up 500+ cold cranking amps of auto batteries in my face. I hit the high-beams on my recently upgraded (thicker gauge wires, FYI js, direct to battery connection upgraded wiring kit) 80/100w 9004 bulbs in my old '90 Passat, cause I could not believe after only about 10hrs the low beam on one of the bulbs was not on. Big mistake; as the high-beam did come on, as I had worried that maybe I did not just have a bad ground, and the one brand new bulb actually did fail. Oh about 2-5 seconds of high-beam until that causes the bulb to explode and fill the headlamp with mustard gas? yellow fumes. Shattered glass envelope all over the inside of the headlamp /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif. I never bothered to clean it out, just installed another bulb and got rid of the car less than a year later.

I should think (on Oto's PMR thread he mentioned a way to clean dusty reflectors) using an electrical contact cleaner aerosol spray might help. Quick drying, good solvent qualities.

Now I'm kind of afraid to post my "Cleaning M*g contacts"(aka secrets to maximum current flows in the M*glites) thread in the Gen. Flashlights Discussion" Seeing as how following my tweaks may cause many more instaflashing episodes, and a need to reevaluate which bulb/battery combinations to use. I kind of like to instaflash bulbs, but like Ginny, I'm kind of goofy that way /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Ok, I confess, the real reason I haven't finished that pictorial tutorial thread is I know, a certain CPF member, will have a new 'nickname' for me after reading it... something to do with my preferred 'tools of the trade' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Check back tomorrow night, and let the instaflashing begin /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif

Duh /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/duh2.gif , I don't understand hardly anything of what you just said. But, that's OK, don't try to explain it to this ignoramus. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

what does 500 cold cranking amps have to do with
car head lights ?

using bosch 40 amp relays(a little over kill)
I turn on all 8 filliments of my 9004 90/110
head light bulbs.

makes for a fantastic high beam and nothing has exploded on me yet and my car headlights have been wired this way since long before cpf.

I think "mustard gas" is what results when a lamp explodes. There is a cycle of tungsten evaporating and redepositing on the filiment in a normally running halogen or kypton bulb. When the cycle is broken due to glass envelope (bulb) failure or explosion, the gas mixture of halogen and tungsten rapidly oxidizes (burns) producing a chartruese smoke. Sometimes the elements of this smoke is deposited on the interior of the exploded lamp. Ginseng loosely refers to this as tungsten halide.

If the filiment is allowed to continue to burn you'll get white smoke and a light grey deposit on the reflector.

I had forgotten seeing Ginseng's exploding WA1185 so I did the same thing months later. Though out of focus you can see the yellow/green deposit in the lamp envelope and that the filiment is still intact. It's almost a replica of Ginseng's event.


I cleaned the PMR just like Ginseng said and it works just fine.

[ QUOTE ]
Ginseng said:
Bob,

It took off all the haze. Only a few nice chunks taken out of the reflector surface remained after I cleaned it out.

Maybe this will make you feel better:
Ginseng's Exploding Bulb

Wilkey

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks! Non-passive end-of-life characteristic, indeed!