Flashoholic in the news today - possible world record

[winny]

EDIT: Making a project like this will kill you. The lamps will eventually explode and you don't want to be near them when it happens. Don't try this at home.

One of my big time project have finally come to an end. It started about 18 months ago when the idea was discussed and lamps where ordered.

You might need some background info before I proceed. In Sweden, where I live, people decorate their homes and offices with Advent candlesticks to calibrate Advent and Christmas. Advent candlestick season starts three Sundays before Christmas eve and ends twenty days after Christmas eve (tjugonde knut). A normal sane Swedish Christmas celebrator uses one of these:


Although preferably red...
They use seven 3 W bulbs, 33 V, running in series and push out about 150 lumen all together.


People of less sane nature build their own, and people way beyond the point of being saved tries to break world records with their builds.

Back in 2004 I built a slightly larger one, about 400 mm high and with seven 60 W light bulbs. With 4970 lumen, my neighbors got the point pretty quick. The story about the insane candlestick spread, if not nation-wide, I at least heard the story my self in third hand, when it had been to Borås (100-ish km away) and back.

Sorry about the picture size. I'll try to get a better one.


In 2005 I attempted something bigger and brighter. The choice fell for 400 W metal halide lamps, providing the best bang for buck my electrical supply could handle (thank God for 3*25A, 400 V in my apartment!). As the lamps, ballasts and starters aren't actually cheap, especially if you are a student like me, I tried to get some sponsors and succeeded. Philips Light provided ballasts and Candelux AB (a local supplier) provided the starters. Due to some problems, the project wasn't finished until two days ago, and the result, well...

Photo courtesy of Johan Wallin from here on.


The beast itself.



The ballasts and starters. Very electrically safe, IP68-rated and grounded of course.



You have to be at lest this insane to attempt something like this.



This is how happy it makes you. We used a flash to take this picture so you can't tell from this one how bright it is. I had to Photoshop myself because the metal halides made some very nasty spikes in the color spectrum which made me look, hmm, worse...



If you compare to my neighbor above me, you can get a hint how bright it is.



This is how the street outside me normally looks. ISO 800, F4.5, 1/13 second exposure.



And this is how it looks when Monster Advent candlestick 2 is lit. ISO 800, F4.5, 1/13 second exposure.


All this stir managed to get at least some media attention. Metro did a somewhat small article. They did of course choose the worst image and spell my surname wrong "Andreas Vinn" instead of "Andreas Vinnberg" (they said they would correct this in tomorrows newspaper if there was any space left).
Here is a link to the PDF-version of the newspaper: http://metropoint.metro.lu/20061221_Goteborg.pdf
Flip over to page 13.
It says:
"Bright candlestick might prove world record.
DANGEROUS. Andreas Vinn, 22, studying at Chalmers hops he have beaten the world record. He has built a candlestick which shines like 1 100 normal ones and consumes 2 800 watt. It it not electrically safe and a big fire hazard."

I have contacted Guinness book of world records and they sounded optimistic. No one had attempted something similar but they needed some kind of verification of it, like a newspaper article or someone verifying it. I'll let you know when I have more info.


If anyone is interested, here is the specs:

Bulbs: 7 * Philips 400 W metal halide, ~35000 lumen each, ~245 000 lumen in total
Ballasts: 7 * Philips BHL 400 L307 (sponsored by Philips Light)
Starters: 7 * Vossloh Schware Z400 (sponsored by Candelux AB)
Sockets: Ceramic E40
Candlestick frame: 70*70 mm wood



Any comment welcome!

[IsaacHayes]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spacemarine]

This is really one of the coolest (or should I say bightest :-) ) things I've seen in my live!!

[PEU]

Originally Posted by winny

And this is how it looks when Monster Advent candlestick 2 is lit. ISO 800, F4.5, 1/13 second exposure.

This picture made me laugh

Happy hannukah


Pablo

[PhotonWrangler]

Two hundred and forty-five THOUSAND lumens?!!! Wow!!!

That picture made me laugh also! Nice job, Winny! Not just the lamps - the woodwork looks really nice also.

[AndyTiedye]

You'll get a sunburn from that if you're not careful.

[Meduza]

haha, du är bara för cool

Men du får nog jobba på att göra den lite elsäkrare och kanske byta till stålram i stället för trä... för att få upp brandsäkerheten menar jag...

hmmm... man skulle ju bygga en med 1000w halogenlampor, lika stark som din fast på över dubbla effekten, men å andra sidan är lamporna bara 6*2cm stora...

[Ctechlite]

You have to be at lest this insane to attempt something like this.


This is my favorite picture! That smile is priceless

[Valpo Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by Ctechlite

You have to be at lest this insane to attempt something like this.


This is my favorite picture! That smile is priceless

Yeah, or maybe he doubles as a sociopath...

[Whitelitee]

your neighbours most love you.

[yuandrew]

"I want my house to be seen from....SPACE!"

(From the movie "Deck the Halls")

[BVH]

Get yourself a Luxor light to be seen from space.

[Trashman]

"It it not eclectically safe and a big fire hazard."

What made them say this?

No matter, though, because this is really awesome! By the looks of that alley photo, one might think you've got one of the X-Men in your room!

[jtr1962]

Do any of your neighbors think the sun isn't going down anymore?

[winny]

Spacemarine,

Thanks! I know our approaches to building things are very different. You like to get every aspect of it right whereas I compensate for everything with electrical tape and brute power.


PEU,

It does have that affect on you. I don't think my neighbors would be as impressed though if I would run it for long periods.


PhotonWrangler,

Thanks! If you look closely, you can see that the joints aren't that even and often painted over several times to cover up the mess. If I would have had more patience, it would have got some more putty and sanding. Then again, when lit, you won't notice it.


AndyTiedye,

Although the lamps do emit some UV, it's much less than the sun hit he with during the summer. I don't use it for extended periods due to the vast amount of heat generated.


Meduza,

I did think about a steel frame but the extra work involved didn't justify it. The fire hazard does not come from the wooden frame but more from other objects being too close, like curtains and such. The frame could probably not catch fire if I would run it continuous, but it would get hot and the paint might crack with time. I do however have a bucket with water standing next to it, just in case, and turning it of can be done in two seconds. The electrical safety lies in the awareness of the user. Because I know there are exposed wires, I don't touch it. I have RCDs on all phases so all ground faults should be handled. My biggest concern is if the blue neutral wire which connects like a daisy-chain though the starters would somehow disconnect. In the worst case, I would get 400 V over a ballast, and I'm not sure the lamp and ballast like that.
1000 W halogen bulbs would not cut it. 2000 W does stand a chance but the fire hazard involved would be extreme. I like HIDs.


Valpo Hawkeye,

Hey! That's my normal face! Be nice.


Whitelitee, jtr1962,

I'm not sure. They had to put up with some experiments of mine before, like this experiment and more recently this one. I do however suspect that this one takes the price. I have only used it for 2 * 10 minutes during the photo sessions, and I suspect I won't run it that much more. If they would be upset, I would of course not continue to use it like that.


Trashman,

I did tell them that as a joke, but perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. In my eyes, hazards which you are aware of is most often of less concern than the ones you aren't aware of. For instance, I have taken apart electrical appliances which made me afraid of the dark. Most homes does not have RCDs yet, and if they would use a thing where the phase have come loose and touches the chassie, chances are high that they would get them self killed, without knowing there was an inherent hazard. The same thing with candles. They look innocent, but they can have devastating consequences.
My candlestick however, does not look innocent to anyone, and you won't forget to turn it off, I tell you that!


Doesn't anyone want a "lux reading"?

[rik]

Doesn't anyone want a "lux reading"?

I think we all just assumed that you'll either supply it, or you haven't got the equipment to measure it. Either way, we're all waiting with baited breath.

Lighting your street brought a grin to my face. And some of my coworkers are impressed too

[Twellmann]

Could you turn it off please?
I'm going to bed now...

Greetings from Copenhagen

[Kiessling]

This fits well with the spirit of CPF ...

One question: How about explosion risks of those HIDs? Aren't they high pressure and might explode in a very violent way? I have seen vids of such explosions and would like to be far away should that happen ...

bk

[winny]

rik,

Actually, I saved it until someone would ask, because you guys always do.


Kiessling,

Your question is indeed justified! Looking at the videos here (excellent site BTW), you'll notice that the pressure can be high enough to blast though even the teflon coated outer glass (which my American bulbs don't have BTW). In order to make the appliance ICE something-something approved, it must have protective glass in front of it, due to the explosion risk.
With all this considered: Yes, if the bulb would explode, it would be far more violent than a normal incandescent/halogen bulb blowing. The risk for one of the bulb to explode is still very small and most of me, with the exception of eyes, would not take permanent damage from it. I did think about getting CE-approved sunglasses (a friend of mine noticed a couple of years ago that normal boulé sunglasses where about $50 and dark, UV-blocking AND CE-approved as saftey googles where $15 and looked just about exactly the same... just a little side note there), but I had about 36 hours from that I got it working to do all my Christmas shopping and get into the newspaper before my train home-home left so I didn't make it to the hardware store. I'll try to find some for future use though.

Thanks for your concern!

[Sway]

Winny,

You are definitely insane but is much appreciated in this asylum, me likey

Now what did I do with my welding hood

Later
Kelly

[Jaygnar]

Very nice job!

[Ra]

Its an amazing piece of work.

One remark tho..

Have you ever wondered why professional users use safe enclosures with these lamps ???

Ofcource its your right to turn your room into a dangerzone,

BUT: advertising this with your posts all over these forums without a decent link to a site that explanes the dangers, is not a very wise thing to do !!!


I doubt there are no members at these forums who want to try this as well, propably not knowing about the hazards !

To quote a very sensible, talking shark called Bruce: BELEVE ME, YOU DON'T WANT ONE OF THEM TO POP !!!

Watching video's of popping lamps is one thing, but if four of them pop, they all pop a different way, the one more hasardous than the other !

Don't get me wrong: The chance they burst indeed is very small, but days of operating without any problems will not say they will not burst at all.

The inner tubes operate under extreme pressure and temperatures, slowly changing the structure of the quartz-envelope, these changes can cause them to explode without any warning, anytime in their lifespan !!



So, if you are planning to advertise like this,, at least post some sort of warning with it !!


Regards,

Ra.

[jayflash]

Congratulations on your extreme vision and effort which payed off. MOST impressive. God will certainly know where you are.

Happy New Year.

[65535]

Hmm now for next year I need to get myself some 15kw xenon short arc lamps and string them around my house.

[winny]

Sway,

I had to look up "asylum". Good word!
I like to build things out of the ordinary and if that makes me insane, so be it. I only do what the voices in my head tells me to do.


Jaygnar,

Thanks!


Ra,

Point taken. I didn't think of it that way as I touched later on in the text what potential dangers there are. I made an edit.
If you have any site in particular which addresses the dangers, drop me a PM.


jayflash,

If something like that will get you into heaven, I can't wait to meet all the crazy people up there!


65535,

That would be something. The worst thing I have seen that comes into consideration is 12 kW single ended HMI lamps. At over $2000 each, it would be beyond expensive.


Still no one asking for a lux reading...

[Ra]

Hi Winny,

Reading my own post I get the impression that I was a little too negative about things... Sorry about that..

The only thing I wanted to say is that there always is a posibillity that a few of our fellow CPF-members with less experience indeed try this at home !!!

I hope they read this thread first, and are alerted about the hazards.

I think that enough is said about this..


I'm curious about your plans for next year.. Maybe breaking the 1,000,000 lumens-barrier ???


Edit: Oh... I happened to have one of those 15 kW xenon-lamps..:



Maybe I'll buy 6 more of them and do a similar project...

(Oh, before you begin to point me on safety-issues: The lamp above is depressurised, so its harmless !!)



Regards,

Ra.

[winny]

Originally Posted by Ra

I'm curious about your plans for next year.. Maybe breaking the 1,000,000 lumens-barrier ???

Please don't tempt me. The only/biggest reason I built this one was because a friend of mine told me to take Monster Advent candlestick 1 to the next level. I don't have any room for a third as well!

Oh, and no offense taken. I get angry watching Mythbusters because they don't take any precautions in some cases and 10^7 people are watching them. You don't see them wearing safety glasses when using a mill or lathe, and they do ok just because they wear regular glasses. They tell you "Don't try this at home!" about everything else, some really harmless things as well, but no one ever tell the viewers what would happen if you wouldn't have glasses or wouldn't have no/short hair when you lean over the lathe like they do.
Don't get me started on the electrical safety in the show!

EDIT: Jesus you are fast! You edited your while I was typing.
That 15 kW lamp looks like a real killer! Both pressure- and UV-wise! Is it one of those IMAX projector bulbs you need education/clearance to handle and you must have them behind blast shields except for the specially made gloves you pick them up with? The pressure in them was so high even when cold just to push the efficiency to the max.

[watt4]

hmmm. contest to pick where the flashaholic lives?

[Ra]

Originally Posted by winny

EDIT: Jesus you are fast! You edited your while I was typing.
That 15 kW lamp looks like a real killer! Both pressure- and UV-wise! Is it one of those IMAX projector bulbs you need education/clearance to handle and you must have them behind blast shields except for the specially made gloves you pick them up with? The pressure in them was so high even when cold just to push the efficiency to the max.

Yep.. Its one of those !!

I depressurised it myself inside a watertank protected by a blast-shield !


Ra.

[PhotonWrangler]

How does one go about depressurizing one of those bulbs? Is there a valve in the base, or do you have to poke a hole in the envelope?