Incan. Bulbs -----> Explosion WARNING! <-----

[NewBie]

Incandescent, halogen, and HID bulbs can be extremely dangerous for those new to the high performance versions of these bulbs.

Please at a minimum, wear goggles when around them, they can explode even if you don't touch them, and they are perfectly clean. A full face shield may be a better idea...


This happened a couple of years ago, the bulb actually had thousands of hours on it and had not been touched. This bulb had actually been cooling for 15 minutes. When it exploded, it slit clear through both sides of the nostril, leaving two loose non-connected flaps of skin:

 

[Hallis]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

was this bulb inside of a light? I mean, was there anything between you and the bulb when it went supernova on you?

Shane

 

[NewBie]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Nothing in between me and the bulb. Note it had cooled for 15 minutes. Another 1 or 2 mm, and it would have also slit open my eyeball.

 

[Hallis]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

So also a good safety tip would be to not crank one of these things up out in the open, always have the light assembled and a head on it, And not pointing towards your face.

Shane

 

[code09]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

wow...sick.
Never thought that could happen. But i guess in our world now, anything can happen

 

[Pila_Power]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Sick is pretty close, maybe it would be sick if there were a stray booger or something /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

 

[KevinL]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Your experience is definitely a sobering one.

I have an unspoken precaution when dealing with the superbulbs - never light one on an un-assembled head even when calibrating the reflector height with the shims, and always point away from me before I fire. There's 2mm of Borofloat in between me and the bulb at the thinnest point of the head (already pointed away from me) and several mm of reflector and Mag head aluminium at the thicker ones (the rear of the Mag facing me).

Osram was mentioning that their Decostar bulbs were specially designed as low-pressure halogens and therefore ran much less risk of explosive decompression vs the high-pressure halogens we're used to.

 

[Ginseng]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Yup,

These are potentially dangerous items. I echo the advice about always keeping something between it and your flesh. Sensible precautions are always worthwhile.

Wilkey

 

[DaGeek]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

yiks!!! that must have hurt!!!

 

[js]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Sorry this happened to you, and thanks very much for posting this thread. It bears repeating!

I would agree 100 percent:

ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING BETWEEN YOU AND A HOT HALOGEN LAMP The best way is to always run it inside a reflector with lens covering the top. That will contain the explosing, should it occur.

 

[NewBie]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Actually, I didn't notice anything at first.

My nose started itching.

Then I heard a drip drip.

Then I looked down and saw a trail of blood.

Imagine a freshly broken, very sharp piece of glass moving a a high enough velocity to cut my nostril in half, nick my eyebrow, and then embedding itself into the wood in my house....

Remember, this bulb broke after 15 minutes of cool down...

 

[dano]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Made a sticky...Good precautionary info.


-dan

 

[code09]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

[ QUOTE ]
Pila_Power said:
Sick is pretty close, maybe it would be sick if there were a stray booger or something /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

hahaha, halarious.

 

[Kiessling]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

The thing that worries me the most are the 15 minutes cooldown ... it's easy to be fooled into thinking it should be ok by then ...
bernhard

 

[js]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

[ QUOTE ]
Kiessling said:
The thing that worries me the most are the 15 minutes cooldown ... it's easy to be fooled into thinking it should be ok by then ...
bernhard

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, good point! All of the lamps I've dealt with have been cool to the touch after 15 minutes. But, whatever, the idea is still the same: hot lamp = DANGER.

 

[eebowler]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

NewBie, were you handling the bulb/flashlight at the time of the explosion? Is it possible in anyway that some sort of shock (a tap on the table) caused the bulb to explode?

 

[BayMoe]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Glad to hear you're ok though.

I would never have thought an incan bulb could be that dangerous, and I was about to jump onto the Hotwire bandwagon too. It's a scary thought.

Can you release any more info on the situation? Like the type of bulb being used...

Alex

 

[stockae92]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

good advise
thanks

 

[bwaites]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

He is not talking about any of the bulbs that we use, but about some specialty type bulbs that he ran across in the somewhat distant past, from the way I read the note.

Bill

 

[PocketBeam]

Re: Bulb -----> WARNING <-----

Just to clear things up, was this without a lens? Would a lens have helped, or posibly made it worse if the lens shattered out too? And I think the high end most average people hear are going for is the WA 1185. Is the 1185 bulb safer?

Still a scary good warning. Talk about biting the bullet for the rest of us.