Cleaning Incandescent Lamps ??

QUOTE - "If a quartz halogen bulb is touched, it should be cleaned with alcohol to remove any traces of grease. Traces of salt will also be removed if the alcohol has some water in it.

It is generally not a good idea to touch halogen bulbs, especially the more compact, hotter-running quartz ones. Organic matter and salts are not good for hot quartz. Organic matter such as grease can carbonize, leaving a dark spot that absorbs radiation from the filament and becomes excessively hot. Salts and alkaline materials (such as ash) can sometimes "leach" into hot quartz, which typically weakens the quartz, since alkali and alkaline earth metal ions are slightly mobile in hot glasses and hot quartz. Contaminants may also cause hot quartz to crystalize, weakening it. Any of these mechanisms can cause the bulb to crack or even violently shatter. If a quartz halogen bulb is touched, it should be cleaned with alcohol to remove any traces of grease. Traces of salt will also be removed if the alcohol has some water in it.
Since the hotter-running quartz halogen bulbs could possibly violently shatter, they should only be operated in suitable fully enclosed fixtures."

See Halogen Bulb Failure Modes @ http://www.misty.com/people/don/bulb1.html#hfm

So, for cleaning incandescents, I should add some distilled water to my Isopropanol bottle ?
What's de-ionised water ?

lightlover

[The great Don kindly says:
Copyright (C) 1996 Donald L. Klipstein (Jr) ([email protected])
Freely distributing copies of this entire document or un-HTML-ized text versions thereof is permitted and encouraged.]

Isopropyl alcohol you get from a store is only 70% alcohol - 30% water. No need to add water.

De-Ionized water is available from chem supply stores, and believe it or not, I once saw it in gallon jugs at Wal-Mart. De-Ionized water has not only all of the mineral and chemical contaminates removed, but also all free ions. It is the most chemically pure (and therefore completely non-electrically reactive) water you can get.

If I remember what my chem teacher told me, de-ionized water still has LOTS of ions. You run your water through the de-ionizer (which are VERY common), and it gets rid of the ions that are in there, but the water has a higher ph because it replaces those ions with H+ ions. I am almost positive this is correct. Distilled water on the other hand, is supposed to be the purist. I do not know if regular distilled or distelled from de-ionized would make a difference, but I'd just say buy a gallon of distilled water. It is available in most grocery stores. I have seen it all sorts of places.

Spudgunr

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>If I remember what my chem teacher told me, de-ionized water still has LOTS of ions.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, we're both right.

De-ionized water does contain ions; Hydrogen and Hydroxyl ions to be exact (H+ and OH-). High quality de-ionized water will have little or no conductive ions (calcium, phosphorous, sodium, etc.).

Here is some information: http://www.myronl.com/applications/diapp.htm

Spud, all I can remember of it is marvelling at an illustration of an "Ion Exchange Tower", because it sounded so impressive !
That was way back, before electricity, almost.

Check with your chem. teacher again please, let's see if Ol' Quickbeam is wrong over this !!

Doug, the Isopropanol (Propan-2-ol )I bought is "B.P.", meaning British Pharmacopœia, 100% the hard stuff I believe. Thanks for the link

lightlover

When caving, I carry a couple of the little "Alcohol Prep Pads" (available in drugstores) to clean halogen bulbs when changing them.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Check with your chem. teacher again please, let's see if Ol' Quickbeam is wrong over this !!

Doug, the Isopropanol (Propan-2-ol )I bought is "B.P.", meaning British Pharmacopœia, 100% the hard stuff I believe. Thanks for the link <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmmmm.... Ganging up on me, eh?

Common isopropyl alcohol found in stores is often labeled "Rubbing alcohol" - this is the 70-30 mix.

Oh... btw, I'm never wrong, just "factually impared" on occasion.

But yes, as I mentioned earlier, de-ionized water has ions (H+ and OH-, which is essentially "ionized" water (H2O), if you will), just not conductive, or "salt" ions such as calcium, chlorine, sodium, phosphorus, etc. Hence why we're both right. It has ions, just not the conductive ones.

At least that's my take on it.

Hehe, yeah, I am the same way. I ALWAYS have the right answers, I am just not always sure of the questions being asked

Spudgunr