Disintegrating Quartz Bulbs

[Bob (but not THAT Bob)]

I have a cheapie Chinese double quartz worklite on a stand - and the

500W bulbs' ceramic ends disintegrate - filaments and glass envelope are intact, but the ends just crumble from the heat.

Anybody else have this problem?

Any particular brand of replacement bulb that'll solve mny dilemma?

[RBM]

Probably not, they just burn wicked hot. You could try using 300 watt lamps

[# Fred #]

I've seen the ends broken off too but only on couple of occasions so far.

[Gary KW4Z]

Some might say "you get what you pay for" .. I.e. Cheapie -- Others might say that's China for you, the way everything is going, I think maybe a little of everything. I have had that problem several times and even though the rating was 500W I had to step down to 300W Sylvanias.

Good Luck

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Bob,

As you know, these bulbs operate at very high temperatures and the quality of some of the no name offerings is dubious at best. Stick with Philips, Osram Sylvania or GE when selecting a replacement.

I highly recommend GE's HIR linear halogens. They use a special coating to reflect some of the waste heat (IR) back to the filament, much in the same way the low-e coating on window glass reflects heat back into a room. This allows the filament to operate at its optimum temperature while drawing fewer watts.

GE's 350-watt Q350T3/CL/HIR lamp produces the same amount of light as a standard 500-watt halogen bulb but uses 30 per cent less power. Over the course of its 2,000 hour life, it will save 300 kWh ($30.00 at $0.10 per kWh). At the same time, it produces nearly one-third less heat, reducing thermal stress on the bulb's contacts as well as the fixture itself.

You may have to hunt them down (they're not widely stocked) and they cost a couple dollars more but they're worth every penny. This auction has ended, but three of these lamps for $10.00 was an excellent buy.

See:

I have a cheapie Chinese double quartz worklite on a stand - and the

[Art]

These bulbs are available for cars too. My 2005 Honda headlights sucked but replacing them with HIR halogens gives almost twice the light with no extra wattage. And no fake blue color either.

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Art,

Indeed. I installed a set on my Chrysler LHS and they made a world of difference. The original head lights on this car were so bad the vehicle should have been equipped with a white cane.

BTW, for PAR-style lamps, Philips is the >These bulbs are available for cars too. My 2005 Honda headlights sucked but

[Joseph Meehan]

I would suggest taking a very close look at the lamp and the contacts. I suspect they are not in the greatest of shape and are generating extra heat. They need to make near perfect contact to reduce spot heat. Depending on their condition you can try cleaning them (I like using a pencil eraser as it does not damage the contacts) and maybe using some dielectric grease (very thin coating) to reduce future oxidation.

[Bob (but not THAT Bob)]

Contact's looked clean (but I'll check more thoroughly) and very tight - as they should be as the unit was bought this year.

I'll try the grease idea too.

[Gary KW4Z]

I'm sure you know already, as instructions are on every box and container. Be sure not to let your bare skin touch the bulb. Wear Rubber gloves when touching the actual element (when it's cool of course).

[Bob (but not THAT Bob)]

Absolutely - I've been doing that with photographic quartz lights since they came out. I used to teach people about quartz handling ages ago when I worked in a pro camera store.

That's why I'm surprised with this sudden disintegration - I've never seen anything like it, even with 2k bulbs.

[Art]

I hear you. I had a 94 LHS. Lights were pathetic. By the way, if you ever get a thump under the shifter console, check your rear transmission mount. Also the tires on that car make a tremendous difference in ride. Do not stick with the Goodyear Eagles unless you like driving on rocks.

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Art,

Thanks for the tip; much appreciated. My LHS is a '94 as well and now clocks in at 285,000 km. No major problems to report other than the a/c (evaporator, dryer unit and, now, most recently, the compressor) and a front passenger window that don't always do as it's told. I bought a second LHS in '97 and its performance was virtually flawless

-- I think it had some 197,000 km on the odometer when I traded it in for a 300M Special back in April, 2002.

BTW, the original headlight assembly was replaced under warranty with a modified version and this did help considerably. Better, but still not great. The current tyres are BF Goodrich, which are a huge improvement over the original Goodyears.

Best regards, Paul