Rostronics-Britek Nobody Here Can Agree-Why?

[fleaguit]

Often what happens with lights smoking, is that there's some dust in the air, and as it hits the light, it burns up. Could be a lot of things. Today the light didn't burn at all, it must have been some chalk erasers we had clapped out to attempt a dusty effect in the room. Didn't work well, wound up using a fog machine today.

Anyway, the britecs are holding up well so far, Three days and no bulbs burning up, no stands breaking, and no fires (yet!) so here's hoping our luck continues.

I'll keep posting updates and maybe some more stills.

[Kelly Olsen]

Here is more fuel for this fire. There is another thread here currently going about problems with the 1000 watter:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=34349

I'm looking for used Lowels. Not going to get any Briteks.

[taubkin]

New lights always smoke or smell bad. It's the paint burning. Once the paint gets used to the high temperature, the light settles.

[dustino]

Here is more fuel for this fire. There is another thread here currently going about problems with the 1000 watter:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=34349

I'm looking for used Lowels. Not going to get any Briteks.

Don't blame you. I like the two britek units I've got, but I just don't trust their quality control. I'm not sure I'd feel good about taking another chance on them myself. Too bad, because I think Tom at Rostronics is a good guy; he's not the problem - it's the manufacturer.

[Erik Olson]

Yep, that smoke is common in all studio fixtures. A little paint and dust baking off that's all. Still, you should always keep any quartz or HMI fixtures away from flammable surfaces (e.g. draperies, paper goods, chemicals) as they run very hot.

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[fleaguit]

Well, today finally did it. The cheap-o stands that come with the briteks (bought the heavy duty ones too) finally stripped and broke two of them. And to add insult to injury, my 2k just stopped working. Changed the bulb, checked the fuse, tried another outlet. Nothing, just won't go on. Now I have to look into this tommorow, going to open her up, I can probably fix whatever it is (most likely a solder joint) and have her better than new within a few hours.

Overall I'm happy with what we got for the money, but there are definetely some issues.

[George D]

After reading the reports here, I was concerned about using the Briteks yesterday for a casting audition. They stayed on from 10am until 8pm when we got done. No smoke, no blown fuses, no problems. I used the G-300 and the 600w dual - both with softboxes. Pretty ironic that I had problems with the normally trusty 2 cameras and a laptop.

[mlimbolimbo]

Bad stands

Wow. I don't know much about Briteks but I do know that a bad stand can cost you an arm an a leg, your reputation, your ability to work in the town the failure occured in ..... Well maybe my experience wasn't all that bad but it did start a fire in a foam seat cushion that we could not put out. We litterally had to put the cushion in a bucket of water and let it sit for several days before the foam quit smoldering inside.. (for the record it was not a Britek stand... way before those were around).

I have a point. Good lights, bad lights, Arri, Britek, LTM or whatever. Use what works. Chances are your client won't notice the odd Home Depot work light in the mix if the results are better than expected.

But they will darn sure notice if a stand falls and something or someone gets hurt.

By the way, the work lights are pretty good if you cut the grill off and modify the reflector. Take it out and go over it lightly with the ball side of a ball pein hammer until you have an evenly curved and evenly dimpled reflector. Ive checked mine with a WFM and they are pretty close to perfecly even until you hit that last 10% of the edge. Take the money you save and buy some good stands and some black wrap.

Just my two cents worth.

[fleaguit]

Well, after praising the briteks for their price, I gotta admit I was wrong. As of yesterday, every light in my kit was down with the exception of the 1k. If it wasn't for the lowell tota's we have (4 of them) we would not have been able to continue shooting. In every light, the fuse and bulb seemed to blow at the same time. Which seems to prove the pointlessness of the fuse.

My 2k I still cannot find a fuse for. I've been everywhere, and a 10 amp, 250v small fuse is impossible to find. I shoved a piece of copper wire in there, and the lamp turns on, but my DP is afraid to use it without the fuse. I don't see what the big deal is,worst case i figure is another bulb blows because the fuse isn't there to protect. But perhaps I'm wrong on this one, anyone want to chime in on whether this is a good idea or not?

[dustino]

I agree that you're probably only risking another blown bulb.- and I agree with you that the whole fuse idea is a waste.

I definitely won't be buying any more briteks - ever. Sounds like you've been through hell with them. Too bad. Sorry to hear about all the trouble you're having.

[Kelly Olsen]

I also can't be of help but I do appreciate you coming forward because it confirms my position of never spending any money on Briteks. In the long run I think the savings are not worth the potential problems. The failure rate of these lights just seem to be way to high in comparison to other products and actually seem like throwing money away.

I'm sorry that people are going through this. Maybe if the sales slow down and problems reported they may get the quality control issue addressed. Or maybe they just sell to people who give them a try and then don't bother following up because of the hassle and figure the cost was so low that it is not worth it.

Better to save up and put a little more into a more reliable light.

[500lb Productions]

Standard inline fuse holders:

http://www.bussmann.com/products/Fus...ers/Group9.asp

These are the bomb. I like the yelllow ones that crimp on.

They say 32V, but with fuses, below 480V, the AMPERAGE is what really matters. 220v (actual operating voltage... is the 2K a 220v light??) isn't going to ARC through the yellow holder, so you'll be fine. If you REALLY worry about it, you can get the 500v ones listed father down.

These holders use standard automotive fuses which are like a buck for a pack of 5 at any auto supply.

I for one am unable to imagine why the bulbs and fuses are blowing at the same time. If the fuse is blowing, the you should have a short somewhere, which would not blow the bulb, as it would drain power AWAY from the bulb.

I'm suspicious of the stability of the power supply you were using. Was a steady, and of the proper voltage? Try getting "fast blow" fuses at the next higher amperage (like 12 or 15a). And verify your source voltage.

A (tungsten) light is a very simple circuit. Without a short, there's no reason for these problems.

[TimurCivan]

Well, after praising the briteks for their price, I gotta admit I was wrong. As of yesterday, every light in my kit was down with the exception of the 1k. If it wasn't for the lowell tota's we have (4 of them) we would not have been able to continue shooting. In every light, the fuse and bulb seemed to blow at the same time. Which seems to prove the pointlessness of the fuse.

My 2k I still cannot find a fuse for. I've been everywhere, and a 10 amp, 250v small fuse is impossible to find. I shoved a piece of copper wire in there, and the lamp turns on, but my DP is afraid to use it without the fuse. I don't see what the big deal is,worst case i figure is another bulb blows because the fuse isn't there to protect. But perhaps I'm wrong on this one, anyone want to chime in on whether this is a good idea or not?

YES!!!!!! The 10 amp Fuse IS impossible to find. If you find one let me know..... Jeez.

Ive been using a 7 Amp, and only running a 500W bulb in a 1.2K light. Still not a slouch in terms of out put, but i want my FULL 1200 Watts G--Dammit.

Also, i wouldnt suggest the Copper wire. Lets say by chance the bulb is extra tough, you could get real hot real quick in that fuse housing. Fire is bad.

[KHendrix2]

Why do these lights have fuses in them? I've worked with lots of tungsten lighting, including Arri, Mole-Richardson, De Sisti, Altman, Century, Lowell, etc. and I have never seen a fuse in any of them. Does anyone know the reason for this?

[TimurCivan]

safety probably. BEcause they are cheap they are probaly made with materials that cant handle Heat generated by a short circuit. Normal operation they are probably fine, but a short would put extreme heat in the body, so to prevent the plastic handles fro mmelting and catching fire they put a fuse to protect it. ( at leas thats wha tseems right ot me)