As Arri WARNING!

mattsdni

mattsdni

Active member
Just thought I would share what I found out this morning. I had my 1K as arri light on a shoot a few days ago and when I plugged it it the was a pop and sparks flew. It's happened a few times before too. I though I would check out the problem and try to fix it. Upon examining the power plug I found that the ground pin was not connected to anything. The power cable only has 2 wires. So it looks like I'm off to the hardware store to get some real power cable since I don't want anything catching on fire. If you have any as arri lights from ebay I would encourage you to check your power cable for the ground. Not only that, but there was an extra screw just sitting in the power plug, probably causing the shorts.
 
I wouldn't imagine every arri from ebay has grounding issues, But if I were to buy from the same seller I would let him know what happened so he can check if he has any others for sale with the same issue.
 
As with most things from China, there are many versions of this knock-off. I have the JieTu brand (650 watt with softbox). I do not have the described problem. Nothing on the JieTu is cheap. It is one of the best video/photo items I've seen come from China. It uses top notch materials throughout; nice castings, extrusions, thermal protection for the wiring, ceramic mounts, high quality silicone rubber cord with the proper 3 wires and the frame of the lamp is grounded.

This is so familiar of the 60s when the Japanese were making garbage and over the years, they have become leaders in many fields. The Chinese are starting to make headway improving product and being competitive on more than price.

One needs to be selective and careful when purchasing from China.
 
Yeah, I just finished running the ground cable. For reference the ebay seller is nicejnicej. How much do the jietu lights cost?
 
I really want one of the knock off 575 or 1.2k HMI.. Barry Green bought one a while back and did a semi-review on one and results were pretty good. Bright. He just had to put the ballast in another room with a 50 foot cord.
 
Yeah, Barry called it a "light cannon".

The chinese stuff is the same as buying used lights. I can't tell you how many fresnels I've bought that have been rewired, and the ground line just ends at the switch. You need to double check 'em. From what I've heard, most of those knockoffs have decent construction, it's the wiring that sucks.

I was using a 150 fresnel (a vintage-ish U.S. Century brand) this summer with an in-line switch. The switch was rated high enough for the small fresnel, but on set I grabbed the switch and... zorrrrch! Turned out one of the casing screws had been installed right through the hot wire. Must have been Larry or Moe who wired that one, Curly would have been more careful.

Some of my favorite tungsten lights are theatrical models that came from eBay; but you really need to check them over, replace bad sockets, etc.
 
You really have a professional obligation to report this. That is not compliant with US electrical requirements and is also unlawful to use on professional stages/productions. It's one thing to be using older lights and cognizant of potential issues and safety, but it's another thing for a brand new light to be wired inappropriately and pose a serious danger.
 
maplecap said:
.... That is not compliant with US electrical requirements
Click to expand...

I've often wondered what the rules are for 2 wire vs 3 wire appliances. Many new appliances are two wire and are UL listed. Can you quote the NEC or other code that says what is and is not allowed?
 
starcentral: I'm actually working with the guys at the lumenlab forum to convert my 1K to a 575w HMI. All the parts are on the way and I should have it built by Nov. 7th or 8th. I'll be sure to do a detailed write up and post it here. Oh, did I mention the extra parts only cost me $140?
Paul F: It all has to do with the way the appliance will ground itself. For lower power items you don't always need a ground. Also, if there is no chance someone will touch a metal part of the device during operation you don't need a ground. This is why most house lamps are 2 prong. The lamp shade kind of stops anybody from accidentally touching the socket, which by itself is pretty hard to do.
 
You'll also see a lot of power tools are now two-prong and referred to as "double insulated" - which I assume means there's redundant things keeping power from your soft pink flesh. Primarily that tools are like 90% plastic these days, even a loose wire inside won't touch anything conductive to the case or handle...

But purchasing anything with a three prong grounded plug, and finding the ground wire goes nowhere? Cause for concern.
 
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