HMI Help!!

Shawn Philip Nelson

Shawn Philip Nelson

Veteran
Dang it!

After my success in buying a 2.5kw HMI Par kit on eBay, I bought a 1.2kw HMI Par kit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130203525685

Problem is, it turns out to be a single ended 1200w HMI Par bulb, not a single ended or double ended like I thought. D'oh!

A 1200w DE HMI bulb is like $95. A 1200w HMI Par bulb is over $350!

Is there any way to convert this to be either single ended or double ended instead of this goofy kind?
 
Whoa, I noticed that the bulb I have, the 1200w HMI Par64 globe is a G38 base, the same thing as a 1200w SE. Hmmm, would it be possible to acquire the reflector from a modern par and then use 1200w SE bulbs?
 
Are you getting any rolling shutter effects with your Mag ballasted HMI's and RED ONE?

If so, at what shutter speed? Any stills? I'm about to run some tests but if you've already done them then that'll answer my questions.
 
Well I think it depends upon if you can cut a hole in the base of the reflector thats large enough to accomodate the very large G38 single ended hot restrike bulb. It might work and may also take a bit of tuning to get the proper position of the bulb inside the reflector.
 
I'm now wondering if the unit itself is deep enough, because there still needs to be clearance for the lenses. Damn it! I am so pissed, the picture looked like a DE bulb, even bought two of them ahead of time. I didn't even think about it being a Par64.
 
Yes you need a fair amount of room in there. I think its a gamble and you could spend some more money on it and still not have what you wanted. Its tough to know until you actually try it unfortunately. You need more info on the reflector, size, material and all that.
 
Richard, what if instead I tried to re-wire for a double ended 1200w? I don't understand the internals of HMIs. Could I simply take the two cords going into the G38 socket, snip them off and attach them to either ends of a double ended socket?
 
Shawn,
I don'y know if you can just swap out the bulb and reflector to make it a SE fixture, I do know that LTM makes a conversion kit for the older Par 64 lights to convert them to use the newer SE bulbs but last time I checked the kit was around $950. As for using a double ended 1200w bulb you will probably be pretty hard pressed to fit it in there correctly but if you are going to try I would try to get my hands on a LTM 1200 Fresnel Mini fixture which is close in size so the part may be small enough to fit.

Best of luck on your project,
-Travis
 
Yes, its that simple from an electrical standpoint but you have to get the tougher HMI-rated (pulse of 5KV or over) socket for the double ended bulb of course and its also a pain making a fitting that will work for that. Be sure to see how the DE bulb needs to be oriented too whether horizontal, vertical or universal (any which way).
 
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