Is it common...

[twerp]

for lights to trigger smoke alarms?? I had an ARRI 1k with softbank (flaps open and everything) and a 300 fresnel light set up in my room. The lights hadn't been on for more than 5 minutes when they triggered my smoke alarm! They also create an odor which fills the entire room. Is this all decently common, or should I be worried about health and safety risks?!

 

[Jeff Anderson]

A smoke alarm no, a heat sensor possibly. I work around smoke and heat sensors all the time and have never had a problem although we are careful about not placing the lights near the heat sensors (building is plumbed with sprinklers). THe smell is pretty normal from the lights getting hot (especially the first few times) but have never seen smoke emitted. Was there any visible smoke?

 

[twerp]

There was zero visibility of smoke. I waved my hand under the alarm and it quickly stopped going off. The very first time i turned the ARRI 1k on, there was visible smoke coming from it for the first 10-20 seconds. It however ceased and no longer smokes; I figured it was just because it was it's first time on. I ALSO did have a gel on the 300, perhaps that has something to do with it? The smoke alarm was in close proximity to the 300.

 

[puredrifting]

I have ran into this, especiall when using bigger instruments with low 8 ft ceilings. I had an Arri 1k open face within about 5 feet of a smoke detector and for some reason, that light's double scrim started smoking and set off the alarm. Since it evacuated an entire office building, yeah, that kind of sucked. Not sure why the scrim was cooking, it just had dark areas on it after using it on that light.

Also, it is common for brand new lights to smoke for a while. Whenever I get a new light, I turn it on and put it outside on the patio for about an hour to break it in. I think it's usually oils and adhesives heating up and smoking. Cure them for an hour or two outside and you should be fine.

Dan