Truth about touching bulbs?

D

Droog

Well-known member
Hey everybody,

Can somebody set me straight on whether or not it is truely damaging to touch a bulb with your bare fingers. My feeling is that it is not a good idea, especially on higher wattage bulbs, however sometimes its a pain not to when you are in a pinch and need to swap out quickly. Some people I have seen clearly are not that worried about it, while others take great care not to. Its kind of similiar to dealing with vacuum tubes used in audio gear, touch or no touch. Some people say it does not matter while others say it indeed can damage bulbs. What say you?

Thanks!
 
Well, if it is the same kinda deal as the lighting instruments we use in plays (live theatre) you do NOT want to touch the bulb. The oil on your fingers is bad. Just use a papertowel or a hanky or something. Better safe than sorry anyways.
Jason
 
The oil from your hands gets on the bulb and causes that spot to get hotter and weaker than the rest of the bulb. This can lead to the bulb exploding, so I'd avoid touching the bulb at all costs.
 
Thanks, you guys have confirmed what I already thought to be true. I Appreciate the feedback.
 
Plus, have you priced out new bulbs for your Joker? Get ready for some sticker shock. The bulbs for my Joker 1200 watt PAR were U.S. $475.00 ea. and there was only one manufacturer, hence, no price competition.

HMI bulbs = serious bucks.

Never touch a bulb, trust us, it's a bad thing to do. Bulbs exploding, especially at $300.00 to $500.00 ea. are scary.

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
Plus, have you priced out new bulbs for your Joker? Get ready for some sticker shock. The bulbs for my Joker 1200 watt PAR were U.S. $475.00 ea. and there was only one manufacturer, hence, no price competition.

HMI bulbs = serious bucks.

Never touch a bulb, trust us, it's a bad thing to do. Bulbs exploding, especially at $300.00 to $500.00 ea. are scary.

Dan
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Haha, its funny because the Joker thread and this one are completley un related. I was asking about the bulbs because of an argument I got in over it, while working on a Pepper. The Joker 800 bulbs are in the neighborhood of 300 bucks, and those are cheap HMI globes. Handle with care to say the least.
 
puredrifting said:
The bulbs for my Joker 1200 watt PAR were U.S. $475.00 ea. and there was only one manufacturer, hence, no price competition.
Click to expand...

For some reason, that sentence scares the crap out of me.:)
 
I too, was taught the, "don't touch the bulbs" mantra for fear of the deadly skin oil syndrome. Until a studio gaffer told me recently that it's all bullsh*t, and he touches them all the time. I've been touching them ever since with no problems.
 
Rezfactor said:
I too, was taught the, "don't touch the bulbs" mantra for fear of the deadly skin oil syndrome. Until a studio gaffer told me recently that it's all bullsh*t, and he touches them all the time. I've been touching them ever since with no problems.
Click to expand...

Really?! Good to know. Thanks, man.
 
A guitar playing friend of mine told me he was once at a show and saw a high watt spotlight bulb blow while someone was on stage. He said he's sure it was because someone touched it because before the bulb blew he swairs he saw the outline of a fingerprint where the light was pointing right before it blew. Almost like the oils had the impression of the fingerprint and the bulb cracked in that pattern for a second before it shattered.
 
Rezfactor said:
I too, was taught the, "don't touch the bulbs" mantra for fear of the deadly skin oil syndrome. Until a studio gaffer told me recently that it's all bullsh*t, and he touches them all the time. I've been touching them ever since with no problems.
Click to expand...

Well what the hell? Now I don't know what to think. You know what? I am just not going to do it anymore. From now on I will delegate!:evil: I wish, as if I'll ever get to delegate in my life....sniff....sniff....
 
The risk of bulb explosion from oils is true and very real.

Some bulbs are more succeptable than others. So best be safe and not sorry and excersize caution at all times.

- Mikko
 
mikkowilson said:
The risk of bulb explosion from oils is true and very real.

Some bulbs are more succeptable than others. So best be safe and not sorry and excersize caution at all times.

- Mikko
Click to expand...

Yeah, I gotta agree. I used to work for a company that manufactured photo densometric equipment. These used low voltage tungsten globes (very similar to what is used in a Dedo). Some brands would exhibit failure from handling, other brands were less susceptible. The cause is actually the differential cooling that the evaporation of the contaminate causes. The oil (or other foreign substance) cools the area that it contacts slightly, this causes a different rate of expansion and this places stresses on the globe. Some can't take the strain and their envelope fails.

Better safe than sorry.
 
..also, related to this:
NEVER EVER use any stage or video light without a proper safty screen or glass in place.

If a bulb decides to go spectacularly, you end up with hundreds of razor sharp shards of hot glass at high speed. Not fun.

- Mikko
 
Nothing like an accident or injury to ruin a perfectly good day on set.

Production insurance is expensive enough as it is, have an injury claim and your rates will increase exponentially (and yes, you have to disclose prior claims each and every time you get a new policy).
 
mikkowilson said:
..also, related to this:
NEVER EVER use any stage or video light without a proper safty screen or glass in place.
Click to expand...
I've witnessed a lot of globes explode on sets. This is main reason I never use Lowel open-face lights without being REAL goddamned careful about NEVER facing the unit with my face. Don't like 'em (even though I own some of them). They're just plain dangerous. Even non-Lowel open-face units are dangerous as hell. I witnessed a 1K nook light (hung from a grid) literally explode on a shooting set (talent on-set) of a major episodic TV show. There were shards of hot broken glass all over the floor.
 
I have seen a few globes go myself, and I agree fully, open face instruments can be more than a bit of a hazard.

To me, it seems like the larger, pin based globes (CYK and bigger) have much more robust envelopes, I have yet to see one of them go up in an exciting way. They just quietly die when their time comes.

On a cyc or standing set, there can be so many instruments overhead that I wouldn't be comfortable with open face sources in that application.

I have a set of crappy open face 650s myself (similar in quality to Lowel), but hardly ever use them anymore (not the best looking sources anyway); as of late, I prefer to rent high end lighting.

About the only thing that I ended up keeping are Kinos and currently I am really lusting after a nice 4 head Dado kit (I have never seen these on eBay). These are about the best focusable sources that I have ever used. Love them, but the prices are scary.
 
HorseFilms is right about the Hot Spots caused by handling. The first time a lamp explodes on you, will make you heed his warning!!!!!
 
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