Using lights, voltage, outlets, etc.

Dutchboy

Dutchboy

I'll be using my lights for about a week straight and I'm concerned about plugging them directly into a household/commercial outlet. The first time I used one of my lights the bulb exploded and I was told it might have been the outlet that caused it?

If this is the problem, is it a surge protector I need to invest in?
 
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The first time I used one of my lights the bulb exploded and I was told it might have been the outlet that caused it?
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I'd say it's more likely that you got your slimey paws all over the glass bulb. :)

If you installed or changed the bulbs with your bare & dirty hands, oil from your skin can get on the glass and create hot-spots which will break the bulb.

Or maybe the bulb itself was just faulty from the manufacture.

It's possible that the wiring is faulty somehow - but much less likely.

One thing to keep in mind is to spread the load, so that all the lights aren't pulling from the same fuse. Sure, you might figure that it's okay mathematically, and it might well be - 'til someone plugs in something extra & unexpected. (Like a hairdryer) It'll only throw or trip a fuse, but it can be a right royal pita and will always happen at the worst possible time.
 
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it almost invariably is finger oil.

I train a LOT of newbies in theatre. lights with finger oil on them EXPLODE. violently. depending on the wattage and how much oil it can happen after one month or 30 seconds.
 
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Yup. Fingerprints. All the heat concentrates in one area and... pop! Wipe the bulbs with a microfiber cloth before turning on.
 
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FYI, you can run up to 1500w of lights on an unused household circuit (15amp)... but it can't have anything on it yet. That would blow the circuit though, not the light.

V*A=W
household = 110V
110W = 1A @ 110V
to find amps, divide W by V

Standard Household circuit = 15A
Never exceed 90%, 85% for real safety - nothing kills a shoot faster than having to reset the circuit breaker in the dark and having to relight the scene to fix the overloading of the circuit
Code: 
[U]Watts | Amps[/U]
40    | 0.36
60    | 0.55
100   | 0.91
250   | 2.27
300   | 2.72
350   | 3.18
500   | 4.55
650   | 5.91
800   | 7.27
1000  | 9.10

Just add the values to get a circuit total
 
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Sounds like finger oil as everyone pointed out.
I always divide the lights on separate circuits- a college prof. of mine told a story of how the circuits were loaded for a long shoot and after the shot ended the house burned down-seems the wiring insulation melted (incorrect wire guage?) from the long day of being run loaded beyond the wiring capacity, but within range for the circuit breaker. My point is that you never know what may be inside the walls, especially in ares where zoning laws are lax.
Divide them if you can....and keep the fingers off the bulb and the screens on the lights just in case.

Jeff
www.thej-rod.com
 
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