my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » Smelly Xenon + Failure

Author Topic: Smelly Xenon + Failure Michael Harlow Expert Film Handler Posts: 170 From: Faversham, Kent, UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 09-06-2003 10:25 AM                     Ok, well i'm still new to this xenon thing, only having used them for 3 odd years, but recently i have had an Osram XBO2000W smelling like fish. We were running on about 70A with a good light, then today after 810 hours it didn't want to light. A replacement has been put in and no smell! any ideas why we only got 800hrs and what the smell was. We have an Irem N3 power supply and a peerless magnarc conversion. Ta!  |  IP: Logged Pete Naples Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1565 From: Dunfermline, Scotland Registered: Feb 2001 posted 09-06-2003 10:37 AM                     Like Fish? Could be that a seal has failed and you're smelling the Xenon gas. The only smell usually associated with xenon lamps is the smell of hot metal from the lamphouse, maybe hot dust if the equipment isn't kept clean or hasn't been used in a while, and the slight puff of ozone as the lamp strikes, ozone smells like photocopiers/laser printers. Not fishy.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 09-06-2003 10:55 AM                     Well, since the lamp is sealed, you wouldn't be able to smell anything inside it, so the most likely cause of a smell would be some form of surface contaminition of the quartz envelope of the lamp, e.g. by grease from fingers, or dust, but I wouldn't expect these to cause the lamp to fail to strike, unless they led to an explosion, nor to smell like fish, unless you were cooking some fish for your dinner inside the lamphouse! My best guess would be that some form of contamination, local overheating, or manufacturing fault caused failure of one of the seals, and the lamp lost pressure. What did the lamp, envelope and electrodes, look like when removed? Was there any discolouration, blackening, cloudiness etc? I don't like xenons, they have improved vastly since the days of the old BTH three electrode things, but they still make me very nervous, I'm much happier working with carbons. You haven't still got any left over carbons you want to sell, have you?  |  IP: Logged Michael Harlow Expert Film Handler Posts: 170 From: Faversham, Kent, UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 09-06-2003 11:04 AM                     The lamp looked brand new when it was removed. No carbons at present, but i may find some, you never know  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 09-06-2003 11:56 AM                        Xenon is an inert, ODORLESS gas. Contamination on the lamp could cause an odor as it gets hot.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 09-06-2003 12:09 PM                     Smells like fish...it's tempting but I won't say it.  |  IP: Logged Travis Hubrig Expert Film Handler Posts: 175 From: Minot ND, USA Registered: May 2003 posted 09-07-2003 12:54 AM                     Last time my booth smelled like fish...  |  IP: Logged Ron Yost Master Film Handler Posts: 344 From: Paso Robles, CA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 09-07-2003 01:09 AM                     Me either. Ron Yost  |  IP: Logged John Anastasio Master Film Handler Posts: 325 From: Trenton, NJ, USA Registered: Sep 2000 posted 09-07-2003 07:47 AM                        Check to find out if that's the sole lamphouse that stinks, just for the halibut.  |  IP: Logged Sam Hunter Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 779 From: West Monroe, LA, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 09-07-2003 12:56 PM                     Sumpings FISHY about this thread  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-07-2003 01:33 PM                     Probably the seal blew while the lamp was not running. Had that happen once, the bulb was cooling down after a run and I heard something like a windy fart without any vibrations. I tried lighting the lamp, no go. The bulb looked perfect. Replaced and aligned the bulb and started the next show. As far as the fishy smell is concerned, maybe it was some wiring fried (although I don't know of too much wiring that smells like fish) or someone was pulling a prank on you.  |  IP: Logged Jon Bartow Master Film Handler Posts: 287 From: Massachusetts Registered: Nov 1999 posted 09-07-2003 05:31 PM                     Someone posted that they or someone they knew had left an unopened can of beans is a lamphouse to warm it up and it had exploded. Perhaps someone left a fish in the lamphouse?  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-07-2003 06:49 PM                     Jon, with some of today's operators in the booth, anything is possible.  |  IP: Logged Michael Harlow Expert Film Handler Posts: 170 From: Faversham, Kent, UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 09-18-2003 03:31 PM                     Ok, well thanks lads, the problem has been found, mainly becuase our new lamp decided that it didn't want to light anymore. The Irem Strike unit in the back of the lamphouse decided to fail on us Problem solved i guess.....  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-18-2003 07:09 PM                     Is it still common practice for projectionists to warm their dinner in the lamphouse?  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.