500 watt halogen floodlights

[Kevin54]

Do they not make the bulbs to last in these things? I have an old one that still has the original bulb in it. I bought a new double headed trouble light with two 500 watt halogens on it, and the bulbs lasted two weeks before they blew out the end. I have three on the house that are brand new and bulbs may last a month. The old one in on the same circuit and has lasted for years. I even bought rough service bulbs and they are no better than the regular bulbs. Most of the bulbs when they blow, will blow out on one end or the other. Anyone else have problems with them?

 

[turbodave]

Those halogen bulbs get hot and oils from your fingers can shorten their life. Make sure to wear gloves or handle them with a rag when installing.

 

[Kevin54]

Those halogen bulbs get hot and oils from your fingers can shorten their life. Make sure to wear gloves or handle them with a rag when installing.

I always have a clean glove on and or have a clean paper towel. I've never touched the bulbs with my fingers. I do know that the salt and oils will shorten the lifespan, or is supposed to.

 

[G_P]

Always wipe the bulb down with rubbing alcohol or a similar solvent before installing them. Who knows what may have touched them or got on them before they were packaged.

 

[Kevin54]

Always wipe the bulb down with rubbing alcohol or a similar solvent before installing them. Who knows what may have touched them or got on them before they were packaged.

Now that I don't do, and never really gave that a thought. There are probably dozens of fingerprints on them from the factory.

 

[Norcal]

If you buy cheap ChiCom lamps, do not expect much, if the bulb is accidentally touched, use alcohol to clean it as skin oils will shorten the life.


My policy is never use off breed brands like Feit, Lights of America, Westinghouse (old stock made by Westinghouse before they sold their lamp division 30+ years ago excepted), name brands will use is Phillips, Osram/ Sylvania, and with some exceptions, GE, and in the case of HID lamps, Venture Lighting, & EYE (Iwasaki lighting).

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I clean the bulbs with naphtha. Those bulbs like to be level and horizontal. If you're not level, the upper end tends to blow. Also, blowing at the end is sometimes caused by bad contact. I clean the contacts now and then. Use good bulbs, too, rated for 2000 hours or better. I have two fixtures on my house and have only replaced 2 or 3 bulbs in over 20 years. Even then, They didn't blow out. I use dimmers and the bulbs turn black when you dim them for extended periods. The bulb doesn't run hot enough so the vaporized tungsten does not redposit on the filament. That's why the glass turns black.

Tommy

 

[yeldogt]

Most are from china -- they don't have the same robust filaments or internal supports as the german bulbs. None of them like to be banged around -- I use them in a two touchers -- they last as long as any other bulb. The 250w are better in the mobile lights -- and the light output is still very high. The 500w get dangerously hot

 

[BADSIX]

you might check out the LED fixtures, they look the same only they are LED. we use them were I work on the rear deck of ocean going tugs. we have some that have been in service over 2 years and still working good.
Jay D.

 

[kbs2244]

I have two hooked up to my garage door opener.
High on the wall and out of the way.
Both came with a spare bulb that is zip tied to the lamp in a sandwich bag.
In 10 years only one bulb went bad.
After I replaced it I bought a spare that I have not used.
When I replaced the bulb I did soak a paper towel in rubbing alcohol and only touched the bulb with it.

 

[ishiboo]

Sometimes it's the cheap fixtures. I have a few mounted on my barn that will kill a bulb in a few hours. Seems they are too lose, which causes resistance between the bulb and the contact that heats up to kill the bulb.

I've tried rough service bulbs, quality bulbs, cheap bulbs, etc... they all die a short death.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any LED replacements. I have the LED honeywell 40W on the side and I like it, but I need a lot more than that for work lights outside.

 

[rockwithjason]

I know a distributor for led replacements. Contact me if you are interested

 

[SARG]

I have two of those jewels hooked into my garage door openers and the bulbs seem to be lasting for now. I also have at least a half dozen spare bulbs. When I finally use them up I'll be changing over to LED floodlight kits I bought.