Lamps....EGG, EHG, FEL????

[KaR356i]

I am the M.E. at a summer theater, got here a few weeks ago and it was a complete disaster! All is well now, but I have some questions. It's been several years since I've seen any old altman instruments. After organizing all the lamps, I noticed that the EHG, EGG, and FEL's all looked nearly identical, and when I started replacing lamps in the altman 6x9, 6x12, and 6x16, there is NO consistancy! This may be a rediculous question, but are these lamps the same? (they were all the same wattage at least). Or was someone putting the wrong lamps in those instruments before I got here? The instruments are VERY old, but I'm about to go searching online for info on them anyways... Just thought some of you may know!

Thanks!

[JD]

The FEL is 1000 watts, the other two are 750 watts. As long as the fixture can handel a 1000 watt lamp, then all 3 will work, but with dif outputs.

[KaR356i]

well, I'm having lamps blow every couple of days, which isn't all that common for me, so I wondered if the wrong lamps weren't in those instruments. Understand that there was NO documentation whatsoever when I got here, and these instruments are so old that the only way I was able to identify them was because the 6x9, etc., is spray painted on the barrels! I've checked the lamp housing, cable, and connector, and all is fine there. I don't KNOW what the instruments are rated for, and I can't seem to find them on the altman website.

Thanks!

[JD]

When they blow, are the bulbs bubbling out and breaking? if so, the lamps may be running too hot in the fixture. This can be caused by; over wattage, closed ventilation, something in the gobo slot blocking light, shutters too tight, or a dull reflector. I would think a 6x9 should be able to handle 750 watts. Another possibility is that someone "converted" the fixtures to fit the lamps. If they were not designed for the lamp, and the LCL for the filament is wrong, then you have a real problem.

[KaR356i]

nope, they aren't bubbling or breaking- just get black inside. it could be that the lamps are old too, and they weren't taken care of or stored well AT ALL. Anyway, I have to order some more lamps, so I wanted to make sure to order the correct ones!!

thanks!

[JD]

Black eh? If they were getting white inside I would suspect air leakage caused by mistreatment. Age should not affect the lamp. I have some 20 year old FEL's I came across buried deep in a box, they worked fine. Black would indicate overheat as well. The Halogen cycle only works if the lamp gets to deposit the tungsten back on the filament. If they run too hot, more is evaporating then can get redeposited. It then collects on the envelope, which only makes the problem worse as less heat gets out of the lamp. Soon you have a runaway situation and the lamps then fails. Something is going on that is making them run too hot.

[Erimac]

Not sure if this will help or not but we have some old radial and axial 6x9's etc here. We lamp the radial's with EGG and the axial's with EHG 750w. We don't use 'em that often so most of our lamps are pretty old and we haven't had any problems...

[wolf825]

Originally Posted by KaR356i

nope, they aren't bubbling or breaking- just get black inside. it could be that the lamps are old too, and they weren't taken care of or stored well AT ALL. Anyway, I have to order some more lamps, so I wanted to make sure to order the correct ones!!
thanks!

Odd question--you said you were at a summer theater and everything was a disaster...are these in an outdoor or open-air venue? Also--are these new lamps you just purchased or are these lamps they had in stock from who knows when? If so--where did they store them (i.e. in a climate contreolled area or were the exposed to temperature during the winter like in a shed or something? Finally--have you checked the reflectors and caps in the fixtures to see what shape they are in--if they are clouded, dirty or discolored or blocked, this could effect the light & focus off the reflector--and focus some of the reflected light back onto the source and thus over-heat or tax the lamp and cause the failure... Moisture/condensation is also an issue in an outdoor venues, during humid or rainy months or when you are in a venue that is not climate controlled very well--are you preheating your lamps at 5% before using the light at full?? FWIW it sounds like a big thing could be you have old lamps that have been around a while and a new batch would probably fix a lot of your problems...


also--EGG lamps are for the non-axial units and the FEL 1ks and EHG 750's are for your standard Axials...
-w

[SteveB]

Originally Posted by wolf825

also--EGG lamps are for the non-axial units and the FEL 1ks and EHG 750's are for your standard Axials...
-w

Also, the EGG is a medium pre-focus base, common to the Altman 360 ellipsoidal - the type with an angled chimney on the top of the reflector.

The EHG and FEL are medium 2 pins bases common to fixtures with axial reflectors and chimneys.

EGG style and EHG/FEL lamps are not interchangable.

SB

[Lightingguy32]

Originally Posted by KaR356i

I am the M.E. at a summer theater, got here a few weeks ago and it was a complete disaster! All is well now, but I have some questions. It's been several years since I've seen any old altman instruments. After organizing all the lamps, I noticed that the EHG, EGG, and FEL's all looked nearly identical, and when I started replacing lamps in the altman 6x9, 6x12, and 6x16, there is NO consistancy! This may be a rediculous question, but are these lamps the same? (they were all the same wattage at least). Or was someone putting the wrong lamps in those instruments before I got here? The instruments are VERY old, but I'm about to go searching online for info on them anyways... Just thought some of you may know!
Thanks!

An EHG is a 750w/120v standard Altman 360Q lamp for the older versions of the fixture
The EGG is a 750w/120v for the old altman 360 (incandescent fixture) and cannot be used interchangeably with a EHG

The FEL is not to be used in a 360Q, since the max rating is 750 regardless what generation fixture you have. If you use the FEL, one word of caution: DO NOT HAVE IT NEAR ANYTHING FLAMMABLE. Also I believe that using an FEL voids the warranty