750W Lamp in a Strand SL?

[techieman33]

Has anyone lamped an sl with a 750w lamp? We mainly have strand leko lites, fixed and zooms, but there are a few sl's and a couple of shakespeares too. The sl's and shakes have glc's right now, I know the shakes will take a 750 lamp, but the sl's are only spec'd at 575w. Has anyone put a 750 in one? They need all the help they can get to compete with the fel's in everything else.

 

[Les]

Well, you can, but you shouldn't. The SL is only rated for 575w, and keep in mind that 575 -> 750 is a fairly significant jump if the fixture isn't designed for it.

Aside from the potential of improperly sized wiring in the SL, the reflectors are also very thin. I have encountered many which have hairline cracks or are completely split in half (and this is just with 575w lamps). Unless you're willing to crack reflectors and have a very hard time locating replacements, I wouldn't go with 750w lamps. Lenses may also crack. The SL seems to have poor heat management as it is. Besides, anything higher than 575w will void the UL listing.

Maybe you should lamp everything else down . Unless you have really long throws, 1,000w is rarely necessary.

 

[techieman33]

Well, you can, but you shouldn't. The SL is only rated for 575w, and keep in mind that 575 -> 750 is a fairly significant jump if the fixture isn't designed for it.

Aside from the potential of improperly sized wiring in the SL, the reflectors are also very thin. I have encountered many which have hairline cracks or are completely split in half (and this is just with 575w lamps). Unless you're willing to crack reflectors and have a very hard time locating replacements, I wouldn't go with 750w lamps. Lenses may also crack. The SL seems to have poor heat management as it is. Besides, anything higher than 575w will void the UL listing.

Maybe you should lamp everything else down . Unless you have really long throws, 1,000w is rarely necessary.

Thanks, that was what I thought, but figured it was worth a shot to see if anyone has tried it and gotten away with it.

 

[derekleffew]

...They need all the help they can get to compete with the fel's in everything else.

Just put the FELs in your SLs, and the GLCs in everything else.

 

[techieman33]

Just put the FELs in your SLs, and the GLCs in everything else.

**** why didn't I think of that, it would solve all of my problems. Not to mention all the cost savings from replacing a $12 fel with a $24 something or other. (the 750w lamp I found in the shakespeare manual doesn't even have an ansi code, but it's supposed to be 21,500 lumens, most of the other 750's are under 20,000. So well see, it it works at least we can put it in the shakespeares and replace the fel's in the 360q's.

 

[phenry]

You will likely crack the reflector, and possibly the lens depending on which position is it in. In general, there is a reason the ratings are set where they are, best not to exceed it.

 

[DELO72]

**** why didn't I think of that, it would solve all of my problems. Not to mention all the cost savings from replacing a $12 fel with a $24 something or other. (the 750w lamp I found in the shakespeare manual doesn't even have an ansi code, but it's supposed to be 21,500 lumens, most of the other 750's are under 20,000. So well see, it it works at least we can put it in the shakespeares and replace the fel's in the 360q's.

A couple of things:

-- The 750W lamp's ANSI code is GLD (long-life version is GLE).

-- Yes, don't ever over-lamp a fixture. They specify maximum wattage based on the rating of the socket and wire (and also what heat the reflector can handle). If you over-lamp the fixture you could cause fire (worst-case scenario), ruin the socket, or char the reflector. (or a combination of all three). In some cases you can change the socket and lead wires to a better socket with a higher wattage/temp. rating, but you should always check with the manufacturer first as the rest of the fixture (reflector) might still not be able to handle it.

-- FELs are over-rated. They put out the most lumens (27,000), but most of that is put out as heat as the filament is far bigger than the optics allow for, so often times it is not collected well in the reflector and as a result you get only a portion of that actually coming out the front lens. You are almost always much better off putting in a lamp with a smaller coil box like a GLC or FLK. (Or GLD). I think you'll find you get as much light or more out of a newer fixture with a 750W GLD than you do with a 1000W FEL in it.