Smoking Source Four jr?

[HOHSIS]

It seems like common sense to me that conventional fixtures need to burn off dust and such the first time they're used, but generally how long does this take and how much smoke should I expect? I turned on my new S4 jr today with the aim of letting it run for about an hour to project a gobo for an event (I had only tested it for quick tests until now, ~5 minutes or so) and after it was running for about 10 minutes I started to see smoke coming out the barrel. About 5 minutes later it started smoking significantly more, so I shut it off since this was an indoor venue and I didn't want to accidentally set off a smoke detector. How much smoke should I expect to see from the barrel and how long should it last?

As a side note, I took out the gobo after it cooled down and saw that it had darkened significantly in the center of the pattern. Is this to be expected? It's not burnt as in metal is flaking off, but it has darkened significantly. Here's a a picture of the gobo:

 

[Les]

You mention that it's a new fixture -- is it brand new? If so, that's normal and should subside after a few hours of use. This is called the burn-in period. It shouldn't be too severe but it can be enough to be alarming.

 

[derekleffew]

Is the smoke coming from the light or the gobo? Try running the fixture without the gobo and with all shutters pulled out.

Teach the jr. to make better choices.

 

[Scenemaster60]

DId you bench focus the fixture before you put the gobo in?
Was the gobo new?
Given the way that gobo looks I would guess that the lamp is pretty far forward in the reflector.
The smoking could be new instrument "burn-in", it could also be new gobo "burn-in".
Like Derek said, try using it for a while with no gobo and see what happens.

 

[de27192]

We took delivery of a few hundred brand new PAR cans for a show a few months ago, and rigged them all to burn them in over the lunch hour when nobody was in the theatre.

You can see the smoke coming off the bars, but the general haziness in the air is not a poor photo or a dusty room... that is smoke too. There was quite a lot of smoke.

 

[theatricalmatt]

Templates will often get a brown, crispy spot depending on how the unit is bench-focused. You should check that the unit has a flat field without the template in. You might find that the projected image looks better with the bench focus shifted slightly.

The template looks very yellow. Is that how they're made these days?

 

[Kelite]

I'm guessing it's a brass gobo from our friends at N&N-

 

[Fountain Of Euph]

Just burned in 8 new S4s. Had a heated discussion with a stage manager who though I was going to burn the space down.

 

[de27192]

Just burned in 8 new S4s. Had a heated discussion with a stage manager who though I was going to burn the space down.

 

[Fountain Of Euph]

That certainly lightened things up

 

[JD]

We took delivery of a few hundred brand new PAR cans for a show a few months ago, and rigged them all to burn them in over the lunch hour when nobody was in the theatre.

You can see the smoke coming off the bars, but the general haziness in the air is not a poor photo or a dusty room... that is smoke too. There was quite a lot of smoke.

Wow! Haven't seen that much smoke since the day they legalized pot!
I have to think that some of the new chemical mixes in paint are more prone to smoke than the stuff they used in the 70s and 80s. I never remember cans smoking like tobacco when new.
Regarding the OP, it is worth noting that a metal gobo always caused the fixture to run hotter then if the gate was empty as it blocks one of the routes that usually allows heat to escape. So, new fixture with a high % blockage gobo = more than the normal smoke.

 

[Brandon Merkle]

...I hope you patched things up later.

 

[Fountain Of Euph]

Just curious, what were the par cans for?

 

[HOHSIS]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I took out the gobo and let it run for about a half hour, and eventually it stopped smoking. I put the gobo back in, and about a minute after doing so it started smoking a lot more than before. I took the gobo out, and it stopped. I'm worried it may be burning through the gobo - should I expect the gobo to need to be burned in as well? I'm hesitant to do this inside as I don't want to end up setting up the smoke alarm.

EDIT: Yes, I did bench focus it

 

[gafftaper]

As was mentioned, it sounds like the lamp isn't properly focused. Make sure you have the field as flat as possible.

Or
Its the brass gobo. I've never used one and don't know anything about the burn in on them.

 

[RideTheSquirrel]

Is the smoke coming from the light or the gobo? Try running the fixture without the gobo and with all shutters pulled out.

Teach the jr. to make better choices.

Hahaha. I lold at this right in the middle of a Sitzprobe. Haha

 

[de27192]

Wow! Haven't seen that much smoke since the day they legalized pot!
I have to think that some of the new chemical mixes in paint are more prone to smoke than the stuff they used in the 70s and 80s. I never remember cans smoking like tobacco when new.

I am inclined to agree, we burned in 200 regular PAR64s, and 200 Source 4 PARs. Now that James Thomas are no more, the PARs were a cheaper brand. The Source 4 PARs of course are much more expensive. I'm sure it will not surprise you to learn the amount of smoke from the PAR64s was significantly more than the S4Ps.

Just curious, what were the par cans for?

How exactly do you mean? They were used for lighting the stage...

 

[derekleffew]

Now that James Thomas are no more

Huh? http://jthomaseng.info/

Stupid press release at http://www.milosgroup.com/News/James-Thomas-Engineering-joins-TOMCAT-in-Milos-Gro/ isn't dated:

As part of the Milos Group, and falling under the TOMCAT banner, JTE will continue to manufacture the same high quality “Made in the USA” products that industry professionals have relied upon for more than 35 years.

EDIT: http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/james-thomas-engineering-sold-to-milos-group.36406/ , October 2014.

 

[de27192]

This is a fairly recent thing... the folding of JTE's UK division though is what affects us as we buy through the UK not the US. Their UK operation has - at least in terms of lighting - completely wrapped up.

 

[derekleffew]

Well, that's sad to hear. After all, James Thomas Engineering (JTE) invented the spun aluminum PAR can in 1977.