Large PAR (46/56/64) lamps

DELO72

Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,

This is sort of a heads up that as of this month OSRAM is intending to discontinue our Large PAR lamps. I originally planned to write a long, 3-page explanation of the history behind our decision, and explain the changes in manufacturing and the lengthy reasons behind it. But that kind of "overly-honest" letter would likely result in my upsetting lawyers or management at my company, who prefer brevity and lack of details. So I'll keep this short.

Please understand that we do not take this decision lightly, or by choice. Our hand was forced by our inability to find a factory or manufacturing partner that could consistently manufacture the lamps to our specification and quality requirements. We spent 4 years trying. Making large PAR lamps apparently IS rocket science. I say this with all seriousness because one of my colleagues in the office was formerly a process engineer at Sylvania's PAR factory in Kentucky years ago, and he has an Aerospace Engineering degree (iow- he's a rocket scientist), and he admitted that they are probably one of the hardest (if oldest) lamp types to manufacture consistently.

We've initiated a voluntary recall of all Large PAR lamps that we have had made in China since Nov. of 2016. Previous to that the PARs were all made in the USA (or AluPAR in Mexico and Germany) and those are fine.

Q: Why don't we go back to making them in the USA?
A: That factory was closed and the possibility (and machinery) no longer exists.

Q: Why don't we bring back the AluPAR?
A: When we discontinued that line a few years back, apparently the machinery was scrapped or sold off. That option also no longer exists.

Q: What do I do about my existing fixtures?
A: I wish I could tell you what to do. I honestly don't know. Perhaps look into ETC Source Four PAR fixtures? Or replace them with newer, LED fixtures? All I know is that we can't make the lamps anymore, and we have no way of bringing these kinds of lamps back to the market at this time. We wish we could. Again, this isn't a decision we chose, so much as one that was forced upon us.

Q: How do I find out more about this recall you mention above?
A: It will be posted on our website (www.osram.us) and/or you can contact us at 1-855-865-9271 or by email [email protected] for details and instructions how to participate in it.

Q: I'm really angry about this! Who can I yell at?
A: Anyone but me. I've been dealing with the frustration over these for the past 4 years now. If you think you (or your customer) are upset, try multiplying that by a factor of 10, and you'll be almost where I am.


Sincerely,

Mark

ps. Please don't use this thread to vent at me/us. I just wanted a post to try and explain the situation.
 
So what does that mean for the other manufacturers selling these, like GE LL Platinum and all the others.

Did they not hold the same standard?

Was the investment of creating new machinery more than the ROR?

What base did y’all use that can’t be used by other lamps?

Curiosity really you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.

And that sucks hopefully you vent enough not to slip at a corporate meeting.
 
So what does that mean for the other manufacturers selling these, like GE LL Platinum and all the others.

Did they not hold the same standard?

Was the investment of creating new machinery more than the ROR?

What base did y’all use that can’t be used by other lamps?

Curiosity really you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.

And that sucks hopefully you vent enough not to slip at a corporate meeting.

GE stopped producing par lamps a while back as well.
 
It is a sign of the times.

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone want a nice Par 64 120k rig?
@cbrandt With or without lamps?? The value may be in the C clamps and male connectors. How much are you paying to take it / them off your hands??
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Sylvannia is done. GE is done. Osram is done. They're expensive to buy and to operate (electricity and cooling). BulbAmerica still has them for now, but who knows who they use as a MFG Vendor?

I got rid of all of ours years ago.
 
My boss says that there isn't enough demand outside of the entertainment industry to keep these lamps profitable. I know some local venues that have a large PAR 64 inventory. I guess an ETC Source 4 Par would the easiest drop-in replacement but it would be quite a few fixtures to replace for some people.
 
Good excuse to replace with LED. Move on.

Agreed, it’s just a matter of time before the rest of the lamps we use start to be phased out. GE has already completely pulled out of the market. Osram and the others will probably follow sooner or later. Anything other than maybe HPLs will just keep getting harder to get. And by the time you buy all new s4 pars and and all that goes with them it’s not that big of a stretch financially to just buy LEDs.
 
If you have a large inventory of PARs then going to LEDs is nice, however it normally requires modifications to control and power systems as well. There is usually an associated down-time.
 
My boss says that there isn't enough demand outside of the entertainment industry to keep these lamps profitable. I know some local venues that have a large PAR 64 inventory. I guess an ETC Source 4 Par would the easiest drop-in replacement but it would be quite a few fixtures to replace for some people.

I replaced my PAR64 units about 10-12 years ago with S4 Pars. We then received last May another 90 S4’s with the new building. And subsequently 52 ETC D60’s and 24 ColorSource Pars.

In the past 7 mos, and 7 shows, not one S4 Par was used. The last show used an incandescent lamp on a wall sconce. That was it for incandescent.

I feel for Sylvania/OSRAM, but I will likely never again use any of the 48 PAR64’s we keep in storage.
 
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I’m about to do the proposal to our new Facilities head about what’s involved in updating our house lighting system to screw-in LED lamps. Upgrade to the Sensor, new Paradigm system, as well as a boat load of 40w (440 total) and 150w PS lamps (220 total).

No choice, no problem, when in 5 years the incandescent lamps are no longer manufactured and thentheater slowly gets darker and darker.....
 
I replaced my PAR64 units about 10-12 years ago with S4 Pars. We then received another 90 S4’s with the new building. And subsequently 52 ETC D60’s and 24 ColorSource Pars.

In the past 7 mos, and 7 shows, not one S4 Par was used. The last show used an incandescent lamp on a wall sconce. That was it for incandescent.

I feel for Sylvania/OSRAM, but I will likely never again use any of the 48 PAR64’s we keep in storage.
@SteveB Possibly a future production will come along wanting the historic look of a 1980's touring rock concert? Possibly a ZZTop revival show?? (Or you could drop a hint with the Donald that 48 experienced PAR 64's would improve his ratings.)
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
@SteveB Possibly a future production will come along wanting the historic look of a 1980's touring rock concert? Possibly a ZZTop revival show?? (Or you could drop a hint with the Donald that 48 experienced PAR 64's would improve his ratings.)
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

The obnoxious band with a "reality" TV show insists on incandescent PAR fixtures for the drummer, in fact he likes the "bake until medium-well done" heat from them. I fired myself from doing their shows because... well, if I say it I could be sued... so.... I "just say no."
 

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