Safety screens in Par-cans
- Thread starterDustincoc
- Start date
Note that there's no problem touching PAR lamps, which have a quartz envelope inside the outer glass enclosure. It's a good practice to wear clean cotton, or non-powdered latex, gloves when changing any T/H, M/H, HMI, or Xenon lamp. Even if one wears gloves, if the globe comes with a packet of "alcohol pre-moistened towelette", USE IT to thoroughly clean the glass surface of any contaminants, whether one has touched the envelope or not.
Hah... now, for us, safety screens are the safety hazard! In the middle of a rehearsal for the school play, the screen from a wash light (with the aforementioned T3 bulb) fell down, melted through the gel, and proceeded to fall onto stage. Luckily, it hit nobody, but if it had, it would have been a big problem. Lawsuit, anyone?
PAR64 safety wire mesh - needed for sealed PARs?
Hi,
anyone familiar with what kind of wire mesh shield is required in a PAR64 when a sealed beam lamp (the "classical" par lamps) is used in it?
For Raylight reflectors with the open halogen bulbs installed, obviously a shield is necessary. But with sealed reflector lamps? Can those shatter too when the actual bulb inside it pops?
I'm asking because it's actually this shield nowadays included with any PAR 64 can that starts smoking when using VNSP lamps. Removing this could save quite some hassle here and provide quite a bit more of light (some meshes really have a catastrophic "opening ratio")
Thanks..
belford.
Hi,
anyone familiar with what kind of wire mesh shield is required in a PAR64 when a sealed beam lamp (the "classical" par lamps) is used in it?
For Raylight reflectors with the open halogen bulbs installed, obviously a shield is necessary. But with sealed reflector lamps? Can those shatter too when the actual bulb inside it pops?
I'm asking because it's actually this shield nowadays included with any PAR 64 can that starts smoking when using VNSP lamps. Removing this could save quite some hassle here and provide quite a bit more of light (some meshes really have a catastrophic "opening ratio")
Thanks..
belford.
JD
Well-Known Member
Re: PAR64 safety wire mesh - needed for sealed PARs?
PAR64 lamps do shatter and in some cases with violence. We have actually had debates here on how often this happens. Some of us have never had it happen, others have horror stories about them. Better to have a smoking screen then hot glass shards plummeting down on performers or the audience. As for the screen itself, looks like coarse hardware mesh spot welded to the inside of the case.
PAR64 lamps do shatter and in some cases with violence. We have actually had debates here on how often this happens. Some of us have never had it happen, others have horror stories about them. Better to have a smoking screen then hot glass shards plummeting down on performers or the audience. As for the screen itself, looks like coarse hardware mesh spot welded to the inside of the case.
Les
Well-Known Member
Re: PAR64 safety wire mesh - needed for sealed PARs?
It's rare, but I've seen it happen a couple of times. The lamp split right down the middle (of the lens, not the seam) in a scalloped pattern. The wire mesh kept several huge chunks of hot glass from raining on the stage. Even with the mesh, some small shards made it through, but luckily this was a worklight, and it was during a focus call when very few people were on stage.
The smokescreen (see what I did there?
) will probably subside after a while, since what you are probably seeing is paint burning off. I wouldn't worry about it too much... Hey, free haze!
It's rare, but I've seen it happen a couple of times. The lamp split right down the middle (of the lens, not the seam) in a scalloped pattern. The wire mesh kept several huge chunks of hot glass from raining on the stage. Even with the mesh, some small shards made it through, but luckily this was a worklight, and it was during a focus call when very few people were on stage.
The smokescreen (see what I did there?
) will probably subside after a while, since what you are probably seeing is paint burning off. I wouldn't worry about it too much... Hey, free haze!
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Re: PAR64 safety wire mesh - needed for sealed PARs?
The safety screen was invented for a PAR can not for ray light lamps - a later invention but for PAR lamps. Got it a bit revesed. Imagine should one of these front lenses fail and fall. This in large pieces it falling from a great height over audience or the tallent. Safety screen won't catch such small pieces a failed DYS lamp is going to be if it explodes, it's going to catch the larger more dangerous and heavier pieces of a lens that a PAR 64 lamp in failing might allow to fall in perhaps killing someone.
The safety screen was invented for a PAR can not for ray light lamps - a later invention but for PAR lamps. Got it a bit revesed. Imagine should one of these front lenses fail and fall. This in large pieces it falling from a great height over audience or the tallent. Safety screen won't catch such small pieces a failed DYS lamp is going to be if it explodes, it's going to catch the larger more dangerous and heavier pieces of a lens that a PAR 64 lamp in failing might allow to fall in perhaps killing someone.
Michael S. Drury
Member
I'm probably incorrect about ray lights. Given it's a reflector installed into a stock can, if PAR 48 or larger in size, it probably also has a safety screen if modern.
Way back when, when the concept of safet screen came out, pre-screen cans used to have 1/2" hardware cloth bent and added between the yoke bolts for securing. Wasn't a good plan but something. 2K x 16" scoops had a 1" chicken wire gel frame for a safety screen. This might be an idea!
Given you cannot modify the gear, are there extra gel frames for the PAR can's about as normal? How about a gel frame with 1/4 or 1/2" hardware cloth installed with the normal color gel frame? If 500w lamps, this might work.
Way back when, when the concept of safet screen came out, pre-screen cans used to have 1/2" hardware cloth bent and added between the yoke bolts for securing. Wasn't a good plan but something. 2K x 16" scoops had a 1" chicken wire gel frame for a safety screen. This might be an idea!
Given you cannot modify the gear, are there extra gel frames for the PAR can's about as normal? How about a gel frame with 1/4 or 1/2" hardware cloth installed with the normal color gel frame? If 500w lamps, this might work.
