Conventional Fixtures What to do with flaking Source 4 Reflectors?

[Michael Sperber]

I'm doing maintenance on some fixtures in a small space, and a few of our older Source 4s have flaking reflectors.

My question is, what do you all normally do when you encounter such an instrument? Replacing the reflectors is somewhat of a luxury that may happen slowly over time, but until then I am leaning towards marking the defective units and holding them as last-resort spares.

How much of a drop-off in intensity can I expect from a small (< 1/4") ring of flaked-off reflector? Is there any sort of ghetto-rig/fix for the flaking problem?

 

[SteveB]

I'm doing maintenance on some fixtures in a small space, and a few of our older Source 4s have flaking reflectors.

My question is, what do you all normally do when you encounter such an instrument? Replacing the reflectors is somewhat of a luxury that may happen slowly over time, but until then I am leaning towards marking the defective units and holding them as last-resort spares.

How much of a drop-off in intensity can I expect from a small (< 1/4") ring of flaked-off reflector? Is there any sort of ghetto-rig/fix for the flaking problem?

Depending on the vintage, have you called ETC or your local dealer and inquired about a warranty replacement ?. Other then that I've never heard of any magic fix other then breaking out the old one and installing a new one.

 

[Michael Sperber]

Depending on the vintage, have you called ETC or your local dealer and inquired about a warranty replacement ?. Other then that I've never heard of any magic fix other then breaking out the old one and installing a new one.

The fixtures that this is happening with are all over 15 years old, so I doubt that I can get a warranty replacement. What's your experience with the intensity dropoff from a flaking reflector? I was benching some that had some minor flaking, and I didn't notice much of a difference.

What I will probably do is mark the fixtures with flaking reflectors based on how bad it is, and I will simply save those as spares.

 

[JD]

Oxide and graying kills the output a lot more then flaking. Luckily, S4s don't gray out too much. Of course, if enough flakes off, the output will visibly drop. Reflectors can be changed and it is a lot cheaper to change them then buy a new S4, so you ride it out. When it gets bad enough, then it's hammer time. It took 15 years to get to this stage, and as far as I know, the decay does not speed up once the flaking starts, so you probably have a good deal of time.

 

[Wood4321]

I'm doing maintenance on some fixtures in a small space, and a few of our older Source 4s have flaking reflectors.

My question is, what do you all normally do when you encounter such an instrument? Replacing the reflectors is somewhat of a luxury that may happen slowly over time, but until then I am leaning towards marking the defective units and holding them as last-resort spares.

How much of a drop-off in intensity can I expect from a small (< 1/4") ring of flaked-off reflector? Is there any sort of ghetto-rig/fix for the flaking problem?

My experience is that the extra light coming out of the back of the fixture is actually much more noticeable than the decrease in light out of the front, at least in the early stages.
Depending on where the fixtures are hung, and if they are in view of the audience, you may want to move them to a less obvious position...

 

[church]

The reflector is a service item and wears out - ETC have a technical note on this. The life of the reflector depends on humidity and hours of use.

 

[len]

I've replaced a few reflectors and I think it is the hardest repair operation on an S4 ellipsoidal. If you do replace one, be patient, be careful, and go slow. But it can be done.

 

[Focus]

Not much to do about it, but replace it when it gets bad enough to be noticeable. I find it to be a very easy repair. Just did one today(cracked though not flaking). Hit the old one with a hammer lightly to break it into several pieces. dump out he old reflector into the trash, then pick out the round-springy-thing(i'm sure it has a name, but I don't care) that holds the rear of the reflector; you need to reuse it. Place the new reflector into the housing with the springy-doo, make sure it is centered, and it snaps right in place.

After doing the first one or two, this will take you about 2 or three minutes each.