scuba_moron
Contributor
Am I being picky? This is a replacement bulb I received. It appears to have water spots inside the bulb. I know this is not a normal. Should I live with it or return it?
Should a new HID bulb look like this - or am I picky?
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Sure it is on the inside? I'd spray Windex or other class cleaner on a paper towel, and then use it to scrub the bulb. Make sure you do not get any finger oils on it.
If it was sitting on a shelf and got overspray (maybe someone cleaning nearby), I can see it looking like that.
Then again, the third photo showed an opening . . . the actual bulb is inside a protective cover. Can you get it off and use a Qtip? Bottom line is how big a PITA is it to send / take it back.
OP
scuba_moron
Contributor
It's on the inside.
I wonder how those spots got inside. I have never seen a HID bulb look like that.
OP
scuba_moron
Contributor
OK, send it back and get 4 bulbs from Welch Allyn for the same money. You can still contact Welch Allyn and ask them about a bulb they manufacture.
Last edited:
Blazinator
Contributor
I'm a UV chemist, and I use industrial UV curing bulbs, which are essentially seriously large versions of HID bulbs (one of mine is 48" and over 19,000 watts - love to take that underwater for UV biofluorescence photography!) and the bulb manufacturers warn against water spots or fingerprints on the quartz bulb because the energy concentrates as heat wherever there is a "spot" of any sort, and bulb breakage will occur at those weak points eventually. So that may be a broken bulb waiting to happen, even if it is on the protective envelope.
The only explanation I can imagine for the manufacturer leaving spots on the inside, would be a residual byproduct of the frosting process to frost the tip of the envelope you see in the pictures. Maybe they know that the spotting occurs, and the envelope is strong enough to handle it (especially since the mercury plasma gas is not in direct contact with the envelope the way it is in my UV bulbs).
The only explanation I can imagine for the manufacturer leaving spots on the inside, would be a residual byproduct of the frosting process to frost the tip of the envelope you see in the pictures. Maybe they know that the spotting occurs, and the envelope is strong enough to handle it (especially since the mercury plasma gas is not in direct contact with the envelope the way it is in my UV bulbs).
scuba_moron,
Have you contacted the vendor of the bulb yet? I think we are all interested in their response.
Carrie
Have you contacted the vendor of the bulb yet? I think we are all interested in their response.
Carrie
OP
scuba_moron
Contributor
Not yet, Carrielsal.
This spotted bulb was a replacement. The original one that came with the light did not focus into a tight spot because the filament inside the bulb was crooked - see below pictures.
Therefore, the beam is lop sided, similar to what you see from a cheap flash lights. I have two of the exact same light, so I definitely can see a difference.
I want to give vendor the benefit of the doubt before I do a follow up with them.
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