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- Path: sparky!uunet!news.larc.nasa.gov!grissom.larc.nasa.gov!kludge
- From: kludge@grissom.larc.nasa.gov (Scott Dorsey)
- Newsgroups: sci.electronics
- Subject: Re: UNDERPOWERED HALOGEN LAMPS
- Date: 6 Nov 1992 17:37:22 GMT
- Organization: NASA Langley Research Center and Reptile Farm
- Lines: 14
- Message-ID: <1deagiINN9vg@rave.larc.nasa.gov>
- References: <27806@castle.ed.ac.uk>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: grissom.larc.nasa.gov
-
- In article <27806@castle.ed.ac.uk> cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm) writes:
- >I have read that running halogen lamps on reduced voltage will shorten
- >their life, the argument being that their life depends on a cycle of
- >tungsten sublimation and redeposition which requires a certain
- >temperature to work. However, it seems to me that at lower
- >temperatures where it doesn't work (so well) it is not needed, i.e.,
- >tungsten/halogens should have the same kind of life/voltage graph as
- >ordinary vacuum tungstens.
-
- The last time this came up on the net, I gave it a try. For the consumer
- lamps it doesn't seem to hurt them even if they are operated below 50%
- voltage. For the photoflood lamps (3400'K) it dramatically shortens their
- life even if run 10% to 20% below rated line voltage.
- --scott
-