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Handling high-power xenon lamps safely

Read this before unpacking a lamp. It applies to every xenon short-arc lamp, whoever made it.

Why it matters: a xenon short-arc lamp is filled to several atmospheres when cold and to several times that when running. A lamp that breaks — in your hands or in the lamphouse — throws quartz fragments with enough energy to injure and to destroy a reflector.

Unpacking and installing

  1. Wear a full face shield, neck protection, a heavy long-sleeved jacket and gloves every time the lamp is out of its cover.
  2. Leave the protective cover on until the lamp is seated in the lamphouse. Put it back on before you remove an old lamp.
  3. Hold the lamp by the metal end fittings only. Never grip or twist the quartz, and never let it carry the weight of the cable.
  4. Check polarity. The large electrode is the anode (+). A lamp run with reversed polarity is destroyed in seconds.
  5. Do not touch the quartz with bare skin. If you do, wipe it with alcohol and a lint-free cloth before striking.
  6. Tighten connections to the equipment maker's torque. Loose connections overheat the seals.

Running

  1. Stay within the current range stated for the lamp. Over-current shortens life sharply; under-current makes the arc unstable.
  2. Keep cooling air and exhaust to the equipment maker's figures, and let the fans run on after shutdown.
  3. Rotate horizontally-burned lamps half a turn at mid-life if the equipment manual calls for it.
  4. Replace the lamp at its rated life. Blackened, devitrified quartz is weaker, and most violent failures happen on lamps run far past their hours.

Removing and disposing

  1. Let the lamp cool completely with the lamphouse closed — at least 15 minutes after the fans stop.
  2. Same protective clothing as for installation. Fit the cover before lifting the lamp out.
  3. Store and transport used lamps in their cover and original carton. Dispose of them through a lamp recycler, or relieve the pressure only by a method your safety officer has approved.

This page is general guidance and does not replace the instructions of your equipment and lamp manufacturer.

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