Has anybody had heat issues using 400W bulbs and small panels?

I'm concerned that my 8" (probably precondensed with small FL fresnels to be smaller) projector will get too hot with a 400W, so I'm trying to decide between that and 250W.

400w will be hot (can be done with great cooling)
You are making a small size PJ
250w will be cooler and has a smaller point light source so it will work better with the size of precons readily availible. It all depends on how much time , research , and testing you are willing to do, to get the best picture possible. No matter what you decide on lightsystems, cooling will be needed.

Hi, have you considered compact fluorescent bulbs as a light source? They don't require a ballast, have long life and good colour (cool white 4200K and natural 5000k). They are very cheap and plug into a standard baton holder or an ES holder.

Do a search and you will find topics here.

I have just purchased two to do some tests. I think it may be possible to have no or very little cooling.

Oh, a final thought, have you actually seen the size of 400w and 250w globes? They are huge!! If you must go the metal halide path, have you considered a 150w unit? These can be obtained cheaply and have lower cooling requirements as well as being lighter (i.e. less mass) as the ballast is smaller. They are used commonly as lighting units in retail shops and therefore are easily obtained. I picked up a couple from a demolition outlet.

I run a 400w light with my 10.6 inch panel. I do have a 100mm fan in my lightbox tho. It works fine with a standard crown glass precon from surplus shed, so the heat is a no issue... with the fan of course.

Camman, since you don't seem to have a PLOG, could you provide this thread with a list of your components and perhaps pictures, if you have them? If not, how about some measurements.

I do have a plog, but I did not put a whole lot of time into it.


http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...=16931&st=0

There it is, let me know if you have any other ?'s

Alrighty... it looks like you started out with a 15" LCD and moved to the 10.6. You probably just used all the previous components from your last build.
It looks like you built a test rig with the 10.6 and then there were no more pictures of the enclosure after you finished it.
Did you enclose the parts in a box eventually or was it left as an open-air design?
If it was open like that, then there was probably sufficient cooling for the 400W bulb.

By the way, that open concept projector looks pretty funky - I like that.

Well, Cammon's lightbox isn't open air to prevent light from escaping, right? So there must be a crapload of heat in there being gotten rid of by the fan. Do you have a thermometer in there, and what temp does it read?

Also, what precon materials should I avoid so they don't melt? Always a good thing