Tips for Extending the Life of Your Projector Bulbs
The cost alone for a projector replacement bulb would be enough motivation for projector owners to look for ways to extend the life of their projector bulbs. Here is a list of tips that can help ensure that you are getting the most out of your projector’s lamp.
Let the lamp COOL
Projection lamp filaments become more fragile when hot. The general rule that maunfactures suggest is wait five minutes before turning it off to allow the fan to properly cool the unit. After the fan has cooled your projector, you may unplug it and store it as desired.
I have heard conflicting things about the projectors’ built-in-cool-down cycles by expersts within the industry. Some folks are claiming that a natural cooldown is better for the bulb. That the forced air cooldown actually shortens the life somewhat, but does make it much safer to turn the bulb on sooner. My personal feeling is letting the projector do its normal thing.
Don’t turn a projector on if the buld is still HOT.
Once it goes off, DO NOT turn it back on for AT LEAST an hour. It’s much better to run it all day than it is to power it off and on. The bulb must be stone cold when you start it, or the projector will send too much voltage early in the heat-up cycle, and you’ll dramatically shorten the bulb life.
If you do have a power outage, it is not death. As long as you leave the unit off for an hour, you shouldn’t loose much, if any, bulb life. This is inconvenient, to be sure, but is finishing the movie RIGHT NOW worth a couple hundred bucks?
Don’t turn a projector on/off excessively.
Avoid turning your projector unit on and off frequently during presentations. Turning the power on causes a surge of energy to the lamp, exciting the bulb’s filament. Doing this multiple times in a short period of time causes stress on the filament and will result in early failure of projector bulbs.
Don’t move a hot projector
Moving a projector while it’s hot can cause the filament to break. Don’t think you can simply turn off the power, unplug the projector, and pack it up. Let the lamp cool down first. While the projector lamp is still on (even while it is powering down), the lamp is very sensitive to movement. Moving the projector while the projector lamp is still on could shorten the lamp life, or worse, it could cause the projector lamp to burst.
Take care in changing the lamp
Contact with human skin will leave an oily residue on the lamp that can damage it. Additionally, the lamp gets so hot it can melt your finger. Better projectors house their lamps in a sealed lamp assembly, which protects both the lamp and your safety.
It almost goes without saying, but I will. When you replace the bulb DO NOT do not do not use your naked hands/fingers Non powdered latex gloves are good). Even the slighted bit of oil on the bulb has the potential to cause the thing to blow, and if you are really unlucky, explode. I have heard stories of lamps exploding and it is not something you want to have happen.
Better projectors house their lamps in a sealed lamp assembly, making changing a projector lamp quite simple: Remove one or two screws, pull a handle, and have the lamp assembly slide out like an ink cartridge on a printer. Reading what your projector manual says about lamp-handling procedure is a very good idea.
Also, please do not remove a hot bulb, the extreme temperatures of projector bulbs can cause major damage to your hand.
Keep filters clean
To extend the life of a projection lamp, clean the projector’s filters to ensure there’s enough ventilation to maintain an acceptable operating temperature for the lamp. Inspect the filters every couple of weeks or sooner, and clean every 3-6 months depending on your environment.
If your projector is permanently mounted and not subject to movement, make sure the fan vent isn’t blocked by mounting plates. Not following your projectors guidelines will cause overheating and lamp failure.
Utilize “Low Lamp” Mode
Utilize “low lamp” or “economy mode” functions whenever possible. These options allow the lamp to run at a lower brightness, thus extending lamp life.