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Hands off halogen bulbs
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There are many jokes about how many people it takes to screw in a light bulb. When it’s a halogen light bulb, the job requires some basic knowledge, no matter how many people it takes.
Ditto for xenon or krypton bulbs, which operate with the “halogen cycle,” but technically are not halogen — different chemical families.
Don’t touch a halogen bulb with your bare hands; handle the bulb with a clean piece of paper. Facial tissue and toilet paper work great. Oil, grease, salt and dirt can produce a tiny hole in the glass when it heats up, and the bulb’s internal gas escapes. Air, with oxygen, gets in, and oxidation quickly eats through the wire. Poof! The bulb literally burns out.
Human skin is naturally oily and salty, so avoid touching the glass. You can try removing fingerprints with alcohol, but it’s better to avoid leaving them in the first place.
Now you’re wondering why. You’ve been installing light bulbs bare-handed all your life.
The special handling is required because of the halogen cycle.
In any bulb, the surface of the tungsten filament evaporates because of high heat. In an ordinary bulb, tungsten atoms drift through the argon gas inside the bulb. Some particles stick to the inside of the glass. The glass darkens, reducing light output.
In the halogen cycle, you use gas with larger, heavier atoms that block movement of the floating tungsten atoms. When the bulb cools down, the tungsten redeposits on the filament, not the glass.
Because the filament is continually rebuilt, it can be thinner. It operates at higher temperature, giving more light while using the same amount of electric power.
The result is a brighter bulb that stays cleaner inside. It also has a longer life.
It’s also a more expensive bulb because the glass costs more, and the rare gases are hard to harvest from the atmosphere. Most modern vehicles, and those high-power work lights in your shop, require halogen bulbs.
While you’re handling the bulb with special care, take the time to make sure the electrical contacts in the bulb’s socket are clean and shiny. Higher bulb temperature speeds up corrosion in the socket. And there’s more time for crud to form, since the bulb has a longer life. Corrosion reduces the electrical flow through the filament, can shorten its life, and can also reduce the light output.
Joe Cunningham has joined Jacobsen, a Textron Inc. company, as vice president of marketing. Previously sales and marketing manager for R.E. Chapin Manufacturing, Cunningham will lead Jacobsen’s business development, product management, customer service, marketing communications, training and technical support. The Toro Co. announced plans to deploy three hydrogen-powered Toro Workman utility vehicles at Niagara Falls State Park this year in a partnership to grow the next generation of turf maintenance equipment powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The partnership with the State of New York supports the state’s Executive Order 111 to adopt “green and clean” state buildings and vehicles. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is contributing $380,025 to fund the project. The project called for the use of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles because they generate minimal emissions, reduce noise pollution and increase machine efficiency, according to a release from Toro. |
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