Why does my light smell like it's burning?

October 23, 2007 2:09 PM

Why does my ETC Source Four Ellipsoidal light smell like it's on fire?

I recently bought an ETC Source Four Ellipsoidal light . The past couple of weeks it's smelled like some thing was burning. There seems to be nothing wrong with the lamp but the smell. I heard that they all smelled the first couple of hours they were used. Does anyone know how long this smell is supposed to last or even if it should smell in the first place?

posted by jpcody to technology (5 comments total)

Probably just some dust in the instrument. Wait until it's completely cooled, blow it out with some canned air (careful of the bulb, natch).
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:19 PM on October 23, 2007

Source Fours smell like burning. Altmans smell and feel like burning.
posted by oaf at 4:09 PM on October 23, 2007

seconding oaf. I used to manage a warehouse of several hundred active source four ellipsoidals... I got to the point where I began worrying when they DIDN'T smell like burning. My advice, just check the end of the cord nearest the lamp -- if it's as soft as the rest of the cord (and isn't becoming crispy), you should be fine.
posted by frwagon at 8:47 PM on October 23, 2007

Yeah, they run hot and tend to burn dust. Just make sure you've got it hung right-side-up and you don't have a clear gel or gobo stuck in it that might be actually burning.

If you take it apart and blow all the dust out you can probably stop the smell, but it's just one of those things that happens. I think what normally causes the smell is dust on the back of the reflector (which, if you've stored the instrument with the aperture down, is where dust tends to settle). Also, on the lenses, but I think it's mostly the reflector.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:57 PM on October 23, 2007

YMMV, but if it's new, it might be burning off manufacturing residue. It's probably just dust.

Do you have a template in the slot? It could also be the smell of the metal being heated. That tends to smell pretty burn-y.
posted by jimmyhutch at 9:50 PM on October 23, 2007