Retrofitting a tungsten PAR with a metal halide bulb
 

Short and sweet: bad idea? I came up as a spark, so electricity is my friend, but I was wondering about the heat dissipation properties of a standard PAR fixture (namely the Source Four PAR or equivalent high-quality PAR fixture). I found some online suppliers of ballasts and screw-type (PAR30, etc) lamps. Any thoughts?

Henry

I'm not familiar with the lamps you're talking about, but this sounds like a bad idea in general. HMI will surely run a lot hotter than halogen, and there are also issues with HMI lamps shattering explosively. Be very careful with this...

On the other hand, this is pretty much what K5600 offers with the Joker Bug series (a great light BTW). You can adapt the Joker Bug to a Source Four and end up with an HMI Ellipsoidal. Lots of punch, lots of control. Of course, all experiments like this are fraught with hazards, so insert all the appropriate caveats here.

I've been looking into this all week. The only issue I have is that all of the suitable HMI bulbs are OEM globes for use with cine (Arri, Mole, etc...) par instruments. Thusly, the bulb manufacturers are reluctant to release ANSI ballast information for these bulbs (and I cannot match a ballast to a bulb without the ANSI number). Any ideas? I am well aware of the hazards of working with HMI bulbs (and have seen one explode in a 2.5k fresnel -- would be hazardous if there wasn't a 1/4" thick fresnel lens on the front of the fixture).

I figure that I could squeeze a 400w MH bulb into a Source Four PAR or the like and still be within safe operating temperatures.

Henry