Ali_OSDTECH Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Evening all I have a load of Thomas Long nose Par 36s that contain old AERO lamps - I was wondering could I convert them to take a Par 16 GU10 lamp to change then into (oversized) Birdies running on 220V? I've seem some Par 16 GU10 adaptors for what I guess are ceiling down lighters ... has anyone used these in this type of situation? Am I chasing an impossible dream!!!? Or if I wanted to load them with Par 36 pins spots - in bars of 4; what transformer should I use to connect 4 lamps in parallel from one transformer? Or has anyone got any other (polite) ideas what I can do with them. Thanks Guys and Gals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Don't bother with mains halogen GU10. Dull, ineffiecent, blow at the slightest knock, and expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali_OSDTECH Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 Thanks Dave - I'm quite a fan of the birdie and have clients who always spec then for front of stages ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I would have though that it would be possible to fit an electronic transformer, along with an MR16 holder inside to make self-contained birdies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiLL Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Don't bother with mains halogen GU10. Dull, ineffiecent, blow at the slightest knock, and expensive. This response to GU10s always confuses me I have to admit, I have never had one blow from a knock, in fact I change about 2 out of my 12 in use as footlights in a whole year. Dimmer than an MR16 I'll admit but fragile? Can't say I'd noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Don't bother with mains halogen GU10. Dull, ineffiecent, blow at the slightest knock, and expensive. This response to GU10s always confuses me I have to admit, I have never had one blow from a knock, in fact I change about 2 out of my 12 in use as footlights in a whole year. Dimmer than an MR16 I'll admit but fragile? Can't say I'd noticed. I'm with Will on this, less bright certainly, but not unreliable. I toured a show last year with 15 angle-poise lamps refitted with adapters for GU10s, these were chucked in and out of wooden crates (no padding)for travelling on a daily basis and bumped around a couple of thousand miles over the course of the tour and as I recall I had to replace no more than three or four lamps over the duration. So I would describe them (in my experience at least) as "robust". when they didn't come on in the fit up, it was almost invariably because the actors who helped with the get ins and outs had conscientiously turned them off via the inline switches when packing up the night before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 GU10s have a very short life if switched on and off using a normal switch. If dimmed on and off then they last much longer. They don't have a very nice beam pattern either (compared to 12V MR16's) because the filament is very big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandall Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Never thought of using GU10s for proper lighting. In a home situation, on a dimmer, admittedly in rather close-fitting metal sleeves, I expect a couple of weeks for cheap ones & a couple of months from Philips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Remo Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Plenty of sunstrips in the world being bumped in and out of venues on a daily basis, not had mega issues with the gu10 lamps in ours, they tour quite happily, even on moving trusses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali_OSDTECH Posted May 9, 2015 Author Share Posted May 9, 2015 Thanks all - and agree I don't go through many lamps / especially since I don't buy the really cheap ones. however what I am after is what hardware do I need to car a par 16 lamp with a GU10 base into a Par 36 housing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali_OSDTECH Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 HiI think the GU10 idea is a bit daft as the cans are really too big - if I wanted to run then with standard par 36 6 volt pins - could I run bars of 4 lamps off a 230 - 24 volt transformer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 HiI think the GU10 idea is a bit daft as the cans are really too big - if I wanted to run then with standard par 36 6 volt pins - could I run bars of 4 lamps off a 230 - 24 volt transformer? Yes you could use 4 lamps each of 6 volts from a suitable transformer. All 4 lamps must be of the same wattage, and should preferably be of the same brand and age. The transformer should have a 24 volt output of at least 4 times the lamp wattage. The drawback of so doing is that a failed lamp will extinguish all 4 lamps. If running 4 lamps in series I would recommend connecting a low power 50 volt incandescent pilot lamp across each par lamp. Under normal conditions this pilot lamp will have 6 volts across it and glow so dimly as to be scarcely noticed. When one of the lamps fails then the 50 volt pilot lamp will receive 25 volts and light brightly enough to instantly show which par lamp is defective. Alternatively use the 6 volt PAR lamps in series pairs on 12 volt transformers, this may prove cheaper as 12 volt transformers are produced in vast numbers at very low prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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