Projector Lamps: Another Look

We are looking at the projector lamp, and the life of it, and how much it will cost to replace a lamp. To avoid the projector lamp exploding and causing damage to your projector, most manufacturers have not made some safety changes. In some cases when the lamp has gone past the rating for which it is set to work, your projector will not run, meaning it will not turn on. While still other manufacturers have made it that a 2 minute warning will come up on your screen saying you need to change the projector lamp. In fact because of these changes it is very odd if a projector lamp that has been rated for 2000 hours will run longer than 2500 hours.

Most of the up to date projectors will be able to track if you are running at low or full power, and the warnings will come at the appropriate time for the usage of your projector.

Basically what all this means is that if you are expecting to get 2000 hours just because the projector lamp has been rated that, well you probably won't even make it to the 2000 hour mark. What the real deal is is that you will have a 50% chance of actually getting to the 2000 hours of lamp use. It seems though the highest percentage of projector lamps will get around 1500 hours.

There are ways that you can get the maximum usage out of your projector lamp. So use these hints to your advantage to get the most out of your projector lamp.

Don't unplug your projector until you get the OK from your projector. This is the largest way a projector lamp will fail; don't unplug your projector for around one or even two minutes after you have finished using it. This allows the projector lamp to cool a bit.

Even if you have a projector that says you need no cool down time, still wait at least a minute just to ensure that you don't have a projector lamp burning out before it should.

Make sure to clean the filters or change them as needed. No matter what kind of projector you have, most of those will have a recommendation to clean those filters, probably after 100 hours of usage. Most people won't follow these rules, and may wait until after 800 hours or so. All this does is shorten the lifetime of a projector lamp.

Watch where you place your projector while using it, as the spot you pick may cause overheating. One of the worst spots to put your projector is right up against a wall; this will not allow for good air circulation and will cause the projector to overheat. Try to leave at least 6” from a wall.

Use the eco-mode of operation on your projector. This is one of the best ways to extend your lifetime of the projector lamp. Plus the fan will be a bit more quiet because it won't have to run nearly as fast.

Projector Lamps: Another Look

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