Projector owners - how long has your bulb lasted?

[purbeast0]

I got my first projector in 2012 but didn't really start using it until I had my HT in a usable set up until early 2013. I have never replaced the bulb. A few days ago a "replace lamp" light came on. I had never seen that before. I am not sure if it comes on after a certain time frame has gone by as far as hours on the lamp are concerned or not. But it got me to check my total hours used.

I was pretty shocked to see 4655 hours total time. Now there are for sure times I've left it on overnight accidentally, I think for 2-3 days at a time as well, but it wasn't displaying anything. But I'm sure that goes against the count.

I just ordered a replacement lamp. Should I replace it immediately or should I just wait until it burns out or becomes dimmer before doing so? The brightness on it is not an issue at all currently either.

I'm also curious what the "normal" time frame for these is. Based on research of the lamp I have, the average life span was 4000 hours.

 

[sdifox]

Replace right away. Last thing you want is an actual lamp failure.

 

[purbeast0]

Gotcha. It will be arriving tomorrow before I have a game night with some buddies so hopefully I don't fuck it up installing it lol. I haven't looked into what it takes to replace it. I hope I can do it while it's mounted.

 

[sdifox]

Gotcha. It will be arriving tomorrow before I have a game night with some buddies so hopefully I don't fuck it up installing it lol. I haven't looked into what it takes to replace it. I hope I can do it while it's mounted.

Your mount doesn't have a release plate? Usually lamps are on the side so you probably dont need to take it off to replace lamp. But it will be a lot easier and safer to do it on the rable.

 

[razel]

Dunno about front projectors, but on the last rear projection TV, the bulb life was 12k hours. The problem became the optical block warping. OH well, it was a 10 year old TV and was replaced with a modern flat screen.

 

[purbeast0]

Your mount doesn't have a release plate? Usually lamps are on the side so you probably dont need to take it off to replace lamp. But it will be a lot easier and safer to do it on the rable.

I just did a google search and saw a video of youtube. It actually looks very easy and looks like I'll be able to do it while it's mounted. Looks like the whole bottom panel slides open and that gives you access to the lamp housing that unclips and slides out, then you just replace it.

 

[purbeast0]

Installed it today and it was pretty simple. I could do it while it was still mounted to my ceiling which was nice. The screws that hold it in place were not even screwed in though, which is odd considering I got it brand new. I'm wondering if all of the bass over time rattled the screws loose. It didn't really matter though as it still "clicks" into it's place and it was still clicked in just fine.

But damn the bulb also came with a filter replacement. Holy shit the old one was so nasty lol. Whole process took like 10 minutes, including filter replacement.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

I've got almost 6000 hours on mine (rated 5000 - 6000 hours). Will be replacing soon, but it still works well. The only problem is that it occasionally starts flickering in ECO mode, but ~15 minutes on Normal and it fixes it.

 

[NutBucket]

Replace right away. Last thing you want is an actual lamp failure.

Am I missing something? I mean sure, theoretically the bulb could shatter but that's not likely.

 

[sdifox]

Am I missing something? I mean sure, theoretically the bulb could shatter but that's not likely.

UHP (ultra high pressure) lamp tend to go with a bang :awe:

 

[luke150]

usually for 1-2 years