Sylvania ICE lamps

[kbsparky]

I encountered a fluorescent bulb today the likes of which I have never seen before:

Sylvania's Quicktronic ICE system.

This appears to be a 100 watt induction fluorescent bulb, complete with 2 external induction coils around the neck of the bulb, and a wiring harness that plugs into the ballast.

Changing this bulb is a real hassle:

1) The bulb is bolted into the fixture. The fixture is a recessed "hi-hat" type in a ceiling that is 30 feet high.
2) You have to unbolt the bulb, and let it hang by the wires while you remove the recessed trim ring.
3) Then you have to remove the cover from the ballast/wiring compartment.
4) Next, you have to pinch the tab on the wiring harness connector to get it to release from its socket.
5) Finally, the bulb can be removed!

Tough chore while working from a fully-extended scissors-lift!

There are six of these in the auditorium. They have been in service for about 6 years. Should we be considering changing all of them at this point in time? 4 of the 6 are not as readily accessible as the scissors lift won't reach them, and it would take erecting scaffolding in place under each one just to change the bulb.

Google searches yield price quotes from $300-$800
Calling around town looking for a replacement bulb yielded price quotes from $168 to over $800!

Have any of you dealt with this type of bulb, and what were your experiences? Is there any chance that I don't have a bad bulb, but a bad ballast? Those cost upwards of $500, so getting one as a spare to keep on hand is a bit expensive ...

 

[weressl]

I encountered a fluorescent bulb today the likes of which I have never seen before:

Sylvania's Quicktronic ICE system.

This appears to be a 100 watt induction fluorescent bulb, complete with 2 external induction coils around the neck of the bulb, and a wiring harness that plugs into the ballast.

Changing this bulb is a real hassle:

1) The bulb is bolted into the fixture. The fixture is a recessed "hi-hat" type in a ceiling that is 30 feet high.
2) You have to unbolt the bulb, and let it hang by the wires while you remove the recessed trim ring.
3) Then you have to remove the cover from the ballast/wiring compartment.
4) Next, you have to pinch the tab on the wiring harness connector to get it to release from its socket.
5) Finally, the bulb can be removed!

Tough chore while working from a fully-extended scissors-lift!

There are six of these in the auditorium. They have been in service for about 6 years. Should we be considering changing all of them at this point in time? 4 of the 6 are not as readily accessible as the scissors lift won't reach them, and it would take erecting scaffolding in place under each one just to change the bulb.

Google searches yield price quotes from $300-$800
Calling around town looking for a replacement bulb yielded price quotes from $168 to over $800!

Have any of you dealt with this type of bulb, and what were your experiences? Is there any chance that I don't have a bad bulb, but a bad ballast? Those cost upwards of $500, so getting one as a spare to keep on hand is a bit expensive ...

These lamps have a 100,000 hour life expectancy. You may want to talk to Sylvania directly for replacement parts and this brochure may be of help: http://assets.sylvania.com/assets/d...reR2.74eda70a-5f88-4323-b93c-69e86df6267e.pdf

 

[kbsparky]

We are going to swap bulbs with a working fixture to determine whether we need a new bulb, or a new ballast.

Checking around the rest of the facility, we have found that there are 6 of these that have failed. 6 out of 74. Hope it ain't ballasts failing here since the 5 year warranty was up last year ....

 

[weressl]

We are going to swap bulbs with a working fixture to determine whether we need a new bulb, or a new ballast.

Checking around the rest of the facility, we have found that there are 6 of these that have failed. 6 out of 74. Hope it ain't ballasts failing here since the 5 year warranty was up last year ....

You'd be surprised what a manufacturer may do, even after warranty. Almost 10% failure rate at less than half of the life expectancy? Not a good data to get out in public.....oooops, it just did!:blink:

 

[kbsparky]

Swapped out the bulbs today, and determined that the ballast is bad.

So now we are getting some realistic quotes for replacements. $500 was way out of line, it appears.

Best quote so far was around $140+ -- that puny thing should not worth more than $50 IMO ...

 

[the blur]

Sylvania will send out a crew to replace failed ballast that are under warrenty. I had them do a 100 ballast job, and the guys were well experienced. I still won't buy another sylvania ballast, but they stand behind them.