Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi everyone, I just picked up a used White Lightning kit (two ultra 1200's and an 1800) and I noticed one of the 1200's has some residue on the flash bulb. When fired even at a lower power there is a decent amount of smoke coming off of the bulb. Do any of you have suggestions on how to clean these bulbs?

I have 99% rubbing alcohol and some lint free tissues (kim wipes), do you think soaking the tubes in this overnight then cleaning with a brush would be a good idea?

Any input would be appreciated.

I bought a used 1800 and replaced the tubes cause i couldn't trust tubes that old but i only got smoke the first pop out of the box. figured it was dust burning off. didn't smoke on the old tubes after that first pop.

This should work. You could probably just wipe them with alcohol to remove dirt and oils, and let them dry.

I did this last night and it worked like a charm with the 99% rubbing alcohol. I just let them sit in a small container for a little while first and the residue was able to be brushed away fairly easily after that.

UPDATE: Maybe cleaning is not such a good idea after all! One tube stopped working.

I was testing out some mods I made to my wireless triggers and when I got to my Ultra1800 I found only one tube was working. I swapped them around and the problem followed the tube. Not really sure what the problem is, the only thing I can think of is that the center contact isn't making a good connection due to tarnish on the silver coated band? Tried cleaning that area again with no luck. This really kinda sucks because I dropped all my spare cash on this kit and now I'm down a light, won't be able to pick up a replacement set of tubes for awhile.

Anywho for anyone that comes across this thread I'd say consider cleaning as a last resort, if the tube works but smokes a little due to debris well at least its still working ;)

Center contact problem is unlikely . . . this is 15,000V and low current - like a taser. Most likely cause of complete flashtube failure is a tiny crack in the the glass, allowing the Xenon to leak out.

I was wondering about that myself actually, I figured with such high voltage that a little tarnishing shouldn't stop it. If there is a crack in the bulb it would have to be where one of the leads goes up into the bulb because I can't see any cracks. Still sucks but what can you do.

Tube cracks are usually so small you cant see them.

They must be I couldn't see anything ;)

I kinda lucked out with replacement bulbs actually. The person I bought the kit from had another ultra 1200 that was broken and they wanted $50 (Canadian) for it. It came with a set of brand new bulbs in it as well as a set of used ones. They had tried changing bulbs first and that didn't fix the problem so these tubes are mint. For now I just stuck one of the used tubes into the 1800 and its up and running. I'm going to save the new set.

Incidentally the guy had apparently corresponded with your tech support dept about fixing the broken 1200. When I picked up the strobe I found a bag inside the box with 3 new trigger coils and a business card for one "Graham Bedlinger" director of technical services. The broken 1200 supposedly charges (ready light comes on) but neither the test button, sync cord, or slave will fire it.

I haven't had a chance to try changing the trigger coils yet but I did take come quick comparative measurements and the coils in the dead strobe seem correct. Any ideas that you'd be able to share?

FYI my day job is actually as an electronics tech (RF communication/telecom) in a warranty dept (so I know how the tech support thing goes). I have a healthy respect for high voltage circuits and I know about safely discharging the caps etc. Luckily this one hadn't been turned on in years so when I checked the caps they were completely drained.