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Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:21 pm

Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:16 pm
Posts: 3

Today while on a shoot one of my Zeus 2500 strobe heads did something odd. I had two 2500 packs attached to two 2500 ws heads. They were both plugged into the same outlet, which I've done before.

After test firing one time, one of the heads let out three loud pops, sparked on the inside and let out a puff of smoke. I quickly turned the packs off and thinking it may have been a power issue, unplugged one pack from that outlet.

The pack in question seemed to operate perfectly fine the rest of the shoot, but when I went to pack up I noticed a pea sized black soot mark on the metal front where the beauty dish attaches.

Any advise on what may have happened and how to prevent this in the future?




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Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:56 pm

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Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:43 am
Posts: 5266

Without seeing the flash head, it would be difficult, at best, to say what happened. However, anytime you have popping and smoke, there is an issue that needs to come in for repair. Repairs for those heads start at $45, plus shipping, and do not include replacement bulbs.

More information for repairs can be found here: http://www.paulcbuff.com/repair.php




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Thu Dec 08, 2016 9:48 am

Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:16 pm
Posts: 3

Would there be any problem with plugging in two 2500 packs into one outlet?




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Thu Dec 08, 2016 3:50 pm

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Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:43 am
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Not really, and certainly, that would not cause the problem you describe. The main issue you would run into is tripping a breaker, especially if you shood at a fast rate. The Zeus packs can pull up to 32A peak, per pack. So you are looking at 60-65A with two. If you shoot too fast, especially with anything else on the circuit, you will risk tripping the breaker.




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Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:11 pm

Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2016 1:16 pm
Posts: 3

Would a faulty outlet having too low of an output cause problems like this?

The reason I say this is because it was struggling to recycle. I popped them once to test when I first plugged them in. I noticed it was really working to come back up and then it started... pop, pop, pop. puff of smoke. Unplugged the other pack from that outlet and the unit was fine the rest of the shoot. Then I noticed that mark of soot on the front metal piece where it touches the beauty dish.

Tested the unit again the other night and it has no damage that I can see on the inside and fires great. I'm very puzzled.

Could I have rigged the heads and packs up incorrectly to have caused this?




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Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:11 pm

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Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:43 am
Posts: 5266

With everything unplugged, and using a clean glove/cloth, make sure the flash tube is fully seated and the flash tube legs are not touching the faceplate, and there is nothing bridging the faceplate and flash tube leg.

Also, make sure there are insulators (milky white straws) around each leg of the flash tube, especially where the black mark is.

Also, is this a bi-tube or sible tube head?




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