# 500w xenon short arc power supply



## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

So I have a little problem about powering a 500w xenon short arc lamp. If I was to buy a xenon arc lamp I would still have no way to power it. I looked online and cant really find a power supply made for a 500w xenon arc lamp. It would probably be difficult to make one myself so I'm looking for any suggestions on how to go about this.

ps might be wrong forum


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

Ebay. Search "arc lamp supply". Be sure unit has built-in igniter and is for your chemistry lamp - Xenon or Mercury Xenon. They are somewhat scarce. Sometimes you can find an old TV DLP lamp housing that contains the PS with igniter. That's probably a different search.


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

BVH said:


> Ebay. Search "arc lamp supply". Be sure unit has built-in igniter and is for your chemistry lamp - Xenon or Mercury Xenon. They are somewhat scarce. Sometimes you can find an old TV DLP lamp housing that contains the PS with igniter. That's probably a different search.



Thanks that was a good search phrase. Yes I would also hope it would have a built in ignitor as that would make things easier. Most of these power supplies are expensive so I might have to try to make one up myself :/

Edit: Its crazy how expensive a power supply for a 75w xenon lamp is let alone a 500w. No wonder the maxabeam is so expensive... I guess ill just have to stick with 'cheap' led and hid flashlights 0.0


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

Many Oriel branded boxes do not have them. The igniter is in the lamp housing that is powered by the PS.


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

BVH said:


> Many Oriel branded boxes do not have them. The igniter is in the lamp housing that is powered by the PS.



So you're saying the ignitor is in the lamp itself? Either way the power supply would need to supply the 20kv needed to start the lamp anyway. These arc lamps are pretty complicated even more so than a co2 laser and power supply. Could you power a 500w or 1kw xenon lamp at a lower power than their rated power? ie 1kw lamp at 500w or 500w lamp at 250w?


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

No, do some searching on short arc lamp housings or medical device lamp housings. It's a separate box that houses the lamp, any optics to focus the lamp and the ignitor. You connect it to the PS with high KV cables. The PS produces sometimes up to about 3000 to 5000 Volts and sends that over the cables to the ignitor which boosts it up to 30KV+. Typically these PS's are used in Endoscopy and similar medical devices.

Many of the Ebay devices are Circa 1980' 1990's. The best way to find out whether or not it's got an ignitor is to search Google for the PS and try to find an online manual and go thru it to find out. Many you will not find manuals for. If you ask a seller, they will probably not know. Just the appearance of high KV looking output terminals does not mean an ignitor is on-board. They are there also because of the low KV/3000-6000 Volts signal to trigger the ignitor.

Here's an Ebay item with PS and lamp housing plus cables as an example.

.ebay.com/itm/Thermo-Oriel-PhotoMax-Arc-Lamp-60100-with-68806-Power-Supply-L-K-/350628560160?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51a3173d20


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

BVH said:


> No, do some searching on short arc lamp housings or medical device lamp housings. It's a separate box that houses the lamp, any optics to focus the lamp and the ignitor. You connect it to the PS with high KV cables. The PS produces sometimes up to about 3000 to 5000 Volts and sends that over the cables to the ignitor which boosts it up to 30KV+. Typically these PS's are used in Endoscopy and similar medical devices.
> 
> Many of the Ebay devices are Circa 1980' 1990's. The best way to find out whether or not it's got an ignitor is to search Google for the PS and try to find an online manual and go thru it to find out. Many you will not find manuals for. If you ask a seller, they will probably not know. Just the appearance of high KV looking output terminals does not mean an ignitor is on-board. They are there also because of the low KV/3000-6000 Volts signal to trigger the ignitor.



Yeah I get what you are saying now. I got confused because I was just talking about the lamp itself and not any medical light device that the lamp would have been used in. I don't plan on using the lamp inside any such device until I can build my own mirror and housing. I saw an ebay listing for a used 3kw xenon lamp for a good price but was wondering if it can be powered at lower levels such as 500w-1kw.


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

Most of the lamps I've dealt with can operate within a range but nothing like what you mention. 300 Watt Cermax lamps can operate down to a little below 200 and up to 325 Watts, IIRC

Of course, the usual safety advice. Use a face shield,full leather welders clothing and High KV insulating gloves when dealing with these lamps and PS's. And you should really build a heavy gauge metal box in which to run the lamp. Cut a small hole for cable entry and another small hole for light to escape. Affix a small piece of Lexan over the light hole to verify lamp operation.


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

BVH said:


> Most of the lamps I've dealt with can operate within a range but nothing like what you mention. 300 Watt Cermax lamps can operate down to a little below 200 and up to 325 Watts, IIRC
> 
> Of course, the usual safety advice. Use a face shield,full leather welders clothing and High KV insulating gloves when dealing with these lamps and PS's. And you should really build a heavy gauge metal box in which to run the lamp. Cut a small hole for cable entry and another small hole for light to escape. Affix a small piece of Lexan over the light hole to verify lamp operation.



All of that is just to test proper operation of the lamp before placing it in a light housing or on a bench right? What if I want to run the lamp outside of any housing  bad idea?


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

Yes bad idea! You never know when a lamp may pop. But I'm not saying I don't break my own rules on occasion.


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

Yeah well I guess with cost and overall complexity/danger involved with operating a xenon arc lamp ill just have to go with 2 carbon rods and a nice power supply. Any idea what kind of power supply I could buy to go from a standard 120 volt AC outlet to a more proper current and voltage needed for a CA? I know it has to be simpler than a xenon arc power supply lol


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

I can tell you that 150 Amps at 78 Volts DC will nicely power a 5/8" positive and 1/2" negative rod. However, you won't want to be anywhere close when it lights up!


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

BVH said:


> I can tell you that 150 Amps at 78 Volts DC will nicely power a 5/8" positive and 1/2" negative rod. However, you won't want to be anywhere close when it lights up!



Yea but 150 amps at 78 volts is about 12kw and a little bit too much power for my standard US wall outlet lmao  Im looking on ebay for some carbon rods and I found some 6 x 300mm carbon rods. These should be good but I need a to come up with a good dc power supply with like 50amps at 20 or so volts. Is there a common ratio for carbon arcs like a 1/2 voltage to current ratio?


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## BVH (Oct 31, 2012)

I don't know. But I do remember as a teenager, touching two approx 3/8" diameter rods together powered by my dad's van battery. Didn't blow the battery and was pretty darn bright.


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## kuna (Oct 31, 2012)

BVH said:


> I don't know. But I do remember as a teenager, touching two approx 3/8" diameter rods together powered by my dad's van battery. Didn't blow the battery and was pretty darn bright.



Right I was thinking if it comes to that I could just put 2 car batteries in series but I would rather just use something powered buy an outlet. Guess ill just have to look around shouldn't be too hard to find something. Also the efficacy of a carbon arc isn't that great either from what I understand but that doesn't matter as long as I can get something running unlike that xenon arc lamp haha


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