# lighting help needed



## roadkill_be (Jun 14, 2012)

I need some advise on lighting:

I have 3 halogen 400W lights and I attached a blue filter on it, it gives the perfect blue night atmosfere










The problem is that these lamps get very hot and the duct tape melts so the filter comes loose.

Any ideas? I was thinking of making boxes out of styrofoam and some vent holes, could it work?


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## MapThePlanet (Nov 12, 2010)

Metal "binder clips" like these maybe:

http://tinyurl.com/9z285zt


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## mat (Feb 6, 2012)

Wooden clothes pins.

But please make sure you're using actual lighting gel or dichroic glass to reduce the fire hazard.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

And I would also strongly advise against using any kind of foam product near a heat source like that. The only exception might be great stuff "Firebreak" foam.

Wood would be better but still not Ideal. You might be able to Modify a 5 gallon bucket to aim your light and hold your gels. Again, still not totally fireproof or melt-proof. Test a few things and pay close attention to any smells you may generate before choosing a final option. Of course there's always a metal shroud if your a good fabricator.

PS: I've had good luck with large scale sched 40 PVC Pipe (8"- 10"- 12" Dia). But lately it has become hugely expensive. If you can find glass gells or good theater gells you should be find with close contact (No shroud) as theater spotlights generate WAY More heat than those halogen lights and they are fine..


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## Frightmaster-General (Sep 9, 2011)

Aren't there any 'official' color filters for those (Sealey?) floodlights? That way, you won't have to tape the filters... Here's an example of a red filter I found:


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## Palmdale Haunter (Mar 3, 2012)

I have been thinking about using a sheet metal duct piece Like the one in this link to create a housing to hold the gel and keep any scattered light contained...

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...=-1&storeId=10051&searchNav=true#/?c=1&Nao=72

I am thinking I could square out the roun end to fit around the light...


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## Palmdale Haunter (Mar 3, 2012)

I used heavy duty aluminum foil and black duck tape to create a snoot for my halogen work lights. The foil conformed to the light well. The aluminum dissipated the heat quite well.
I used the tape to secure the lighting gel to the foil.
It all worked but I think it's going to be a purchase of some PAR 56 lights for next year...


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

YOu might look at using those one gallon metal cans (the square ones) and cut off the top and bottom so that you get a rectangular tube you could fasten to the front of the light. This would contain your light and put a mounted gel (at the other end of the can) far enough away from the heat source/light so that you wouldn't have an issue with the gel melting.
I'd look at theatrical supply sources for gels, but check to see what kind of temperatures they can take. If they can take the heat of the halogen work lights than great, if not then mounting the gels away from the heat source may still allow you to use them.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

My 400W shop light gets insanely hot, and that is with a clear lens. They will get even hotter with a gel reflecting all but the chosen color back into the housing. So you're either going to need something metal to hold the gel away and act as a heat sink or some other none flammable way.

Is there any chance you could upgrade to CFL's? I can't imagine a halogen puts out more than 60-80 watts of blue, so one or two CFLs might replace an entire 400W unit, cut your power consumption by a bunch and make for an easier light to handle all the way around. Red output will be a bit more from the halogen, but 2-3 red CFLs might cover that, too.


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