Tips to Keep Your DLP or LCD Projector Lamp Shining Brightly

Today’s projectors are built to handle the demands of a busy office, political campaign, or school classroom. But that doesn’t make them invincible. The most vulnerable part of the whole apparatus, and usually the first to go out, is the lamp. And, as anyone who’s ever owned a projector can tell you, a replacement lamp is never cheap.

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Are there any specific measures you can take to extend the life of your projector’s lamp? Each brand will have its own tips and advice included with its user’s guide. But there are some generic tips that can be applied to just about any projection system that will help squeeze a few more hours out of the life of that bulb.

Here are our suggestions, in no particular order:

1. Test the lamp as soon as you get it. A new unit should be run for about 20 hours during the first couple of weeks. If your lamp is a lemon, it will probably fail within that time. Most lamp warranties give you an average of 90 days to report any issues.

2. Keep the vents and air filters clear. All projectors don’t have air filters. If yours does, make sure you keep it clean. Clean the dust filter every three to six months. Clogged vents or filters will cause overheating in the lamp and total failure.

3. Don’t block the vents. The lamp needs circulating air. Don’t obstruct the intake or exhaust vents.

4. Pick your locations wisely. Be mindful of the environment in which you plan to operate your projector. Extreme humidity, temperature, and dust can all shorten the life of your lamp.

5. Let the lamp cool off before unplugging it. Most projectors have fans that continue to run after the projector is shut off. These fans ensure even cooling inside the projector to decrease the chance of lamp failure. Don’t unplug the projector until the lamp is finished cooling.

6. Don’t move the projector until it is cooled. A hot lamp is a fragile lamp. Let the lamp cool completely before moving it. The filaments inside the lamp are extremely sensitive and easily damaged.

7. Keep the on/off cycles to a minimum. Every time you turn the projector on, the sudden influx of power places stress on the lamp filaments. Don’t turn it on and off multiple times in a day.

8. Give it an hour after cooling before turning it on again. If you use your projector for more than 3 hours, then shut it down, and wait at least an hour before you turn it back on again. Turning it back on sooner will send more voltage during the lamp heat-up cycle than the still warm lamp can handle. This will cut a nice chunk of time off you lamp’s life.

9. Wear gloves to handle the lamp. Oils and dirt deposits from hands and fingers can cause “hot spots” on the lamp. These can cause temperature gradient stresses that can lead to premature lamp failure.

10. Cut to “low lamp” mode when possible. Use the “low lamp” or “economy power mode” whenever you can.

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