Bradbaum,
The incandescent "black light" bulbs run very hot due to the purple film on the bulb. Not surprised they blew. As for the 3-4 hour life on the photofloods, I think that must be for continuous duty - I've been using the same pair of bulbs (one white, one blue) for three years, about 5 hours of lightning each Halloween and they're still going strong. They do run hot, and I use ceramic inserts in the reflectors to prevent the plastic sockets melting. Do what you can to keep them dry; water on an electrical circuit is never a good thing.

__________________
But now is the end of days, and I am the Reaper!

Dark Alessa

Yep, those are the bulbs. I use one BCA also, which is slighly less bright, but has a higher temperature rating, to give it that bluish elecrical arc look.

I only put mine out on Halloween night, and I haven't had rain for the past few years that I've used them. The good news is that they don't stay on very long, rather they just flash for a few brief seconds every couple of minutes, so they don't have a chance to get really hot. That's the reason bulbs explode: the rapid temperature change causes the glass to shatter. In a drizzle, I would even feel comforatble covering the front of the fixture with some clear plastic to protect the bulb. A weather-proof enclosure would be great, just make sure you use a reflector in there to maximize your output.

Don't be intimidated about the life. Again, the total "on" time for a night is probably no more than 10 minutes. You should be able to get several years out of a bulb, even if you use it for a week during the season.

You're right about the brightness, and with two of them running off one box, you maximize your lumens while staying within the wattage specification of the box. It works really well, and is very cost effective.

Go for the photo floods. You won't be disappointed!

Good luck!
-dgm

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Hollin Hall Haunts

Thanks so much.I appreciate the info.

I know this thread is old, but good info on what I've been working on in Our graveyard. Just bought (4) of the lightning F/X Boxes from Spillsbury for $12.88 each. shipping was $11.95. Also Home Depot sells a heavy duty light housing that comes with stake for the ground, or mounting hardware for wall, or tree.
I took mine apart, removed the 3 foot cord, and replaced with 15 foot pond pump cord. makes it easier to mount in tree.
I remove and save all grounded cords from things that are broken. when I go to use them, they may have funny colored wires instead of black, white , and green. I use an Ohm meter, or battery charger with meter, then check for fault from plug blade to bare wire.

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"Don't be to proud of this technological terror you've constructed".

"Darth Vader"

Thanks for the info. I bought one and heres a video testing it out.

I was wondering why you would want more than one of these. Are you doing different scene's or are you using them all in one place. If so are you using the same audio track and linking them together or on their own with different tracks? just curious

I'll be using two of those this year. The box can handle only 500 watts of lighting, so I can double the effect with the 2nd box. Both boxes will run off of the same CD player.

__________________
But now is the end of days, and I am the Reaper!

Dark Alessa