Epson 8350 - Bulb Life

Originally Posted by docthejoc

Hello,

I am considering buying an 8350 for a living room project that I am about to start, but I keep reading reviews on Amazon of premature bulb failures. Is this something that I should be worried about? I know that Epson totes that it's bulbs will last 4000 hours, but I just wanted to ask the experts what is a realistic number that I should expect before I have to change the bulb.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you,
Noob

Originally Posted by Toe_Cutter

This is a very real issue that has plagued my 8500 since I purchased it in Feb 2010. I've confirmed with Epson that the issue persists with all 8000 series projectors, as they use the very same 200W lamp.

I've not had a single lamp last more than 700 hours. Sometimes they dim very gradually, until you finally notice the image is incredibly dark, and sometimes they just go with a loud "POP!"

After several replacements, Epson suggested I exchange the projector, which I was more than eager to try. Even so, the replacement projector burned through lamps at the same interval.

In all fairness, Epson has been very cooperative in replacing the bad lamps, even shipping them overnight. Following a failure last year, I asked to speak with a senior technician who explained that using the 8000 series projectors for more than a few hours straight can cause premature failure of the lamps.

I determined that I (and my wife) were running the projector anywhere between 3-5 hours daily (daily, not continuously), and the tech suggested I allow the unit to cool after 2 hours of usage, as the lamp element actually becomes so hot it begins to "droop", as if the glass itself was beginning to melt. You can see this very clearly by simply looking at the failed lamp.

I followed this suggestion very closely, even opening the lamp cover to allow for extra air flow after shutting down the unit (and after the cooling fan had stopped), but the effort had zero effect on extending the lamp life. They continued to fail between 500-700 hours.

With my warranty about to expire, I'm considering another brand, or perhaps an Epson 5010, which I understand uses a new lamp design. At $250 each, replacing lamps out of pocket would become prohibitively expensive once my 8500 goes out of warranty.

The irony is that the image quality of my Epson is so incredibly breathtaking with a new lamp, that I simply cannot decide whether to go to another brand, or stay with Epson. The image is truly spectacular, even though the Epson is 17 feet from my Carada 1.0 Gain Classic White 110" Screen (which is also a GREAT product).

I simply wanted to confirm that I have experienced the very same issue that concerns you, but I also wanted to convey how well Epson has handled the issue and how great the projector works with a fresh lamp.

Originally Posted by White Noise

Good news worm. Thanks for posting. I was a little worried.

Originally Posted by docthejoc

Thanks Toe_Cutter for that reply. Your response hit the nail on the head with my concerns. On occasion, I watch my TV for hours at a time and I envision my new projector to do the same (at least I would like it to for the price point). I may also have to look at other projectors, but find it hard to veer from the 8350 (for the price and picture quality).

Wormraper - I don't suppose you would know if they still have the model with the 'defective' lamps still on the market now? With them changing the manufacturers of the lamps, I fear that if I make my purchase through Amazon, they may still have a surplus of the older models (prior to the manufacturer change) and I will experience the same issues as Toe_Cutter.

Originally Posted by stegen

I have a 8700ub with I'm guessing around 800 hours in almost a year. If the bulb pops and they send you a new one, do you send the old one back?

Originally Posted by Toe_Cutter 


This is a very real issue that has plagued my 8500 since I purchased it in Feb 2010. I've confirmed with Epson that the issue persists with all 8000 series projectors, as they use the very same 200W lamp.


I've not had a single lamp last more than 700 hours. Sometimes they dim very gradually, until you finally notice the image is incredibly dark, and sometimes they just go with a loud "POP!"


After several replacements, Epson suggested I exchange the projector, which I was more than eager to try. Even so, the replacement projector burned through lamps at the same interval.


In all fairness, Epson has been very cooperative in replacing the bad lamps, even shipping them overnight. Following a failure last year, I asked to speak with a senior technician who explained that using the 8000 series projectors for more than a few hours straight can cause premature failure of the lamps.


I determined that I (and my wife) were running the projector anywhere between 3-5 hours daily (daily, not continuously), and the tech suggested I allow the unit to cool after 2 hours of usage, as the lamp element actually becomes so hot it begins to "droop", as if the glass itself was beginning to melt. You can see this very clearly by simply looking at the failed lamp.


I followed this suggestion very closely, even opening the lamp cover to allow for extra air flow after shutting down the unit (and after the cooling fan had stopped), but the effort had zero effect on extending the lamp life. They continued to fail between 500-700 hours.


With my warranty about to expire, I'm considering another brand, or perhaps an Epson 5010, which I understand uses a new lamp design. At $250 each, replacing lamps out of pocket would become prohibitively expensive once my 8500 goes out of warranty.


The irony is that the image quality of my Epson is so incredibly breathtaking with a new lamp, that I simply cannot decide whether to go to another brand, or stay with Epson. The image is truly spectacular, even though the Epson is 17 feet from my Carada 1.0 Gain Classic White 110" Screen (which is also a GREAT product).


I simply wanted to confirm that I have experienced the very same issue that concerns you, but I also wanted to convey how well Epson has handled the issue and how great the projector works with a fresh lamp.

Originally Posted by jnabq 

Panasonic recently had issues with their lamps, resulting in a change to their bulb supplier.

Originally Posted by Mr.G 

This is news to me. Can you provide your source? I've Googled for quite a while and can't find a story on this.

Originally Posted by topher27 



BTW, anyone else have problems with the Auto-Iris giving random failures on power-up?