[madbrain]

I bought a PLV-Z1 in march 2003, along with a 92x52 screen, for a total of $2100.


I thought it was the perfect match for my small living room which has no space for a CRT of any kind (zero available floor space).


I thought the projector was very competitive with the expensive plasmas of the time, which were in the $3000 range.


I'm using the projector as only TV, turning it on about once or twice a day only. Over 2.5 years, I have had 6 burnt lamps, and about a total of 3000 hours of viewing.


That's a total of $1500 in lamps, on top of the initial $2100 investment, or $3600 . I could have had a decent LCD or plasma for that price even back then !

If the trend of 2 lamps a year continues, at the 5 year mark the cost of owning the projector will be $5000, which would have been a very decent flat screen 2.5 yrs ago including a 5yr warranty ... And something that wouldn't necessarily be dead right at the 5yr mark .


So, I'm not sure that I made the right decision anymore in buying a projector.

I just can't see myself buying one more lamp for this damn Sanyo lamp-eater !


What would you replace the lamp-eater with, considering the no-floor-space requirement ?


If I go with another projector, I could deal with an average lamp life of 1000 - 1500 hours, which would last me a year to 18 months, but 500 hours is simply unacceptable. If somebody offered a 12 months or 18 months lamp warranty, I would jump on it.


But otherwise I think I may be looking for advice on items that are likely to last for a longer period of time, ie. LCD or plasma. Advice is welcome !

 

[Sirquack]

That pattern does not seem normal. After turning off the power on the Z1, are you letting it completely cycle down until the fan stops running. I don't even flip up the lid on the front until the fan stops on my Z2, it has been over a year and still on bulb numero uno

 

[CMRA]

Whatever you are doing...stop. The three guys I know with Z1s all have well over 1000 hrs on their first lamp. Four lamps ago was the time to post.

 

[madbrain]

I use the Z1 in economy mode only.

I always let it completely cool down until it stops running.

I cut the power to the projector after that with an x10 remote.

And then I run an external fan to cool it some more.


This Z1 is just a dog.


CMRA - I'm doing nothing wrong except use the product.

I did post several times about my problem, including a year ago.

 

[victor-eyd]

Is it possible the filters are clogged?


Victor

 

[madbrain]

No. I clean the filter about one a month, which is about every 90 - 100 hours. The last time I cleaned it, there was no dust on the filter. I also took the opportunity to clean the inside of the projector to try to fix a dust blob (silly how the filter is clean, but there is dust inside). But there was nothing unusual inside ...


While my lamps average 500hrs, some of them have gone over 800, and others barely over 200 - all without change in the use of the projector.

 

[cburbs]

Are you always buying the bulb from the same place?


Might want to try elsewhere as maybe they sell refurbs or have bad batches....

Just a thought.

 

[Ohlson]

What is your room temperature? My room is between 18-21 degrees Celsius. When it gets really warm in the room 24-25 and it runs for more than an hour it gets hot and the fan start to cycle out of economy mode fan speed. Z1 might be sensitive to working in a warm room. This is just a guess.


Bad QC on the bulbs is also not unrealistic.

 

[madbrain]

No, I bought my bulbs from about 3 different places. No patterns on which ones died sooner than the others.

My room temperature varies from 20 in the winter to to 23 - 24 in the summer (that's with AC on).

 

[Bobby_M]

Maybe cutting the power or the external fan bit is an issue? No matter, I would have had Sanyo replace that unit. There's probably a voltage issue or something.


Bobby

 

[madbrain]

I am cutting the power on purpose because otherwise the PLV-Z1 runs hot (over 100°F) 24 hours a day, even unused. This is a finding that I made last year that was confirmed by many other Z1 owners. It was causing heat in the room, and was a waste of electricity. I figured it might also be a cause of the bulbs dying sooner than they should have.


I took care of the problem by setting up an X10 appliance module and remote. To turn off the projector, I first use the Z1 remote (well, the IR code programmed into my Sony RMAV2100) to turn off the Z1, then I wait for the cool down cycle, then when the fan is off, I use the X10 remote to cut power to the Z1. And if the room is warm, I also use another X10 code to turn on the fan that's set right next to the Z1 on the self, for additional cooling.


I honestly don't think there is anything more I could possibly do get the best lamp life out of my Z1. I called Sanyo today. Got their voice mail, unreturned. I hope they do something.

I kept the last 4 broken lamp assemblies as evidence ...

 

[Ohlson]

That is just typical. You are doing everything right and what do you get. I am sure there is a person not taking care of his z1 that is gettng 1000+ hours.

I am getting close to a 1000 hours myself. In the beginning I was worried about lamp life. I can live with 1000+ hours and if I get more than 1500 hours I will be satisfied but not happy.

 

[Bobby_M]

Perhaps keeping the bulb "warm" 24/7 actually helps lamp life. I left my z1 in standby 24/7 and i'm at about 850 hours with no significant dimming. I have it ceiling mounted though. Could it be that you're shelf mounted and airflow is an issue? If the Sanyo manual doesn't suggest cutting power or using external fans, I probably wouldn't admit that practice when discussing warranty issues with them. Ohlsen, I wouldn't call it "everything right" unless it's deemed so by Sanyo.


Bobby

 

[madbrain]

All the Sanyo doc says is that you should wait for the cooling cycle to turn off the PJ . It certainly doesn't preclude ever turning off the power !


Last year there were discussions on the subject of heat in projector lamps, and the consensus was that starting the PJ with a warm bulb was harmful to its life.


The later Sanyo models (Z2 and Z3) reportedly don't keep warm 24 hours a day when unused. I believe that's because this Z1 defect was fixed in those models.


Regarding my shelf, I have more than a foot from the back, and several feet on each of the sides, as well as at least 3 feet above, due to high ceiling . I use the legs to raise the PJ a few inches as well so there is space below it too .


I don't think airflow is the problem.

 

[NaTeDoGG]

I moved my Z2 inside a coffee table where it only had 1.5ft or so of space between the exhaust and the table wall. Killed a bulb in just a month or so, at 600 hours. I'm sure it was because of where I put it.


If that isn't it, go into the factory menus and increase the fan speeds. There are different settings for low/high mode and for various temperature ranges. Increase all these fan speeds maybe 20% or more since you are having so many problems. There are also settings for how long the fans stay on after you turn it off. I would increase these as well.


I recommend any PJ owner to increase the fan settings slightly if you ever pop a bulb prematurely.

 

[coaldigger]

I passed 1500 hrs and have not noticed dimming. I am ceiling mounted. I turn off power after the cool down cycle. I never close the lens cover (it is 8/12 feet in the air). The temperature, year round is around 68 F. I clean the filter about once per month but it is never dirty. I only turn on the unit once per day but I might have it on for as much as 12 hrs during football season.

 

[markam]

Quote:

I am sure there is a person not taking care of his z1 that is gettng 1000+ hours

That would be me. 2 years, 8 months. Cleaned filter 2 times. Original bulb, no noticable dimming.

 

[madbrain]

markam,


How hours do you have total on your PJ ?

 

[FrankJ.Cone]

My original Z1 bulb lasted 1260 hours without a filter cleaning. It started dimming about 10 hours before going out.


The replacement lasted 612 hours (I did not keep a UPS on it at this point, power went out on a cold winter day when I had the heat cranked in the HT and POP!).


When I gave it away it had 800 hours on the third bulb and the picture was good as new.


I was too lazy too clean it, the most cleaning I ever did was vacume the filters from the outside. I satarted turing the power off on the third bulb, for the first two I only shut it down with the remote.

 

[jeffropaige]

Im not mad when I write this but I will put it in bold so you hear me loud and clear DO NOT USE AN EXTERNAL FAN TO COOL THE PJ FURTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even when the pj is done cooling the lamp the lamp will still be hot to the touch. It should be allowed to FULLY cool. DO NOT run an external fan on the pj. Have you ever taken chem lab? Did you do the hot glass experiment? The hot glass will cool down and not shatter if you allow it to cool naturally. Run it under cool water and it will pop into peices. Same thing except the bulb is alittle more hardy and the "cooling" from the external device is not as cool as the water I would think. Its just not a good idea at all. jeff


p.s.y ou should upgrade anyway, in my opinion to the z3 or upcoming z4