Any safety concerns using old flashbulbs?

Ces1um · Mar 26, 2018

I have been lusting after an old kodak brownie and currently have a lead on a flash model, with a few flash bulbs. Now I hate to perpetuate what could be a myth here, but I've heard on some youtube video at some point that sometimes old bulbs will shatter/rupture when taking a photo, and I think they went on to say some flashes were outfitted with a mesh screen to protect the subject of a portrait from the glass. Now this could be an absolute load of hokum- or maybe everybody knows it's true. My knowledge of flashbulbs is non existent. I'm from the generation of flashcubes and beyond. Other than waiting for them to cool down before ejecting them, are there any safety concerns I should be aware of?

DWThomas · Mar 26, 2018

Toward the end of the flashbulb era, many or most of them were dipped in a plastic coating that pretty much negated the likelihood of shards flying even if the bulb did pop. You can see the coating visually if it's there -- in fact, the B types for daylight color film were dipped in a blue coating as I remember it (I probably have a few in a dusty box around here somewhere.) I certainly wouldn't fire one in the face of a child or anything. They are in fact considerably more potent than most modest consumer electronic flashes.

BrianShaw · Mar 26, 2018

The threat of bulb shattering is grossly exaggerated. But there were flash covers, some a plastic shield and others basically a small plastic shower-cap. I’ve never had a bulb shatter but wonder if one did, about how far would the shards fly. I suspect a very short range.

As far as safety precautions... be aware of potential static electricity.

Prof_Pixel · Mar 26, 2018

The worst ones were the gas filled Fast-peak bulbs

jim10219 · Mar 26, 2018

They can explode into shards when fired. So I wouldn’t put them too close to anyone’s face. But, as previously stated, most will be plastic coated and the coating works pretty well to contain the shards. However, those plastic coatings are getting old, so there’s still some risk involved. You’re not likely to encounter a serious problem in the real world, but the risk isn’t zero.

Something not mentioned, and far more likely to pose a real world problem, is they can also burn you. Many flash guns have an ejector on the back to pop out the spent bulb without touching it. Otherwise, protect your hand with something or give them a short period of time before handling them. But probably the most important thing to know is to not put unused bulbs in your pocket! The static electricity can cause them to go off in your pocket and burn you pretty badly!

Also, I recommend warning the model that they’ll feel some warmth from the bulb. If they’re used to electronic flashes, they may not expect the amount of heat these things put off. It’s not a dangerous amount of heat so long as your not touching it, but it is noticeable, even from some distance away.

mshchem · Mar 26, 2018

At one time I had about 2 bushel of bulbs. I kept then in a garden shed. Microwave energy, radar etc. can set them off. I knew a Navy photographer, he told me they would throw bulbs up in front of the ship's radar and watch them go off. I think they are pretty darn safe. My Dad used 25B press bulbs, the plastic coating would blister and sizzle, I loved that smell . Stored in their original package, probably no problem. Just be aware that static electricity can do strange things. I still think flashbulbs are cool, they burn for so long shutter speed will effect exposure. Still damn nice light source. Don't touch the bulb right away, most flash holders have groovy spring loaded ejectors, just shoot it into the garbage.

darkroommike · Mar 26, 2018

Old bulbs are not very likely to explode but you should always treat them like they will, so shields are a good idea. Bulbs are also hot as heck and can cause some pretty good burns. There is also the slight chance that the last bulb you fired welded the contacts in your shutter together so look away when you are putting the new bulb in the flash guns the light is very bright and painful.

Sirius Glass · Mar 26, 2018

Flash bulbs are plastic coated and basically safe as long as you do not fire one off in someone's face. Grab one too soon after firing and you will have an unpleasant surprise, hence I would release them into a safe repository such as an ashtray. By the way, ashtrays are hard to find these days.

I have forgotten the name of the APUGger who related as a teenager decided to take apart a flash cube with his bare hands and a screwdriver. He not only burned his hands, he saw spots for a long time.

Arklatexian · Mar 26, 2018

DWThomas said:
Toward the end of the flashbulb era, many or most of them were dipped in a plastic coating that pretty much negated the likelihood of shards flying even if the bulb did pop. You can see the coating visually if it's there -- in fact, the B types for daylight color film were dipped in a blue coating as I remember it (I probably have a few in a dusty box around here somewhere.) I certainly wouldn't fire one in the face of a child or anything. They are in fact considerably more potent than most modest consumer electronic flashes.

+1

Nodda Duma · Mar 27, 2018

I’ve been using old bulbs lately..several dozen at least. I just cover the flashamp with a ziploc bag. No shattered bulbs yet, either.

AgX · Mar 27, 2018

Some flashes (not just the bulbs!) came with clear protecting shields. That should make one think. But I admit, so far I have not experienced a flash bulb actually eject splinters.

In any case set apart bulbs that have not got an air tightness indicator, or which is showing leakage. Use these on save occasions or even better dispose of these savely.

voceumana · Mar 27, 2018

Flush bulbs often cracked when fired, but as indicated by others the plastic coating protected users from exposure to the shards. The plastic melted a little when fired, and gave a particular odor anyone familiar with flash will remember.

mjork · Mar 27, 2018

There was one time when I experienced a flashbulb exploding and had shards of glass flying off. But that bulb already looked questionable to me before firing. So I'm not even sure why I tried using it... I had to pick out the pieces of glass from the still life scene I was photographing.
For people shots I will always use a glass shield in front of the reflector.

BAC1967 · Mar 27, 2018

I often use flash bulbs, the biggest hazard I have found is the angry people blinded by them.

pentaxuser · Mar 27, 2018

jim10219 said:
You’re not likely to encounter a serious problem in the real world, but the risk isn’t zero.
But probably the most important thing to know is to not put unused bulbs in your pocket! The static electricity can cause them to go off in your pocket and burn you pretty badly!.

I'd have thought that the second sentence rather contradicts the first sentence. It would not cross the minds of most people that simply placing a bulb in your pocket could ever generate enough static electricity to make the bulb go off. How many instances of this are known? Has it happened to you or anyone you know?

Thanks

pentaxuser

AgX · Mar 27, 2018

I never heard of such before. But I got plain bulbs in wholesale packaging. The retail cardboard boxes of 12 bulbs are packed in a large cardboard box laminated at its inside with aluminium.
On the other hand there are flashcubes and flashbars. These, especially the latter, should rather easily charge up itself and there is no safety means.

Nodda Duma · Mar 27, 2018

pentaxuser said:
I'd have thought that the second sentence rather contradicts the first sentence. It would not cross the minds of most people that simply placing a bulb in your pocket could ever generate enough static electricity to make the bulb go off. How many instances of this are known? Has it happened to you or anyone you know?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Polyester was popular in the 70s

darkroommike · Mar 27, 2018

pentaxuser said:
I'd have thought that the second sentence rather contradicts the first sentence. It would not cross the minds of most people that simply placing a bulb in your pocket could ever generate enough static electricity to make the bulb go off. How many instances of this are known? Has it happened to you or anyone you know?

Thanks

pentaxuser

I had heard that before but the weirdest story I ever heard was from a retired Navy photographer who knew an Air Force Photographer. He had an entire station wagon full of flash bulbs in preparation of a shoot off base at a missile silo in North Dakota, as he left the base the radar locked on him and triggered all the bulbs at the same time with a burst of microwaves. I don't care if the war story is true or not but the image has stayed with me since the seventies.

jim10219 · Mar 27, 2018

pentaxuser said:
I'd have thought that the second sentence rather contradicts the first sentence. It would not cross the minds of most people that simply placing a bulb in your pocket could ever generate enough static electricity to make the bulb go off. How many instances of this are known? Has it happened to you or anyone you know?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Yeah, they do sound a bit contradictory. I guess I’m just trying to say that it doesn’t happen very often, and you’ll likely not encounter the problem yourself, but it has happened many times before, and it will happen many times again to someone in the future. Its like wearing a seatbelt. You don’t wear one because you’re expecting to get into a car accident. You wear one because you could.

Have I ever had one go off in my pocket? No. Have I talked to people who have had that happen? Yes. I bought a Busch Pressman with a flash gun from a guy who warned me about it and said he has the scar to prove it. Plus if you think about it, two 1.5v D-cell batteries can set them off. Now consider that walking across the carpet in socks on a dry day can produce a shock of more than 20,000 volts!

mshchem · Mar 27, 2018

Nodda Duma said:
I’ve been using old bulbs lately..several dozen at least. I just cover the flashamp with a ziploc bag. No shattered bulbs yet, either.

Hey That's a good Idea!

mshchem · Mar 27, 2018

darkroommike said:
I had heard that before but the weirdest story I ever heard was from a retired Navy photographer who knew an Air Force Photographer. He had an entire station wagon full of flash bulbs in preparation of a shoot off base at a missile silo in North Dakota, as he left the base the radar locked on him and triggered all the bulbs at the same time with a burst of microwaves. I don't care if the war story is true or not but the image has stayed with me since the seventies.

Lucky that didn't set off WWIII . My vision is a white Ford station wagon with "US Government Official Use Only" stenciled on the front doors. That's a great story.

AgX · Mar 28, 2018

jim10219 said:
... think about it, two 1.5v D-cell batteries can set them off. Now consider that walking across the carpet in socks on a dry day can produce a shock of more than 20,000 volts!

It is not the voltage that counts, but the current and time that count. (For an electrical shock high voltage is benefitial to overcome high skin resistance) Concerning the ignition, a flash bulb is just a incandescant bulb, like a classic dial bulb. The tungsten wire has to heat up. Not red hot, but enough to trickle the explosive.

Flashes with a condenser even charge it via the filament of the bulb (current is kept sufficiently low by an added resistor).

However the most modern bulb flashes Topflash and Flipflash indeed are intended be triggered just by a piezoelectric element (as in modern lighters).

AgX · Mar 28, 2018

The aluminium lining of a wholesale pack I described above would be benefitial in protection against microwave radiation.
But I really find it hard to imagine the creation of a static charge going across an unlaminated cardboard box and igniting the bulbs inside.

Maybe I overlook something. (Static electricity is a complex matter.)

pentaxuser · Mar 28, 2018

AgX said:
It is not the voltage that counts, but the current and time that count. (For an electrical shock high voltage is benefitial to overcome high skin resistance) Concerning the ignition, a flash bulb is just a incandescant bulb, like a classic bicycle bulb. The tungsten wire has to heat up. Not red hot, but enough to trickle the explosive.

.

Yes I cannot quite get my head around how a pocket can generate enough electricity to set off a flash bulb for the reasons you give above. A guy from whom jim10219 bought a flash-gun warned him of this and said it had happened to him but people say all sorts of things - a bit like Gabby's stories told to Randolph Scott at the bar of those great saloons in the 1950s Westerns with a fully equipped stage, lots of dancing girls and the odd crooked lawyer, always with a thin moustache, thrown in

pentaxuser

AgX · Mar 28, 2018

Prof_Pixel said:
The worst ones were the gas filled Fast-peak bulbs

All flash bulbs are gas filled.

Any safety concerns using old flashbulbs?

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