So a slightly odd question but, do "full-frame" lamps loosen over time from vibrations in a car? Ie, the lamp is in a sleeve, in a cardboard box, alongside another, similar lamp. So no room to roll around, but just enough room to not take the shock to its internals... or so I thought.

Does driving with lamps, especially those that are BT-shaped, affect arc tube frame sturdiness, ie, does the lamp "rattle" more after spending time in such conditions? And even though such conditions are present, do potholes wreak havoc on sensitive internal parts?


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For a bit of context here, I took three vintage lamps out with me this weekend (1/18). They were stacked neatly in a cardboard box (with a fourth, sealed-in-box LED retrofit lamp in a perfect spot to allow for stability) for an interview for one of my colleges. Well, I forgot about them until this evening, and when I took them out of the car, I swore their rattling noises were more pronounced. However, I do not have a definite recollection of how loud or quiet they were prior to spending four days in the trunk of my car.

Thoughts??? Did I "ruin" a couple of perfectly-good lamps internally??

Shaking them around definitely won't help, so if you kept them in the car boot for unnecessarily long time just because you were too busy to take them out, I would say you did cause some damage. It even may not be the rattling itself, but e.g. some cracks propagating further, so leaving less margin till a failure.

Good to know, thank you.

Normally not.  The support frames are usually made of nickel with 2-3% manganese addition, to pin the nickel grain boundaries.  This gives the material surprisingly good elasticity.  Of course if you apply sufficient force to take the metal beyond its yield point then a permanent deformation could happen.  Also in case of shocks while hot thar can happen more easily.  But I would not be too concerned about transport by car.

What could happen is that the quartz arc tube becomes a bit looser in its metal clamps to the frame.  The quartz pinches are often a bit irregular in shape, and the metal straps do not always clamp them at their widest points.  Small movements may cause the arc tube to slip between its supports, and if it is thinner at that point it may then rattle more.

@James — I see. I believe that is what happened with two of my lamps; they somewhat "slipped" out of place, making their rattling more pronounced. But no permanent deformation.

Is there any way to make the frame "slip" its way back in place? Thanks for your reply!