Trumpy:

You must have the patience of a saint, the last person who turned on a breaker on me got a pair of linemans thrown at them! [Linked Image] (They actually CUT the lock off! I now use better grade locks.)

My favorite:

"Can't you change the bulb now? It already blew up."

To explain: Most cinema projectors use Xenon short-arc bulbs rated from 2,000 to 7,000 watts (operating on DC, high-current,low voltage).

The bulbs are under high pressure and have heavy Tungsten electrodes. They operate at extremely high temperature (around 2,000 degrees!!) and the electrodes glow from the heat for at least a few minutes, too hot to touch for ten minutes.

This comment came from a manager right after a bulb exploded while I was there on an unrelated service call. Of course, it was in the largest theater which was sold out. After it cooled for ten minutes I changed the bulb, and the electrodes were still warm enough to discolor the workbench top!!

Related:

"Why should we change the bulb? It still works."

Xenon bulbs are expensive ($400 and up) but now tend to last well past rated life (around 2,000 hours in the 2k and 4k sizes, about 1,000 hours for the larger bulbs.) I have seen some 4k bulbs run well past 6,000 hours!!

But the risk of violent failure increases dramatically as the bulb ages. (See above.) And when a bulb explodes, it usually damages or shatters the reflector surrounding it. (The reflector on most lamphouses now runs $800 - $1500!)

And finally all cinema equipment follows Murphy's Law: "An equipment breakdown will always happen when the theatre is full on a Saturday night, never on Wednesday afternoon when only the roaches are watching the show." [Linked Image]

Stupid should be painful.