ei Total Productions wrote:
A flashtube will fail when it goes out and until it does, it won't.  Flashtubes usually fail for a reason.  If they get hit hard, often and are forced to overheat, that will cause failure.  Impact will sometimes dislodge or misalign electrodes.  Sometimes there will be a manufacturing failure and that will cause a failure.  They actually don't wear out that easily.  In most cases, if they go, something causes them to go or it is just bad luck.

This.  Yup.   I've never had one just "decide to quit". When mine have "gone", it's usually because somehow a light-stand fell over. (I lose more models that way :::sigh::. 

Another common reason why they quit, is fingerprints. A fingerprint on the flash tube causes it to heat up and fry...actually causing a "bubble" in the glass, that bursts. This is especially true of brands where the flashtube is easily accessible like Alien Bees or White Lightning which don't have protective covers like Photogenics or Normans do. See images below.

Some flash tubes have Pyrex protective glass covers which make getting fingerprints on the tube difficult. The covers also prevent damage to models (I hate picking glass fragments out of models' skin), if the flashtube should burst....which does happen.


It's much easier to get a fingerprint on units with exposed flashtubes (see image below). If that happens, and the bulb explodes, glass goes flying, and the bulb will need to be replaced (maybe the model's face too). For photographers who use such equipment, I recommend wiping the flash tube down with alcohol (not Jack Daniels), occasionally. Or, at least use a softbox to contain flying glass.