Landing light-4509 or 4509Q?

[Lownslow]

One thing for sure, when I taxi at night I want it lit up like Arlington Stadium. So both will work just fine. O.K.... Now that were're out of the hangar. How do you set up the taxi light on the 22/20? Does the taxi light (or both) get repositioned to a lower angle to compensate for the conversion to the tailswagger? I haven't checked mine yet to see if they have that much adjustment.

Lou S.

[DaveH]

In case anyone is still wanting to know the difference between the Q (quartz) and a conventional lamp, the quartz ones give out more light for the same power by running hotter. Normally this would cause the tungsten filament to evaporate quickly, darkening the glass and causing the filament to thin and fail rather quickly. However, they also contain iodine or bromine that cleverly stops the evaporation problem. The hotter filament needs a quartz bulb envelope to avoid problems due to normal glass softening when hot, hence the name.

Keep an eye on the materials near the bulb in case they also become affected by the heat, but considering the lights are not on for extended periods, and some people on here are already using them without problem, you should be OK with them. Dave.

[Steve Pierce]

Great information. Thanks Dave.

[Curly]

I have just pulled the lights out of the wing and bugger it - I dropped one - now the filament is floating around on it's own.

The wiring to the lights appears big enough to run a small town - and looks like Piper original. I am going to replace both the wiring and the sealed beams but before I do, has anyone got any leads on an LED replacement for the originals?

[Steve Pierce]

This HID light system is pretty awesome. We compared them to standard bulbs and there was a major difference plus the longevity of the bulbs. http://www.aerohilights.com/

[51-pa22]

Curly and all
Been digging around for any and all valid info on the 4509 Q4509 4509Q and any other APPROVED for my little PA??
so far the most cost effective and approved or approvable (sp) is the Q4509.
a brighter and lower power solution is the HID systems that cost around $500 and will take a 337

Yes Dave is indeed correct the Q bulb does run hotter....at the inner quartz bulb. It must.
however the difference in temp on the outer envelope is well within the acceptable limits for our Pipers and this has been documented well.
At this point it is a question of lumins per dollar vs life time per dollar.

life for 4509 is stated at 25 hr with a nominal price about $10.00 at your local NAPA or....
nowthe Q4509 is stated at 100hr again with a nominal price of $20-$40 AND it does give a bit more light ~100k cp vs `120 cp
so for about the same price per hr the Q4509 is just about the same price with about 1/3 the labor considering one would need to replace the 4509 3 more time to reach the expected 100 hr service life of a Q4509

now if one is VERY power starved....no alternator or generator, and running totally off batteries then cutting your current down and running a 35W HID system for $500 might be reasonable.

For me,
If I could get the Q4509s for around $20..... Go for it.
if in doubt have your A&P fill out your logbook for the installation from a 4509 to a Q4509

It is a minor alteration.

[MrWayne]

Not to be critical But: I challenge whether the "Q" bulb really does run hotter. Here is my reasoning. Both bulbs consume 100 watts of energy. All light bulbs produce both heat and light with that energy. The bulb that produces more light should produce less heat. Any thoughts by you all?

[51-pa22]

Take a look at the following.
http://zeiss-campus.magnet.fsu.edu/articles/lightsources/images/tungstenlampsfigure1.jpg&imgrefurl

It is a bit more information than you may have wanted.
It may, though, answer some questions about a standard 4509 vs a Q4509
enjoy

[smcnutt]

Just as a follow-up, I ended up purchasing the straight 4509 just to be safe. However, when I actually replaced the bulb the burned out one WAS a Q4509. Since I had already purchased the non-Q version (actually bought two) I just put that one in and still have one as a spare. In essence I just inadvertently down-graded. When the next bulb burns out I'm not sure if I will put in the extra 4509 I have sitting on the shelf or go ahead a buy a Q4509 - probably the latter.

[MrWayne]

What to do with old light bulbs? The FAR's say that your aircraft battery should load checked annually. This becomes way more important if you fly IFR. If your charging system fails it is what is left in the battery that has to supply electricity while you get down in a hurry. The test is done by putting a known load on the battery and timing how long the battery will actually supply that power. A bank of 5 or 10 landing lights or automotive headlights works well for the load in this test. WAyne