Jennifer Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Ok, so I was teaching a course on parasitology last month and I had a guy come in to talk about microscope care. He said that you should never turn the microscope (light) off at the wall, since the bulb life will be reduced (from power surges?). This made me think about my tank lights. If I turn them off at the wall, is that going to reduce their lifespan? Similarly, if I have them on a timer, this is essentially turning them on and off at the wall, right? So what's the deal here? Should I avoid turning my lights off at the wall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Unless you have some special switch it doesn't make any differnence where you turn them off. I suspect that the microscope had a fan or something that cooled the light, turning it off at the wall would also turn off the fan letting the bulb overheat. Projectors have a similar system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Possibly a difference in back emf due to the different wiring distances...But that would just be so stupidly small. Most likely a fan, like suphew says. That's assuming his concerns are actually valid and not a case of "Someone sometime told me with some unrelated equipment that I shouldn't turn it off at the wall." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 In relation to your fluro's or MH over a tank, power off is power off. the lamp life will be shortened with excessive switching (12 + times a day) but not relevant to our use. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks guys. I am pretty certain these microscopes have no fan so who knows what that guy was on about. At any rate, it is good to know that it makes little difference whether turning it off at the wall or at the switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks guys. I am pretty certain these microscopes have no fan so who knows what that guy was on about. At any rate, it is good to know that it makes little difference whether turning it off at the wall or at the switch. sometimes certain personalities will grab snipits of info & store it for use when trying to bolster the appearance of knowledge on something. we have an IT guy at work that is full of useless info like that that helps no one but fills in the day & manages to keep him from doing anything that remotely looks like the task at hand. Its really kinda odd, replies to any question are a complete over view of everything & anything remotely like the question you asked but none of it actually helps sort the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Ha!! This guy must be related! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Ha!! This guy must be related! :lol: they ust teach that at IT school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 If you pull the plug out of the wall without turning it off then the period where there is a poor connection, and a power surge will occur as the electricity bridges the gap. this can be harmful to electrical equipment. that is why switches click when you switch them - they are spring loaded so they are either on or off and the time they spend either connecting or disconnecting (and therefore the time with a poor connection) to the current is minimised - it is fine to switch things on and off but try to avoid pulling the plug out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 ... but try to avoid pulling the plug out Especially if you yank it out by the cord!!! :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 If you pull the plug out of the wall without turning it off then the period where there is a poor connection, and a power surge will occur as the electricity bridges the gap. this can be harmful to electrical equipment. that is why switches click when you switch them - they are spring loaded so they are either on or off and the time they spend either connecting or disconnecting (and therefore the time with a poor connection) to the current is minimised - it is fine to switch things on and off but try to avoid pulling the plug out This is correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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