Getting Your Sidel SBO 20 Series 1 Lamps Back in Shape
We built these infrared lamps to be simple. No fuss, no modifications. Whether you’re running an old-school SBO 20 Series 1 or one of the newer Matrix lines, these just slide right in. We made sure the dimensions match the OEM specs exactly, so you don’t have to spend your afternoon messing around with the heating oven or fighting with lamp holders. Let’s talk heat. These lamps use high-voltage circuits to get the wattage needed to heat PET preforms quickly. We’ve dialed in the filaments to hit a very specific heat density. Now, if you go with a 2500W tube, your heat-up time will be lightning fast. But here’s the thing: make sure your oven’s ventilation is actually doing its job. If the oven housing gets too hot, it’ll eat through your lamps way faster than it should. The build quality We use heavy-wall quartz glass. Why? Because rapid cycling is brutal on equipment, and this glass can take the thermal shock without cracking. Inside, we use a halogen fill. This stops the tungsten from evaporating, which means the glass stays clear and the IR transmission stays strong for thousands of hours. As for the plugs, we use standard R7s or SK15 connectors depending on your model. You can just wire them up and go. No weird adapters, no custom crimping, no headaches. A few tips for installation When it comes to the SBO and Matrix series, a couple of millimeters make a huge difference. If a lamp is even slightly off, it puts stress on the quartz and—snap—you’ve got a crack. We keep our tolerances tight so they slide into the sockets without you having to force them. One last piece of advice. If your reflectors are pitted or covered in grime, a brand new lamp isn’t going to fix your problem. The heat won’t hit the “sweet spot” of the preform if the reflector is oxidized. Give them a good cleaning before you swap the lamps. You’ll get much better results.