Stop Overpaying for Krones Contiform Heating Lamps
Let’s be honest: OEM parts for Krones Contiform machines can be a nightmare for your budget. You need the heat to be perfect, but you don’t need to go broke getting it. That’s why we made a drop-in replacement lamp. It’s built to match the thermal output and electrical footprint of the original Husky and Krones elements, but without the “brand name” price tag.
How the heating actually works
Blowing PET is a delicate balance. You need enough infrared energy to hit that glass transition temperature, but if you overdo it, you’ll scorch the plastic. We use short-wave halogen technology to solve this. It concentrates the power into a narrow spectrum, which means the heat punches through the preform wall quickly. Most of these are spec’d for high-voltage setups. We use a 400V configuration to cram more wattage into a shorter tube. It creates a serious amount of heat density. **But here is the catch:**because there’s so much energy in one spot, your reflectors have to be spotless. If dust builds up on those mirrors, the lamp will overheat and burn out way faster than it should. Keep them clean.
The gritty details
We use heavy-wall quartz glass because these lamps go through a lot of thermal shock. They heat up and cool down fast, and cheap glass just can’t handle that. Depending on how old your machine is, you’ll get either R7s or Sk15 connectors. They fit tight, which is exactly what you want—no arcing at the terminals. We also coat the quartz to tweak the emission spectrum. It helps the PET resin absorb the heat more efficiently. Plus, we build these to the exact millimeter of the OEM footprint. You won’t have to mess with your wiring or modify your lamp holders. It just fits.
Putting them to work
Swapping these out is easy. You pull the old tube, pop the new one in, and you’re done. Since the wattage matches the original, you don’t have to spend your afternoon recalibrating PID controllers or messing with power supplies. It just works. One quick tip: if you’re running these at max capacity, your cooling blowers are going to work harder. If your blowers are old or worn out, the oven temperature will creep up. That can mess with your heat distribution, so give your fans a check while you’re in there.