Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I've had White Lightnings since 2001 and I've never had to change a flashtube. My new Einstein flashtube didn't make it through airline travel and is just 2 days young.

The model # is "AWFT14MMUV" for an Einstein flashtube? Is that only available via PaulC.Buff? Is there any chance I can walk into a Minneapolis camera store and find a "standard" or easy substitute for a quick replacement?

MAXFT12MMUV is the corect tube and only avilable through us.

This is why I ordered a spare flashtube and modeling light with my strobes :)

Basically, all photo flashtubes are proprietary and available only from the manufacturers or their distributors.

Since we are on the topic of flashtubes.... I've had the same flashtubes in my white lightnings for 10 plus years. Does the color consistency shift or change with age of flashtubes? (I haven't noticed a difference).

Yep, When i placed my order in Nov 2010. I made sure i ordered some spare parts. You never know when you'll need them...

Our flashtubes generally last from 200,000 to a million flashes, depending on power levels used. Color temperature shift is not normally seen. The most frequent cause of flash tube failure is mechanical . . . . a hairline crack allowing the gas to leak out, etc. This is not common but does happen on occasion . . . usually out of the box.