On a blow molding line, one heater lamp going down can shut the whole heating tunnel. Preforms cool unevenly, you lose output, and you’re stuck scrambling for a replacement while OEE tanks. On a Krones blow molder, the heating section is the one place you can’t afford to roll the dice. What matters under the hood Krones heater lamps are OEM-matched infrared emitters. You’re looking at a high-stability quartz envelope with a halogen filament tuned for short-wave output. That spectrum gets into PET preforms fast, giving you quick, repeatable heating across the heating tunnel profile. We match Krones wattage, voltage, base type, and the full dimensional envelope so the lamp drops straight in—no re-engineering reflectors or messing with power connections. The internal filament support and getter chemistry are chosen to resist hot-spot drift, and every lamp is run-tested against consistent irradiance and tight tolerance stacks. Why this matters on the blow molder In stretch blow molding, heating uniformity is what protects neck-ring integrity, controls wall thickness, and keeps bottle weight on target. When you get more life out of the lamp, you cut change frequency, keep the tunnel temperature map stable, and keep the line running between scheduled maintenance windows. Stable heating also means fewer temperature-related defects and less scrap from preforms that are overheated or underheated. The payoff shows up as higher uptime, changeovers that behave predictably, and lower spare parts spend per bottle. What you need to keep straight Extended lamp life depends on the heating tunnel environment. Keep reflectors clean, verify cooling airflow, and make sure the power supply matches the rated voltage—overdriving the filament is a fast way to shorten life. Even with a solid lamp, mismatched reflectors or unstable voltage will cut service life. Install with the correct torque and alignment, and track run hours so you swap before output drift starts to hit quality.