Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Halogen bulb: "Don't touch the glass"

So I went to buy a new halogen bulb today and when the man handed it to me, he told me not to touch the glass part of the bulb, only the metal part. (The funny part was that our conversation was in Danish, and when he told me not to touch here, I didn't understand him and said "What?" as I grabbed it where he was pointing...)

Anyway, is there actually a problem with getting oils or dirt from the skin on the glass, or is this just an urban legend?

it can cause cracking in the glass. as it heats up at different rates where there is oil or salt deposits on the glass, and the stress can fracture the globe.

mostly a problem with obvious dirty finger prints on larger globes than you'd ever use on your bike. we were paranoid about it in the theaters i used to work in, but then when a large high power globe can cost several hundred bucks, that's a stupid way to blow them. use a glove or a paper cover to insert.

it can cause cracking in the glass. as it heats up at different rates where there is oil or salt deposits on the glass, and the stress can fracture the globe.

mostly a problem with obvious dirty finger prints on larger globes than you'd ever use on your bike. we were paranoid about it in the theaters i used to work in, but then when a large high power globe can cost several hundred bucks, that's a stupid way to blow them. use a glove or a paper cover to insert.

:thumb:
exactly correct.

Clean it off with alcohol and a paper towel, and use the paper towel to insert it. It will be fine, just don't touch it again after cleaning.

my halogen bulb gets hotter than the sun

Thanks, all.

this is more of an issue with the bare bulbs you see in lighting.

That's not an issue if you talking about mr8,mr11 or mr16 bulbs.That's only for stand alone bulbs that use reflectors.