The penetration and equilibration of the velocity distribution function of an initially monoenergetic electron beam with energies of 50, 100, and 500 eV which is injected into a Maxwellian ‘‘bulk’’ hydrogen pseudospark or back‐lighted thyratron plasma ( j≊104A/cm2,Te≊1 eV,ne=1–3×1015cm−3) is evaluated using a Fokker–Planck equation. The electron beam considered here is the part that is produced during the conductive phase by the electric field in the cathode fall. The beam is estimated to traverse the electrode gap without equilibration with the background plasma if the plasma density is ≤2.5×1015cm−3.