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FrozenGate by Avery

Remember to exercise those argons!

Nope. That's a bargain. And the hour meter is under the faceplate, it's easy to get at with no danger. I think I posted on it somewhere in the teardown thread someone else did. There's a bunch of supplies that can drive the cylindrical heads. Newer tubes have less problems with sitting usually than tired ones. Starting the tube in a cold environment doesn't help either... But in summer that's obviously not a likely issue :p
 





Yeah I knew it was fairly easy to get to. Took about two minutes to get the front off.

2014-08-18_04-52-49pm by ltkernelpanic, on Flickr

That confirms why it's a hard starting tube. Over 9,000 hours on it. :eek:

I can't remember how many my other argon has off the top of my head but I think it's around 6,000 and it's ten years older! I didn't run it tonight since it was pretty hot and miserable today but even with that many hours on it the tube must be somewhat healthy since it'll still put put 40mw at full power.
 
yeah that's not too bad overall. its definitely getting along in its life though...nearly that dreaded time for a refurb/recycle/new tube. though frankly...thats not too bad. 1000 hours to go is still quite a ways. the higher you run the current the faster it dies exponentially, so I always run my easy.
 
Tonight I ran the tube at 6.5A for about 75 minutes, let it idle for about 10 then turned it back up until the light meter on the controller said 10mw.

Current mode 5.94 A
Light mode: 5.98 A (10.02 mw was as close to 10 as I could get).
 
Sounds like she's still pretty healthy if you're meeting spec at 6 Amps. Just getting along in age.
 
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The arogon is running right now. Is there
anything specific anyone recommends with
the current, or should I just let it run full
bore for an hour? Starts on the first tick
every time.
 
Typical burn-in/operating spec is about 5-6 amps for most laser tubes. The higher the current, the faster you kill it...alot
 
Yeah, rule of thumb is don't run it higher than you need for whatever you're doing. And don't start it any more than you have to. If need to take a break but you'll come back 20 min later, just shut the shutter and put it on idle (if you can) or turn the current down to near minimum. :) the lower heat will help the tube and filament last longer. Each time you start it you both momentarily plasticize and blow a small chunk off the filament. It definitely has a pretty finite life. I also find it advisable when you turn it off to just cut the discharge and let the fan run for a few more minutes to cool the tube off. My omnichrome does it on its own in fact - the fans stay on for several minutes and then turn off automatically.
 
In welding terminology, we call it
post-flow. This one also does
automatically. It seems like it won't
adjust below 5.1A, so I guess that is where
it will be. The adjustment is just a
little multiturn trimpot. There are
threads like a knob could go there, but I
don't have such a thing. +1 for the effort.
 
Yeah my uniphase tube idles at 3.8A (8mW) if I remember, and the max is about 10A (134mW) Spec output is was around 5-6A (40mW) I think, and it has about 5500 hours on it IIRC, but every laser is different, so you may have to fiddle a bit to determine what's best for your tube. I just cleaned and ran mine the other day. Was gonna post pics but haven't had time.
 
I took advantage of the below freezing temps last night to run both of mine.
 
Hauled both tubes and PSUs out of storage tonight and was surprised that my usual hard starting head fired on the second pulse after only a 2-3 minute warm up. Can't wait to finally get my work room redone so I can keep them setup and not have to keep moving them when not in use.
 
Good news. Running it at spec or lower currents regularly, Perhaps 15-20 min every 4-6 weeks will keep it going a long time. Especially important for Kr+ containing lasers.
 
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