What kind of eye protection should I get for my red laser?

[Elyekim]

Hello all, I am new to the forums.

I bought a 5W 650nm red laser and was wondering if there were any reputable sites for eye protection. I've seen people wearing red lenses for their blue lasers, so should I be looking for a blue lens? Are there any clear lenses which would do the same job? Would the beam itself no longer be visible with eye protection?

 

[hakzaw1]

PM coming-- just hold on.

 

[Encap]

If it is a hand held laser pointer --- there are a lot of Chinese web sites misrepresenting/fraudulently representing 650nm pointers as 5000mW and your a lucky if it is actually 500mW. Do you have a link to the laser your bought so everyone know what you are talking about--real world?
There are are no reputable or otherwise manufacturers who make 5W 650nm laser pointers--- 1W is pretty much it see: https://www.jetlasers.org/index.php..._expander-no/49-goggles-no/34-power_levels-1w or

There are higher output 650nm stationary plug in the wall laboratory lasers costing several thousands of dollars but of you had purchased one of those you would not be asking about goggles.

Either way good quality at a reasonable price Survival Laser Eagle Pair lasers goggles are available here: https://www.survivallaserusa.com/Safety_Goggles/cat1667093_1527285.aspx

In any case , Welcome and enjoy the forum. Please make a welcome thread in the Welcome sub-forum.

 

[CurtisOliver]

Nice to see you on Encap.

 

[Elyekim]

I got mine from laserpointerpro.com

here is the link to the product: https://www.laserpointerpro.com/500...wer-red-laser-pointer-kits-gt-853-p-3913.html

 

[CurtisOliver]

Sorry to see you've been another victim of laserpointerpro. No way is that laser 5000mW or worth the price you paid for it unfortunately.
You are talking class 3b, so the goggles Encap has linked are more than ideal.
Can I recommend next time you plan to make a purchase, that you check out these resources which are there to help newcomers like yourself make the right purchases. One of which is my own:
Hobbyist Laser Encyclopedia - Company Guide
GUIDE: Which company should I buy from? by Sta

And finally, check out my write up on that company itself.
https://hobbyistlaserencyclopedia.weebly.com/company-guide.html#Laserpointerpro

To save yourself some money, use the code LPF445 for a member discount with Survival Lasers.

 

[Elyekim]

Thank you for your help thus far, so these protect against all wavelengths? I'm thinking of getting a ~1W 635nm or a slightly lower powered green laser.

 

[CurtisOliver]

No, the ones you have just posted definitely do not. They are for CO2 lasers.
These are the ones for the red band. link
They will not however protect you very well from green lasers. These will instead cover you for the blue-green band.
link

 

[Elyekim]

So I decided to buy from sanwulasers.com but I am stuck between the Striker and the Striker Sabre. Does the Striker take two batteries as opposed to the Strike Sabre? I've heard of exploding batteries with dual batteries, something about the first one leaking too much power into the second until it eventually explodes.

 

[Encap]

If you look at the "product specifications" on the web page for each you will see that the Striker takes 2 X 26650 batteries and the Striker Sabre takes 2 X 18650 batteries.

Quality lithium-ion batteries are safe if used as intended . Buy good quality Li Ion batteries.

 

[Immo1282]

I'm not sure where you heard that about using multiple batteries in series - but it's almost entirely nonsense. A car battery is 6 smaller Pb-Acid batteries in series. The battery in the laptop I type this from has two sets of three Li-Ion batteries in series.

If you get good batteries like Encap said - and charge them with a decent smart-charger you will never have an issue.

A powerful laser like those Sanwus draws a lot of current - but nowhere near enough to damage decent batteries.

 

[smallfreak]

I've heard of exploding batteries with dual batteries, something about the first one leaking too much power into the second until it eventually explodes.

If you use two or more batteries in ANY device, make sure, they are the same capacity i.e. use the exact same model. Do not mix manufacturers or models and always use and charge or change them together. Otherwise there IS a chance that one of the batteries runs empty while the other still has remaining capacity and thus tries to push electrons through it. This would result in destroying the chemistry, wrecking the battery. You can experience anything between just silently dying, spilling nasty chemicals into your device that corrode everything up to the development of inflamable gasses and yes, explosions.

It all depends on the type of battary being abused and the amount of energy you feed into it by the „good battery“.

Lasers are not that susceptible to this kind of catastrophic failure, as they usually stop working long before one of the batteries reaches dangerously low capacity since the total voltage falls below the lasing threshold.

If you mix an empty battery with a fully charged one in a device with a boost-driver (ramping up the too low voltage to a usable value for the diode) you are asking for trouble.

 

[Elyekim]

If you use two or more batteries in ANY device, make sure, they are the same capacity i.e. use the exact same model. Do not mix manufacturers or models and always use and charge or change them together. Otherwise there IS a chance that one of the batteries runs empty while the other still has remaining capacity and thus tries to push electrons through it. This would result in destroying the chemistry, wrecking the battery. You can experience anything between just silently dying, spilling nasty chemicals into your device that corrode everything up to the development of inflamable gasses and yes, explosions.

It all depends on the type of battary being abused and the amount of energy you feed into it by the „good battery“.

Lasers are not that susceptible to this kind of catastrophic failure, as they usually stop working long before one of the batteries reaches dangerously low capacity since the total voltage falls below the lasing threshold.

If you mix an empty battery with a fully charged one in a device with a boost-driver (ramping up the too low voltage to a usable value for the diode) you are asking for trouble.

Thanks, I could've sworn I heard something about that. I was looking at some lasers requiring two batteries... just wanted to clarify.