18650 lithium battery in new laser issue!

[waterface]

Hi

What could this be?

The laser is a power rock 200mw green from o-like.

The laser they sent didn't come with a battery as the laser was a replacement for one that malfunctioned, so i used the 18650 lithium rechargeable one that i have.

This is over a year old. Could this be the problem & how can i find out? The battery hasn't been used for a few months, so i put it on charge & surprisingly only took a while for the charger to go from red to green, i then tried it for a few burn tests & the laser dimmed. I then put the battery in charger again & it seems to want to charge again as the light is still red on charger!

Can a battery need a double charge! I've read on here a thread about dim lasers & battery issues!

The battery after no use for 2 months or so needed surprisingly hardly any charge time, less than an hour. Then i used the laser for maybe a minute in short bursts & the battery is now back on charge & has been for 30 mins, thats after 1 min of use after 1st charge! Old battery?


Help appreciated

 

[waterface]

Its happened again.

Charged battery until light went green & left it on a while longer. Put battery in laser & was ok for 4 or 5 30 second blasts, then it dimmed to a point, then dimmed again. I turn off laser, wait 5 seconds, turn on again, ok for 10 seconds, then dims twice.

I'm troubleshooting, so sticking power in battery again to see if laser works for a while & then dims, which i hope is the battery 'surface charge' issue. Can anyone help more please! I don't want to have to send back again.

Thanks

 

[Stix62]

Hi waterface, you're having some 'fun' with your new laser aren't you, going by the threads
Here's my view on it all:

Laser dimming: If you had a multimeter you could check the battery after the green light's gone off on the charger. At least you would know if the charger was charging ok.(if the battery charged to 4v+) It wouldn't tell you if the battery was actually up to the job though, and if the battery was 'dodgy' it might not fully charge anyway. Buying a decent new battery (highly recommend AW's) first, and maybe a charger would be the best place to start before thinking of returning the laser again.

From one of your other threads ...''Just a thing with the focusable bit at the end! When totally screwed in, its focused out, then as you screw it out, it focuses in to get a 'dot', then focuses out again, so its hard to know where the smallest dot is! Also, when the focusable bit is screwed out totally, it eventually comes off! Should this happen?.''

The 'dot' thing: I don't know how the power rock is built but that may be something you could do something about. In a build where an aixiz module was set in a heatsink you could position the module so the lens could screw in no further than your preferred 'dot' focal point. (hope that makes sense)

YES, the focusable bit will eventually come off if screwed out totally - think about it


sidenote: I hope you get this laser sorted soon. I just had a look at my son's and it really is a nice laser - lovely slim beam (and overspec). If I didn't have a nice bright greenie already I'd be very tempted to get one of these for myself

 

[waterface]

Yeh, i put my thread in the wrong place initially when i should've put here!

1st, on my old laser, when i totally screwed the end out, it just stopped & didn't screw off, so that was a surprise to me!

The battery was ok in my last laser, the transformable 200mw from o-like, but because its not been used for 2 months, left on the side, i'm hoping its just not holding the charge & thats my problem. I'm sure it does charge to full initially but just 'surface charge' as i've read in that it may be the cell that bust.

I'm taking charger & battery to electric shop on Tues as i hope they can test!

Surely if when i charge the battery, the laser is fine for a few mins, but after a few mins, the power fading indicates the battery is the fault? Would this happen if it was the laser at fault? If was laser, it would be at fault all the time charged or no charged yeh!?

 

[waterface]

Can a multi-meter detect weather the battery is holding its charge thoroughly?

I have read on here that a battery charger will show 'fully charged' (by turning green), even if its just a surface charge & the actual cell is dead!

I'm assuming that if it was anything to do with the laser, the amount of power in the battery would have no affect on this? The laser works ok for a few blasts & then fades. After the 1st fade, i turn it off, leave for a minute, turn it back on, it will be ok for 5 seconds & then fade again. This will keep happening until i charge it again. So i get aprox 5 mins of full charge!

 

[LarryDFW]

If the charger is leaving the cell at the proper 4.2 VDC . . .

then the cell needs to be replaced.

Sounds like high Internal Resistance on the cell.

Is it a brand name cell ?

Larry

 

[waterface]

Hi Larry

It's one of the UltraFire blue cells that O-like send:- Wholesale UltraFire Li ion Cell batteries 18650 2400mAh 3.7V Lithium Rechargeable Battery

When the battery comes out of the charger, after light turns green, laser works ok for 20 mins or so of short blasts & burning. Then laser dims twice to hardly nothing.
If i leave laser a few mins then turn back on, its ok for a few seconds, then dims again.

After the laser has been used for 10 mins or so, i put the battery back in the charger & it takes roughly half an hour to recharge! The battery had been leaft a few months until yesterday, when i charged it for 1st time & it didn't take long at all.

Thanks
I'm just hoping its not the laser as it only arrived yesterday.

 

[waterface]

Could the laser dim if i went over the duty cycle? I don't think i have but... ?

 

[waterface]

Charger just popped whilst charging battery for 3rd time in 2 days!

 

[Dr_Evil]

I'd get a new charger and battery or two if I were you. AW, LG, Panasonic and Samsung seem to be the best.

 

[waterface]

Hi all

I have just been to an eletrical shop & the guy put a light bulb through the battery & although the battery worked, he came to the conclusin that the battery was ok! I'm not sure about this test though?

If i have used the laser for longer than the duty cycle & there is something wroon with the diode, would the laser work at all.?

I am in UK & am wondering if anyone knows of any reputable online distributor of batteries & chargers?


Thanks