A waking nightmare (please read)

[VirtueViolater]

Sat in my lazyboy last night watching tv and occasionally playin with my s4x (nubm44) and my utilitech mod. I placed them on the floor beside my chair when not using them. Sometime shortly after 8:00 (that's when I take my blood pressure meds) I fell asleep. I woke after 12:00 to a livingroom lit up in blue light. I looked down to find my s4x on so i grabbed it and hit the tailcap switch, no luck. I dropped it because It was so hot it burned my hands. i then picked it up and quickly unscrewed the tail cap and dumped the batteries out. Blistered my hands. This morning I placed the batteries back in it and tried it out. The switch worked as it should, but the beam was very weak so I put the batteries on charge and went to work. Got home just a while ago and tore it down to see what happened. Everything was fine. The problem is the spring in the tail cap is pretty big and the battery tube is barely big enough for a 18650. The batteries I'm using are protected making them a little longer. The spring is making contact with the inside of the battery tube on occasion. This actually happened to me with one of my s4's but i thought it was because i stretched the spring a little so the batteries would work. (I didnt do this to my s4x). I'm gonna try to fix this by cleaning the inside of my s4's and s4x with alcohol then lining the tube with electrical tape. Luckily, the beam was aimed at my exterior door that's steel clad. I Wil from here on out NOT leave a battery in a laser period. My nubm44 is weak now, hoping it's the batteries are bad from the extreme heat. If you own a s4x, I advise you to line your battery tube as I am gonna do. The issue could be remedied using a button type tail cap switch like the mx used instead of the spring.

 

[Trendkilla254]

Scary Stuff dude. So many things "could" have happened. I'm glad that the worst outcome here could be a dead laser.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Glad to see everything worked for the best, that could have been a real disaster. Thanks for sharing. :beer:
One thing I wouldn't do, especially if nobody is at home, is to leave those batteries in the charger unattended.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Yikes! I never leaves any batteries in my lasers. As soon as I'm done they go back into the box, don't want to risk anything happening

-Alex

 

[VirtueViolater]

"What if" scared the help out of me, I'm fine with a dead diode, $100+ is way cheaper than the alternative

 

[RedCowboy]

I have a hollowed out steelcase file cabinet that I store lasers in, but I take my batteries out, unless I have then locked down with a metal backstop.

I worry about coming home to a battery fire, so If I find a screwy battery I drain it with an automotive 1156 tail light bulb and put in in a Gatorade bottle with a little water in it then in the trash.

 

[Trendkilla254]

I have a hollowed out steelcase file cabinet that I store lasers in, but I take my batteries out, unless I have then locked down with a metal backstop.

I worry about coming home to a battery fire, so If I find a screwy battery I drain it with an automotive 1156 tail light bulb and put in in a Gatorade bottle with a little water in it then in the trash.

Lithium Batteries in water? I thought that was a bad idea?

 

[VirtueViolater]

I was wrong about the tailswitch, started cleaning s4x and realized the insides anodised, so im not sure what the issue is now. Plugged in fresh batteries and the diode is dim, the bar is also longer. Need to post in the laser graveyard lol.

 

[Vision]

I was wrong about the tailswitch, started cleaning s4x and realized the insides anodised, so im not sure what the issue is now. Plugged in fresh batteries and the diode is dim, the bar is also longer. Need to post in the laser graveyard lol.

 

[RedCowboy]

WELL DAM, I suppose a deep discharge then ....I will look up proper disposal.

Looks like I forgot the salt.



SALT WATER BATH

 

[Richie89]

Wow man, I'm so glad you didn't have a wood door, definitely could have ended so much worse. I wonder how long it was on, but I'm glad you and your home are okay due to the fact that those Nubm44's are beasts.

 

[VirtueViolater]

Wow man, I'm so glad you didn't have a wood door, definitely could have ended so much worse. I wonder how long it was on, but I'm glad you and your home are okay due to the fact that those Nubm44's are beasts.

I'm thinking at least 30 mins to get as hot as it was, actually have blisters on my right hand.
This host has a short duty cycle, 1min is so with this diode. I think I'm gonna stick to 9mm 2 to 5 watt diodes, they are cheap, reliable and press right into a 35mm module that has a very long duty cycle. The nubm44 just catches everything on fire lol.

 

[olympus mons]

Scary stuff. Im glad you're still here to tell the story. So what terminated the beam? How much damage was done?

 

[Marco Polo]

Scary indeed. Glad you're fine.

The only lasers I store without batteries are the LaserBTB's 808nm 800mW due to power and invisible beam, and the 650mn 300mW due to it having a little indicator LED that kills the batteries after a couple days.

The only lasers I've had issues with turning on in my sleep (due to rolling on them) are the LaserBTB's because the side button sticks out so far. Usually it's the 520nm that gets it because I keep it on my bedside table and use it more than the others. At least it's only 50mW.

I've burned lots of holes in my pockets with 200mW lasers. I'd hate to have an accidental 5W misfire, would be a mess....

:lasergun:

 

[VirtueViolater]

My exterior door is steelclad, the beam was pointed generally at it. Can't see a mark, was about 30' away. Really not exactly sure, only know the General direction as I wasn't fully awake and in a hurry to get it turned off.

 

[VirtueViolater]

Scary indeed. Glad you're fine.

The only lasers I store without batteries are the LaserBTB's 808nm 800mW due to power and invisible beam, and the 650mn 300mW due to it having a little indicator LED that kills the batteries after a couple days.

The only lasers I've had issues with turning on in my sleep (due to rolling on them) are the LaserBTB's because the side button sticks out so far. Usually it's the 520nm that gets it because I keep it on my bedside table and use it more than the others. At least it's only 50mW.

I've burned lots of holes in my pockets with 200mW lasers. I'd hate to have an accidental 5W misfire, would be a mess....

:lasergun:

My laser was laying on the floor, i even thought i may have been sleep lasing (lol) but then, the laser didnt turn off when i tried, had to unscrew the battery cap and dump out the bstteries. It was a sobering experience.