How safe is it to run a M140 and 9mm diode off of one 18650?

[Frankie9011]

How safe would it be for a laser that typically uses two 3.7V batteries? I've heard some people say it's totally fine and all it does is produce a significantly weaker output but doesn't damage the diode or driver in any way. Just double checking in case it could be damaging my laser. :thanks:

edit: I worded the title weird, I'm not going for any double diode build shenanigans off of one 18650 I just mean how safe is it to run either a m140 or 9mm off of one 18650

 

[Cyparagon]

Correct, that is safe, although silly.

 

[Frankie9011]

Correct, that is safe, although silly.

Thanks! I only ask because I don't want my diode heating up too much when I'm trying to get the focus to infinity just right.

 

[grainde]

Its fine... as I mentioned this is how I set the focus on the grooves Youll get around 200 mW output with your laser. See my old FS thread for more details. :beer:

 

[Frankie9011]

Its fine... as I mentioned this is how I set the focus on the grooves Youll get around 200 mW output with your laser. See my old FS thread for more details. :beer:

Talk about a brain fart. Thanks for reminding me, forgot you mentioned it.

 

[Atomicrox]

I often run my 2x16340 lasers (the ones with buck or linear drivers) with a single 18650. It's nice to have a safer low power mode for indoor use.

Never heard of a laser being damaged by this practice.

Note that this does have some side effects beyond the lower power - many of my lasers have higher diveregence and more "LED emission" with a single battery, because they are lasing close to threshold. And every time a laser starts up it will have a different power, since it's not under regulation. This sucks in that sometimes you have to keep "restarting" the laser until it starts with the power you want.