Just got a thor ultra 3W and have a lot of questions...

[damenz]

So i finally bought the thor ultra 3W blue from my mate. He got it for over 100$+ and gave it to me for just 20$ under friends.
Before i got my first laser already (which was the laser 303) i read at this forum everything about safety but still have some questions:

1. My mate told me that i need to charge the batteries for exactly 30min according the manuals. He said 30min is recommended and not more but he self charged it always for hours and he got his charger (which he gave me now also) from laserpointerstore and the thing is, we never know WHEN the batteries are 100% charged. The charger seems to have no green light. Or it takes hell a lot of time to charge full in order to show a green light.

Anyways. I charged for 30minutes, then i used it once for about 60-90 seconds (cuz according manual you shouldn't light it more than 2 minutes) and then waited 2min to totally cooldown. Then i did the same again for 9 more times and then i realized that the dot got super darker and you couldn't see the beam as well anymore.
And it wasn't able to burn anything at all.
So i guess the battery was empty. But after 10 uses ? when it got charged for 30 minutes ? Is this really normal ?
If yes, then i guess i have to buy stronger batteries. He got his batteries from laserpointerstore as well and i dont know if they are good or not.

2. WHY shouldn't we charge the batteries for more than 30 minutes ? i mean, what does happens ?

3.My mate told me that i have to wear safety glasses indoors (he included me goggles too and i wear them always indoors) and also if i want to burn stuff (even if i want to burn stuff outdoors).
I searched for strong laser pointers in youtube and about burning tests and i saw people really wearing safety glasses even OUTDOORS. Like, there was a video for example from a guy lighting up a campfire outdoors and he was wearing safety glasses.

When i burn stuff outside, i never want to wear safety glasses. I know the eyes hurt a bit and then i see a "blue" dot for a while but that disappears and i have "practiced" my eyes already so they never hurt anymore when i turn on a strong green or blue laser pointer. But why should i wear glasses if i wanna burn stuff outside even if my eyes wont hurt ?
Or can my eye get damaged somehow ? (If i would hold something reflective, i would understand it. But paper for example, or a stick is not reflective...)

4. And what is the difference between cheap and expensive 3W blue lasers ? i saw lasers with the same specs but they cost like 20-40$ only. Or what is the difference between the thor series at all if they all have 3W for example ? my mate said, the built lens is really good on expensive laser pointers like my thor ultra now. Does that helps burning better or light for a longer time ? even the cheap 3W lasers say in the descriptions that you shouldn't light up for more than 2 Minutes. I see no difference O_O

 

[trinh hong phuoc]

2. WHY shouldn't we charge the batteries for more than 30 minutes ? i mean, what does happens ?

This is really crap, you can charge it until it's full and there's no need to unplug the charger for a few days, there's still no problem, but buy a good charger and a good battery to control you are charging battery 20-80%


Some more info for you:
-If the same power and wavelength, all lasers are capable of burning the same , a good lens will produce a better power on the same diode with the same current
-the difference between cheap laser and expensive is the life expectancy, , the stability of the beam and, more specifically, the accuracy of the power
Ebay seller never write exactly ,i seen 5000mw green laser with 7$,and many goods are wrong[/QUOTE]

 

[GSS]

If your going to use a cheap charger I wouldn't let it charger more than 3 hours and never over night. 30 minutes isn't much and a low batterys might need more time to charge. You should also get a DMM so you won't have to rely on a green light and can find them cheap for $5 This way you can check the battery's periodicly during the charging.
I don't know what battery your using but the ultra Thor show's 26650's but if your using a battery sleeve to use 18650's the Ultrafire brands are awful and drain fast and you will need good cells.
Also doesn't the Ultra Thor have 2 modes, low power and high power? Make sure your in the right tailcap setting.
2 member's here Paul and Diachi have the same units and did a review and they can maby steer you right.

 

[damenz]

Thank you so much. That explains why i have 2-3 modes . I use always high power cuz i love it. And yeah i have 26650 batteries. Laserpointerstore gave my mate those batteries since they are super good for it.

I gonna buy a new charger then and maybe battery but the battery seems fine. I think the reason why my battery went empty so fast was, that i charged the batteries only 30 minutes and used high power also.
Laserpointerstore told my mate to never charge it more than 30 minutes cuz its not recommended. That's why i asked this question .

 

[GSS]

It's always better to ask than make a mistake and possibly hurt yourself and others
I have a couple cheap chargers that I still use and sometimes just a tiny bit of wiggle when it's on the wall outlet will make the red or orange light turn green after it's been charging for a while. Yes though do upgrade and also get at least a cheap DMM "digital meter".. They have them for $5 and will do well for your needs.. plus it's kinda a need in this hobby.

 

[paul1598419]

I've got all kinds of chargers, but my favorite, by far, is the Opus BT-C3100, V2.1. It has four ports and can independently charge at different rates any batteries at the same time. You can also discharge and recharge a battery in a cycle of three times while testing another for internal resistance, capacity test another and you can set the charge or discharge rate differently at each port. I use it to the exclusion of everything else I have. I believe you can still pick them up at liionwholesales.com for under $40.00, but I haven't looked recently.

 

[damenz]

Can someone answer my last question ? is it okay if i dont wear goggles when i burn stuff OUTSIDE ?

 

[paul1598419]

Back when I was burning wood or paper outside I never used goggles, but I also made certain that there was nothing there that could give me a specular reflection. As long as you can't reflect a collimated beam you should be okay.

 

[Encap]

You always should follow proper safety procedures when using a 3W 445nm laser and wear laser safety glasses.
To tell you otherwise is to tell you to take a risk of accidental or otherwise due to lack of knowing what you are doing, eye damage.

Nobody here knows what you are actually doing or the circumstances involved.

When you say things like " When i burn stuff outside, i never want to wear safety glasses. I know the eyes hurt a bit and then i see a "blue" dot for a while but that disappears and i have "practiced" my eyes already so they never hurt anymore when i turn on a strong green or blue laser pointer. But why should i wear glasses if i wanna burn stuff outside even if my eyes wont hurt ? " and your other comments pretty much say it all--you clearly have little, if any, functional real world understanding, experience or knowledge with or about lasers much less eyes and eye damage. You can blind yourself without it "hurting" when it happens.

Any risks you take with your eyes and a 3W laser are up to you alone and not necessary- you have and can wear safety glasses.
Any eye damage that results is yours and yours alone regardless of what anyone says on LPF and anyone else's individual experiences.

Maybe read up on the topic would be a good idea--see: https://www.laserpointersafety.com/

 

[paul1598419]

That is very true. Any damage you do from careless use of a laser is all on you. I have told you what I do, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have the requisite experience to know exactly what you are doing, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[damenz]

Thats why i said no reflective stuff. So i should be fine if i burn / point on non reflective objects outside.

Uhm guys, another question: There are A LOT of weird spots around the dot of my 3W laser. I assume the lens is super dirty. Please tell me i can clean it somehow ?

 

[GSS]

Most of the time, trying to clean a lens does more harm.
I'm pretty sure the lens is dirty by debris or from smoke from burning close up to what ever your burning..
99% pure alcohol is the only alcohol, and still it's not the proper way. Using less pure leaves streaking. Q tips have to be pure with no glue.
There are replacement lens for that unit, but i'm not sure of the size. Maby laserpointerstore has the replacement lenses. If you are to try cleaning make sure you have a replacement lens on order.

 

[paul1598419]

Thats why i said no reflective stuff. So i should be fine if i burn / point on non reflective objects outside.

Uhm guys, another question: There are A LOT of weird spots around the dot of my 3W laser. I assume the lens is super dirty. Please tell me i can clean it somehow ?

I'm not sure what you mean here. A photo would help. It may just be splash, which is not easily removed unless you mask your beam.

 

[damenz]

I tried to make a picture but i don't know if you can see the spot or not...


I marked the spot with paint. Maybe you see it then better:



Its a hugeeee ring.
I hope the replacement is rly cheap btw. And idk honestly why it looks pink on the screenshot. Its rly blue in real life. I took the screenshot with a iphone 6s

 

[parts&pieces]

Hi damenz. I recently got myself a Thor M2 3W 445nm pointer, so I am fresh on the subject. The earlier lenses/collimators that Thor put in some of their pointers were made of plastic, I think... anyway, it wasn't glass and they were having a problem with the beam burning a spot in them. Customers pointed out this defect to them and they have since been using higher quality glass lenses that to my knowledge have had no complaints.

If your pointer does have the newer lens in it, I would would check the seal around the lens for a "leak." Although, not having it in my hand does make it hard to diagnose. Having a good pair of 445nm filter goggles on should make it easier to see if the defect is coming from the collimator lens or the seal around the lens. But don't look directly into the beam even with eye protection. Another trick I use is to hook my camera up to my laptop and view the beam from the laptop screen instead of directly. This gives me the abliity to alter the light sensitivity of the camera.

*VERY SERIOUS* The wavelength (blue) light that your pointer is putting out has been known to cause cataracts. By not using the correct safety goggles, you may not even feel it or even notice it at times, but especially when you see those dots after using your pointer, you are burning the retina in your eye. You are doing damage to your vision that will show up later in life.
Your eye has a very good lens in it. That lens focuses all of the light onto a very small point on your retina, multiplying the intensity of the beam. Even if you can't really feel it, the damage is being done. By allowing the 3W LASER beam to hit your eye once in a while, even if it's just a small reflection that you may not even notice... the damage is being done. https://www.laserpointersafety.com/ <--certainly worth posting again. The people on this thread know what they are talking about. They don't just say this for no reason bud.

Without the right eye safety, later in life you will have to wear a pair of those big orange goggles everywhere you go. And that is if you're lucky. People who did not know about this blue light effect on the eye and its correlation to cataracts are losing their sight later in life after working with blue light and not knowing that this would happen. At least you know. Protect your eyes. You'll thank yourself for it.

 

[GSS]

Are you warning the entire forum as I would think 90% have a blue WL laser? Are you talking about using glasses 100% of the time?
Yes the early thors did come with a plastic lens alot of the times but i'm thinking this Ultra Thor by now has a glass lens.