Proper 16340 Batteries for my 445nm 4W Laser

[HighPowerObsession]

Ha well I definitely trust you over myself when it comes to lasers and reliable companies so I'll give XPL a second look for sure.
I did think it was kinda strange how LuckLasers were selling a 2W laser for $89 and fake reviews will immediately turn me away from ANY product...

When you said the lasers your bought from EPL were 20% over spec you mean that the actual laser was 20% higher than what XPL said it was or the other way around?
Which lasers did you buy?

 

[Sta]

Ha well I definitely trust you over myself when it comes to lasers and reliable companies so I'll give XPL a second look for sure.
I did think it was kinda strange how LuckLasers were selling a 2W laser for $89 and fake reviews will immediately turn me away from ANY product...

When you said the lasers your bought from EPL were 20% over spec you mean that the actual laser was 20% higher than what XPL said it was or the other way around?
Which lasers did you buy?

Overspec means "laser beating specifications" - my green peaked around 800mW and the red peaked at 850. They were advertised as 500mW and 600mW respectively.
Here are the links to the two I bought.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...nm-red-laser-pointer/1722148_32608701298.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...-green-laser-pointer/1722148_32603222343.html
The green appears to be out of stock now - this is incorrect and corrects itself within a few days. Due to a bug in aliexpress's software this happens on the first of every month.

Be warned that the red has a bit of an alignment issue (the beam is off-center), so I would steer clear of the 310 host.
Here is a video review that I made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3BLKrwgVkc

For you I would recommend this: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...r-2000mw-for-cutting/1722148_32604393533.html

The host is plain, but it's your type: 2x16340 and fairly small. The pricing is basically the lowest possible price right now for a 2W blue laser - even building your own might cost more. If you contact the owner (click the "contact us" button on their main aliexpress page) and tell him you'd like the 15% laserpointerforums discount, you can get a nice discount on it. Just remember to tell him which laser you'd like to buy.

:beer:

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Danggg that's a crazy deal!! If I saw that without your recommendation I would think for sure that isn't real, but I'm for sure gunna buy both of those at that price. That's perfect too because blue, green and red are the only laser colors I'm interested in and as of right now I only have a 300mW green laser so 800mW will be an awesome step up from that and my first red laser will be 850mW which I'm guessing is pretty damn good for a red laser. Thank you so much for all that info and those links and your review, you have been super helpful dude! When I contact the owner I'll let him know you recommended me to his store and hopefully he will give you a larger discount or something in the future.

About the 16340 batteries, Im actually not really a fan of them since their capacity is so horrible. I have a question: Will a single 18650 max out those two laser's power? I ask because I heard somewhere that a single 18650 (as well as pretty much any single rechargeable battery) can only give 3.7V (4.2 when fully charged), but when you double up on the voltage like if I used 2 batteries instead of just one it will turn the 3.7V into 7.4V (and the 4.2 into 8.4) which will make the laser much more powerful or at least max out its power.

Btw I read the paragraph under the product description and XPL defintily seems like a very trustworthy and reliable company; I shouldn't have been so naive toward a seller just because they are on Ali Express.

 

[Sta]

Danggg that's a crazy deal!! If I saw that without your recommendation I would think for sure that isn't real, but I'm for sure gunna buy both of those at that price. That's perfect too because blue, green and red are the only laser colors I'm interested in and as of right now I only have a 300mW green laser so 800mW will be an awesome step up from that and my first red laser will be 850mW which I'm guessing is pretty damn good for a red laser. Thank you so much for all that info and those links and your review, you have been super helpful dude! When I contact the owner I'll let him know you recommended me to his store and hopefully he will give you a larger discount or something in the future.

About the 16340 batteries, Im actually not really a fan of them since their capacity is so horrible. I have a question: Will a single 18650 max out those two laser's power? I ask because I heard somewhere that a single 18650 (as well as pretty much any single rechargeable battery) can only give 3.7V (4.2 when fully charged), but when you double up on the voltage like if I used 2 batteries instead of just one it will turn the 3.7V into 7.4V (and the 4.2 into 8.4) which will make the laser much more powerful or at least max out its power.

Btw I read the paragraph under the product description and XPL defintily seems like a very trustworthy and reliable company; I shouldn't have been so naive toward a seller just because they are on Ali Express.

Okay, great! Tell him "Mr. Dan" recommended his store, that's how he knows me.
A single 18650 won't max out the power - one 18650 gets up to 4.2V, but two 16340s get up to 8.4V. 3.7v is the nominal voltage of a single battery, but you are supposed to charge them to 4.2V.
The reason your 16340 capacity is bad might be related to the company that makes them. Are they UltraFire batteries?

Just one more thing thing, get the 311 red instead of the 310. The 311 host has much better beam alignment - it should be a lot more straight than the 310. Here is a link: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...700mw-laser-pointers/1722148_32608697188.html

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Haha alright I'll use that name when I tell him you sent me. I'll also get that red instead of the other link you sent me.

About 16340s, I don't actually own any, but the ones I have seen are all like 800mAh at the best, but if 18650s wont max out these two laser's power than I'd definitely want to use 2 batteries of something else.
I'm a bit confused that you said a single 18650 wont max out the power though because the red laser says the working voltage is 3V and the green laser says the working voltage is 1.8V (something a single 18650 can give until its dead....)

 

[Sta]

Haha alright I'll use that name when I tell him you sent me. I'll also get that red instead of the other link you sent me.

About 16340s, I don't actually own any, but the ones I have seen are all like 800mAh at the best, but if 18650s wont max out these two laser's power than I'd definitely want to use 2 batteries of something else.
I'm a bit confused that you said a single 18650 wont max out the power though because the red laser says the working voltage is 3V and the green laser says the working voltage is 1.8V (something a single 18650 can give until its dead....)

Oh wait, I'm an idiot. I was confused about which one you were talking about.
Both the red and the green use 1x18650. The blue uses 2x16340. Trying to use 2x16340 in either the red or the green will cause the diodes to blow up. They have reverse polarity protection, but as far as I know, they do not have overvolt protection.

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Ha nah you aren't an idiot, you have been more helpful than any laser-related source I have come in contact with or read.

Since you are apparently notorious for recommending amazing lasers at exceptional prices, do you have any other suggestions?
Are those the best handheld red, green, and blue lasers you have even bought? Haha, like my name says I am high power obsessed.

 

[Sta]

Ha nah you aren't an idiot, you have been more helpful than any laser-related source I have come in contact with or read.

Since you are apparently notorious for recommending amazing lasers at exceptional prices, do you have any other suggestions?
Are those the best handheld red, green, and blue lasers you have even bought? Haha, like my name says I am high power obsessed.

Thank you
If you haven't seen my company guide you should probably take a look.

About the best handhelds I've ever bought - that is a good question.
I never actually bought the XPL blue, but I trust them enough to recommend it.
The main advantage of XPL is the price point. For example, it's difficult to find a 500mW green for anything less than $400, yet XPL offers one at $120.
This is nice, but there are a few disadvantages, chief among them that the beam is not perfectly circular. Certain perfectionists will shoot me for this, but I feel that it's a price I'm willing to pay in order to get such a powerful laser so cheap.
Because you're "high power obsessed", I think you'll feel the same.

But no - the XPL lasers aren't my best ones. All of my best lasers, I build myself. I've actually never bought a good blue laser per se (my only two that I didn't build were bought from eitan, who was a criminal.)

What XPL lasers are, though, is the best lasers for the price.

:beer:

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Wow that's a really nice guide you put together; I've actually come across Laserpointerpro.com and saw they had "10,000mW" lasers for sale AND they are 95% off from the original $10,000 pricetag :crackup:

I bet you could make some gnarly lasers yourself, but I'm no where near ready for that yet, plus I've never been much of a DIY type of guy. I'd rather just purchase
high quality, top notch equipment rather than spend days on end researching and building things. I know it wouldn't take THAT long to learn what lasers are made of and
then find out what and where to buy all the components, but for now I'm just not up for doing that much research. I have already done a disturbing amount of research on
pre made lasers since I decided to go on my own quest for real, quality lasers instead of just coming here first which I should have done. I'm super glad I decided to come to this
forum; I've learned more quality info in the past few hours than I have in days of doing research on my own.

Btw I found this crazy 1,500mW green laser from that Ali Express store: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...-green-laser-pointer/1722148_32603221740.html
It's a bit more pricey but that's actually an amazing price for a 1,500mW green laser. Plus there is that 15% off coupon.

 

[Sta]

Wow that's a really nice guide you put together; I've actually come across Laserpointerpro.com and saw they had "10,000mW" lasers for sale AND they are 95% off from the original $10,000 pricetag :crackup:

I bet you could make some gnarly lasers yourself, but I'm no where near ready for that yet, plus I've never been much of a DIY type of guy. I'd rather just purchase
high quality, top notch equipment rather than spend days on end researching and building things. I know it wouldn't take THAT long to learn what lasers are made of and
then find out what and where to buy all the components, but for now I'm just not up for doing that much research. I have already done a disturbing amount of research on
pre made lasers since I decided to go on my own quest for real, quality lasers instead of just coming here first which I should have done. I'm super glad I decided to come to this
forum; I've learned more quality info in the past few hours than I have in days of doing research on my own.

Btw I found this crazy 1,500mW green laser from that Ali Express store: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...-green-laser-pointer/1722148_32603221740.html
It's a bit more pricey but that's actually an amazing price for a 1,500mW green laser. Plus there is that 15% off coupon.

You are smarter than I was when I joined this forum; when I first joined I burned things without the lens on and then directly ignored the forum's advice to stop doing it immediately. It cost me my first blue laser (which was from... you guessed it, laserpointerpro.)

That 1.5W laser is real, but they are manufacturing a new host for it now. In a few weeks it will be available.
I suggest you hold off on purchasing it until then; we don't know what the heatsinking will be like. What we do know is that it will have a lot of new features like password switch, focusing, power adjustment, pulsing, and the ability to use star caps/sanwu beam expander.
The current model of the 1.5W mode hops a lot, which means the beam changes shape. To me, and probably you, this won't matter too much, but perfectionists will riot.
So if you want that one you should definitely wait.

(And by the way they did a LPM video of it, showing the power reading, but I am using mobile which makes finding it annoying.)

:beer:

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Yeah its in the pictures (you gotta scroll down and its the first picture).

I also found this insane 4.7W blue one and its only $300 after the 15% coupon: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...w-4000mw-for-cutting/1722148_32603214778.html
Only thing I don't like about this one is the beam is 3mmX7mm...not even close to being a circular beam which I strongly prefer.

I'm having a hard time deciding between 445nm and 465nm. From what I have seen 465nm is a brighter, more truly blue color, but its alot more expensive per mW than 445nm. What do you think?
Seems as though SW has the best blue lasers and I could get a 5W 445nm laser from them for just $329, but if I want a 465nm laser its gunna cost me $420 and thats only 4W (yeah i know, ONLY 4W?? haha but I'm comparing that to the 5W 445nm for $329) So if I want a 465nm its going to be a whole 1,000mW less AND cost another $100.

 

[Sta]

Yeah its in the pictures (you gotta scroll down and its the first picture).

I also found this insane 4.7W blue one and its only $300 after the 15% coupon: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...w-4000mw-for-cutting/1722148_32603214778.html
Only thing I don't like about this one is the beam is 3mmX7mm...not even close to being a circular beam which I strongly prefer.

I'm having a hard time deciding between 445nm and 465nm. From what I have seen 465nm is a brighter, more truly blue color, but its alot more expensive per mW than 445nm. What do you think?
Seems as though SW has the best blue lasers and I could get a 5W 445nm laser from them for just $329, but if I want a 465nm laser its gunna cost me $420 and thats only 4W (yeah i know, ONLY 4W?? haha but I'm comparing that to the 5W 445nm for $329) So if I want a 465nm its going to be a whole 1,000mW less AND cost another $100.

I usually don't recommend XPL blues above 2W, this is because the power/price efficiency goes down a lot relative to other companies. Sanwu is probably the better choice for a blue laser >2W.
Multimode diodes - that is, all of the high-power blue diodes - never have a circular beam. It's just not possible. High power red diodes (>400mW) have this property as well.
465 is really a stunning color. So much of a difference next to 445. The thing is, you need a 445 to put it next to :crackup:

So I might recommend you go through with your XPL order as planned, then wait a few weeks/months and purchase the 465 from Sanwu. You won't regret it, and you'll have lots of time to think.

Oh, and by the way, 4W of 465 is far brighter than 5W of 445.

:yh:

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Oh it is? Well in that case I will just go with the 465nm since I was already leaning in that direction and your statement that its much more stunning than a 445nm beam just concludes it.
But still, I like you suggestion for going with the 2W 445nm from XPL ESPECIALLY since its only $70 with that discount and since the lasers you bought from them were 20% more powerful that means this laser would probably be about 2.5W of solid 445nm power.

On a different note, I went to your YouTube channel and saw this video which I have actually seen in the past which is kinda funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RskHbY2MDpg
How is this only 1W??? It pops a balloon that far away instantly and pops like 10 balloons instantly as well...is there some other power factor that I don't know of??

 

[Sta]

Oh it is? Well in that case I will just go with the 465nm since I was already leaning in that direction and your statement that its much more stunning than a 445nm beam just concludes it.
But still, I like you suggestion for going with the 2W 445nm from XPL ESPECIALLY since its only $70 with that discount and since the lasers you bought from them were 20% more powerful that means this laser would probably be about 2.5W of solid 445nm power.

On a different note, I went to your YouTube channel and saw this video which I have actually seen in the past which is kinda funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RskHbY2MDpg
How is this only 1W??? It pops a balloon that far away instantly and pops like 10 balloons instantly as well...is there some other power factor that I don't know of??

Lasers have a quality called divergence, which is how quickly the beam spreads out. That laser, before it was blown up in a terrible accident, had a divergence of 0.4 mRad, which is extremely good. The 465 from sanwu will be closer to 2-2.5 mRad with a G7 lens (I strongly recommended you use the G7). The faster it spreads out, the less effective it will be at long distances. The laser in my video diverged very slowly which means it could pop a balloon that far away.
You can correct poor divergence with a beam expander, which Sanwu offers. It makes the beam wider but it can go MUCH further. In a few days I will have mine and I will be able to make some more precise comments.

Good decision though, you will like the sanwu spiker.

Please post a review here once you get it!

:beer:

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Hey I sent you a message

 

[HighPowerObsession]

Hey Sta, so basically I'm pretty set on the PL-E Pro 465nm 3.5W. It was between that one and the SanWu Striker 465nm 4W.
I think JL seems like a super trustworthy and reliable company and I really have alot of respect for Gray, the owner. PLus the PL-E Pro
seems to be alot more popular and I haven't found a single customer who hasn't raved about JT.

Anyway, back to the expander and lens, what is the G2 and G7 lens and why are they so popular? Are there other ens out there that may be better than those?