Laser Tube 3 part question

[Junior hall]

I bought a Boss Laser 1620 back in April 2014 ( this year ) Boss laser and there employees are wonderful the help they gave is tremendous ( Robbie Kevin and the rest of them Que and Michelle and the Frenchman as they call him

My question is where can i get a laser tube 60 watt laser tube cheaper than the 650 bucks they are wanting. My laser tube broke when we had a freeze back in November 2014 ( North Carolina )as i didn't know i had water still in the tube and when it frozed and thawed out it busted the end of the tube one side Im new at laser engraving.

Where can i purchase the laser engrave blank bricks and rocks to laser engrave

BossLaser is a awesoem business well rounded and very helpful as they been on the phone for hours on end helping me

Thanks

[Bert Kemp]

Rabbit Laser USA sells 60 watt tubes for $400
Lightobjects $345

[Bill George]

LightObject dot com tube spec's and they are priced at $345, are you or do you have the mechanical skill to replace the tube? BTW they are water cooled tubes..... water freezes at 32 degrees, I have some anti freeze in my cooling system. If you are wanting to collect under warranty I am afraid you are out of luck.

This is a "SP" quality made CO2 laser tube with a life span that goes up to 2,000 hrs. Also, the output is very stable, and many manufacturers are using this SP tube for the laser machines manufacturing in China. SP is very famous CO2 laser tube manufacturer in Shanghai, China
Specification

• Power: 60W
• Triggering Voltage: 25KV
• Operating Voltage: 18KV
• Current: 20~22mA
• Life Span: 1,500~2,000 hrs
• Length: 1250mm/ 49"
• Diameter: 55mm/ 2.16"
• Water Cooling
• Water temperature: 20~25'C(68-77F)

[Junior hall]

WOW I didn't even think of that Bill George with the antifreeze. I took the old one ( laser tube out ) with no problem.

Yes i am s.o.l for the warranty. I will check out the LightObject dot com Thanks so much

I got a ton of things to learn

Once again thanks so much

Junior

[John Bion]

Perhaps now would be a good time to upgrade to an 80 watt, but look for a RECCI or an EFI tube with the correct power supply, brackets; few more $ but faster.

[Bert Kemp]

Depends on what he's doing' If cutting is the main objective then an 80 watt tube might be a good bet, but if engraving is the goal, then you might want to stick with a 40 or 60 again it depends if your engraving wood 80 might be ok but if say leather or some other light material 80 might be to much. I find y 60 watt gives me a pretty good balance of both cutting and engraving. JMO

Perhaps now would be a good time to upgrade to an 80 watt, but look for a RECCI or an EFI tube with the correct power supply, brackets; few more $ but faster.

[Junior hall]

Right now all i am doing is engraving mirrors wood drinking glasses coffee mugs. Im wanting to try brick pavers and pet stones but not sure where to get those at

[Chris Corwin]

I have an 80w reci tube and it is NOT good for engraving. The dot size is way too big. I would suggest a 40w glass tube for good engraving.

If you go with an rf laser, the dot sizes are smaller at larger powered tubes and you can get good engraving results.

[Junior hall]

Ok i got my correct laser tube from boss laser which they sent me for free since the one they sent me with the machine was a 50 watt when i paid for a 60 they send it for free thanks Boss Laser

Bill George you said to put some antifreeze in the water chiller how much antifreeze should i put into the water chiller

Thanks

[Ray Scott]

I would recommend to NOT use any anti-freeze in the coolant for the 40 or 60 watt laser. There are definite problems with doing that. I haven't had issues with coolant in the 30 watt tubes yet.

My experience is that the coolant becomes conductive at the high voltages. The electricity intended for the laser gas will pierce through the epoxy seal (holding the lens/mirror at the end of the of the laser tube). I can try to explain this.

1) The primary path... The resistance of the laser gas inside the tube is (Let's use a dumb/easy number..) 100,000 ohms. This allows the arc to jump from anode to cathode... Inside the center chamber of the laser tube.

2) The alternative electrical path is to pierce or conduct through the epoxy...pierce/conduct into the coolant chamber ... Conduct through the coolant to the frame bulkhead fitting (brass piece where you plug in the chiller) ... Then conduct in the metal frame back to the laser power supply. Let's say the alternative path has a resistance of 80,000 ohms. With the coolant flowing, the resistive value is constantly changing.

The result is a current divider between path 1 and path 2. The best case is that you have a power loss in the tube. The worse issue is that you could be creating a hole in the epoxy and are releasing the laser gas from the laser tube.

This all comes from experience.. I do NOT recommend running the laser with antifreeze... I do recommend storage of the laser tube with antifreeze. You need to rinse it out pretty well before you try to use it.

One good thing is that the high voltage is "return grounded" as soon as it hits the bulkhead fitting.

other note... RV antifreeze will grow a nasty mold.

thank you

[Bill George]

My anti freeze mixture is very light, I'm sure it would slush up but not freeze solid. Been running faucet grade water in mine since day one, as I understand water is conductive Anyway I do not have a choice heat goes off things freeze.

Just want to add yes I had mold problems with RV anti-freeze.

Back to standard anti-freeze. I appreciate Rays advice but modern anti-freeze, the global stuff meant for modern cars with cooling systems that contain not only aluminum but brass, steel, iron, plastic, rubber and yes epoxy is what I use in mine. I won't advise others to do the same, but my mixture is very light only down to say + 15 Deg F and no problems in the past four or more months.

[Junior hall]

Wow Ray Scott thanks i didn't even think of all that as yes i know and understand the electricity and water conducts all kinds of things. I might just when done lasering take my air hose and push all the water out of the laser tube This is what Boss Laser told me to do after my laser tube busted couple weeks ago when we had a cold snap take the air hose and put it into the out or in let of the water and to push the air threw and out of the tube.

I might just do the air thing and save my laser tube so that way i dont have to spend 450 to 700 bucks i dont have.

Im still new to all this

Thanks to all for the helpful tips

[Dave Sheldrake]

That explains something I've seen quite a few times Ray, it's obvious really when I think about it but never crossed my mind. It may well also explain why the coloured anti freeze seems to suck power from tubes

[Bill George]

Well now you got me wondering. Went out to my now 45 Deg F shop, and its below Zero outside. Got a sample of my anti-freeze mixture out of the tank and then tap or faucet water. Strange but with my Fluke 77 digital meter and both probes at the same distance and depth, with Anti freeze mixture I get 1 or 2 Meg Ohms resistance, with my tap water same test I get 300-400 K Ohms? I will repeat the test later when I get warmed up!

When I replaced my old 30 watt tube in September (before the anti freeze) the new 40 watt tube had a thin wire wrapped around the Negative post and folded back into the tube so as to ground the water path?

[Dan Hintz]

Pure ethylene glycol has a very high resistivity (megaohms), but your typical anti-freeze is not pure. I would look for some pure stuff and use that.