ROP HIGH FRAGILE?

I've had 3 ROP 3854-H bulbs go bad with less than an hour use on each. One during break in using a 6.4 volt source, one while being used with a 6.4 volt source and one that has been running on two Li-Ions just died. It worked fine last night when I put it up but didn't even blink this morning. This is the second one that died and the filament looks fine it appears the open is somewhere in the base.

Is this a common occurrence with these bulbs?

I use my ROP Lows (3854-L) versions a lot more and they are still running strong. All of the Lows are running off two 26650 IMR batteries.

I had my 3853-H fail with battery station 26650 cells... I am not sure why, the filament inside looks OK. The +B contact on mine melted the solder, either from excessive heat, current, or both. I can't tell.

I am wondering if the solder inside melted and opened the circuit? I had the light ON for quite a while when it went out.

:thinking:... heres a pic of the PR lamp.


(EDIT... I fixed some typos, cells are 26650 and it is the 3853-H (pictured) that I think melted)

Ive heard of the solder melting that way but never seen it happen, maybe ive just been lucky so far.

My first one blew with about 25-35 minutes on it. I was doing a load test on some unknown quality 18650's and had the mag head off candlestanding to see how it looked, and after about 4 minutes the bulb exploded. Yes it was cleaned well and never touched. The second one had a similar half hour lifespan.

mrartillery said:

Ive heard of the solder melting that way but never seen it happen, maybe ive just been lucky so far.

Click to expand...

Every ROP high I've worked with showed deformation of the solder tip. I'm starting to think the ROP High isn't a good match for the Maglite.

357mag1 said:

Every ROP high I've worked with showed deformation of the solder tip. I'm starting to think the ROP High isn't a good match for the Maglite.

Click to expand...

Maybe due mainly to the fact that I dont run mine for long periods of time, most of the time its 5 minutes tops.

Not only fillament heat but also ARC heat may cause similar problem.

kramer5150 said:

I had my 3853-H fail with battery station 26650 cells... I am not sure why, the filament inside looks OK. The +B contact on mine melted the solder, either from excessive heat, current, or both. I can't tell.

I am wondering if the solder inside melted and opened the circuit? I had the light ON for quite a while when it went out.

:thinking:... heres a pic of the PR lamp.

(EDIT... I fixed some typos, cells are 26650 and it is the 3853-H (pictured) that I think melted)

Click to expand...

mrartillery said:

Maybe due mainly to the fact that I dont run mine for long periods of time, most of the time its 5 minutes tops.

Click to expand...

What are you using to power your ROP high? Mine looked like the picture Kramer posted but not quite as bad. I was running them on 2 Li-ion in series (6 14670s in a battery holder 2S3P configuration). The one I have been running on 6C cells is only very mildly deformed. I did notice the solder on the tip looks like a bad solder joint now (crystalized) and not like it did new.

Just had another ROP high die during break in. I was running 6v (old Mag Charger battery) because these things have me gun shy. It still died and once again the filament looks fine. That is 4 or 5 dead in less than an hour, this one took almost 10 minutes. I can't imagine they last any better in the Pelican light. If I didn't like the ROP Low I would never purchase these bulbs again.

I recently started playing with ROPs.

I am using them in the original fashion with 6 subC cells in a 4D mag.

I had a ROP low die as you described. The filament looked good. The open was somewhere in the base. I disassembled the PR base and found that the open wasn't in the potted base either. It was one of the legs inside the glass. Strange.

My ROP high bulbs are doing fine. I have two of them in use with about 1 hour on one and 30 minutes on the other.

I haven't tried a "break in". I did notice some moisture in the reflector and removed the head to allow it to evaporate. I ran it in candle mode with the head removed for about 10 mins after than, so I guess that is a short break in.

FB

I just started playing with them recently myself. I have 3 of the 3854 Ls going with no issues so far. I'm powering them with 2 26650 IMR cells. I have two ROP Highs working at the moment. Just finished setting up my last High bulb. Hopefully these two will continue to run. I'm running one with 4 Nizn in series and it is brighter than my ROP Lows. The other is running on two 26650 LifePo4s from Battery Space and even though it should have the same voltage (6.4volts) the LifePo4 version is not as bright as my ROP Lows.

Makes me wonder if those Battery Space LifePo4s are any good.

I tried some LifePo4 batteries from K2 Energy and the results were the same so nothing wrong with Battery Space LifePo4 cells. I know for a fact with 1 amp current draw Nizn cells drop to 1.6 volts fairly quickly and maintain that voltage for most of the run like a quality Nimh battery. I would assume the LifePo4 batteries could maintain a 4 amps without much sag but that doesn't seem to be the case. The light is much brighter using 4 Nizn in series, really no comparison.

I have 2 ROP high (3854-H) in two different lights, both with IMR batteries. I use them a lot (especially the beat-up old 2D Maglite) No failures yet. I also have the ROP low (3854-L) running on IMR cells in another light. No problems there, either. No resistance mods in any of these lights.

I've abandoned the 3854-H myself. 2s2p (4x18650s) or 26650s + long continuous running will melt one in short order for me. I lean more towards the WA-1111 now. Longer running time, cooler running, and it seems just as bright even if it's really not...probably because it's so freakin' white even as the voltage drops. Do note that there is some risk of ing the 1111 if resistance is low when used with IMR cells and no soft start switch.

Running from 2 x 32600 cells I've had no problem with the 3854-H or 3854-L bulbs. I've found these a breeze to use and the performance is good, the bulbs have been lasting plenty long enough for me. I've done no resistance mods, which might help the bulbs last well and I've not really seen a need for them anyway.

The only trouble I have had with the 3854H is using them with batteries not well rested (6 x sub-C stick), they flash really easily with large batteries.

I did have one melt the solder on the side of the PR base, where the leg attaches to the side of the base, not the bottom. I resoldered it and it is still going strong.

Have yet to kill and 3854L's though, they are one great bulb.

Cheers,
Nova