PT Surge Bulb Mount Failure ----WARNING!!!---

[pedalinbob]

Re: New Surge Bulb failure in less than 5 min. usage!

whew.

i just tested mine. left it on for 15 minuted, turned it off and set it face-down kinda hard on my desk...no problems.

i will try it again later. i dont want this thing to fail at the worst possible time--when i really need it.

it is my brightest easily-portable light, so i really want it to be reliable. so far, it is.

of course, i have a BUNCH of backups!

Bob

PS i came home from work last night, and noticed 2 attitudes on the kitchen counter. there was a storm that came through, and Carey hates storms. she grabbed TWO of her favorite lights, and went into the basement. she grabbed them because she knew they would run "for a really long time--and they are really bright."
gotta love that girl!

 

[StoneDog]

Re: New Surge Bulb failure in less than 5 min. usage!

Well shoot you guys, I sure wish I could've gotten my hands on one that didn't overheat (hyperheat?) like this. I had to pay a $12 upcharge at BassPro to replace the Surge with a Scorpion. The scorpion is nice and all that but it just doesn't have the impressive output or low running costs of the Surge.

If PT would've sent me a good replacement I'd be a happy camper and I sure envy you guys with good Surges. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Jon

 

[Anarchocap]

Re: New Surge Bulb failure in less than 5 min. usage!

StoneDog,

You have to make PT fix the lamp. If they don't, you send it back and make them pay for the postage until they do. You bought the light. It has a Lifetime Warranty. I have one that works and one that doesn't. If PT doesn't fix it right they first time, they are going to keep sending me new ones until they work, or they are going to give me my money back.

 

[StoneDog]

Re: New Surge Bulb failure in less than 5 min. usage!

UnanimousConsent,

I hear what you're saying but PT had their chance and I really don't care to pay shipping charges and wait every time the send me a bad one. And, I'm still angry that they obviously didn't test the light even though I specifically asked them many times to do exactly that.

The positive side of all of this is that I now own a SL Scorpion. I'm VERY happy with my Scorpion. It doesn't put out as much light as the Surge but it is still bright as all get out. All in all I like it much better, especially with 123s now available from SureFire for a very reasonable amount.

I may try a Surge again in a few months but for now PT isn't getting any of my money.

Jon

 

[LEDmodMan]

Re: New Surge Bulb failure in less than 5 min. usage!

My status:

I took my Surge back to BassPro over the weekend. I plan on ordering one from someone online and giving it a go that way. I will write to PT about this problem. If my second light fails the same way I'm gonna /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif .

 

[StoneDog]

Re: New Surge Bulb failure in less than 5 min. usage!

Good luck man. I "feel your pain"... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Zeppert]

No problems with my Surge I've had for 5 months. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[StoneDog]

Zeppert,

Have you done anything like turn it on and hang it upside down for a few minutes? That's the quickest way to see if your Surge is good...

Jon

 

[sunspot]

Hi folks.
I bought four Surge's for gifts. Two Yellows and two Blacks. I planned to test them before giving them out. Well, I reveived my shipment Friday and tested them Saturday. All four failed within three minutes.
I now have five I need to send back.
I sent an email to Ryan at PT requesting a UPS Call Tag. With the wide spread failures lately, I don't feel like I shoulder the shipping costs.
I'll report back with his answer. This is one way to see how good customer service is at Princeton Tec.

 

[LEDmodMan]

Well maybe I won't be ordering another one... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[StoneDog]

I think there's reason you can't find the Surge on their website any more... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif

Jon

 

[StoneDog]

I\'m impressed ...

OK, I don't know why the Surge isn't on their site...

But, I do know that another Surge was waiting for me when I got home last night! I wasn't expecting this AT ALL and at first I wondered if there had been some sort of mistake. I contacted Ryan Ditta at PT and he said he sent it to me on purpose for testing because of the ordeal I went through with my original return. Wow, I was surprised. I had dismissed the Surge entirely and figured my dealings with PT were over. I may have given up on PT but they didn't give up on me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anyway, according to Ryan the problem was indeed in the solder mixture - it was simply not strong enough to hold the bulb at temp... The problem (again, according to Ryan) was localized and has been completely corrected.

Of course I was skeptical so I took the light apart. The mounts to seem different from the two defective lights that I had. The brass (or copper?) mounts extend perhaps 1/32" or 1/16" above the green board. I believe the mounts on my original light and it's replacement sat flush with the board but I don't really remember.

The net effect is that the bulb is now located forward of it's focal point and the tightest spot is achieved by unscrewing the head one full turn. When the head is screwed down completely the pattern is more of a flood with a fair number of artifacts from the filament - no where near as bad as a M@g though but a bit worse than my Scorpion set to a flood-type focus. In contrast my original lights exhibited their best hotspot when the head was completely tightened.

OK, so next I tested the new solder's ability to hold the bulb in place... I simply hung the light by it's lanyard about one foot above my kitchen counter and turned it on. After five full minutes I saw absolutely no change in the position of the bulb. I quickly unscrewed the head and tried to pull the bulb out (using a dry dish rag) - the sucker wouldn't come out until I really pulled on it. When it finally came out it was completely clean and the mounts stayed in place, no solder dripping and no mounting holes plugged with molten solder... Ryan wasn't joking, the new solder/mounts really work.

Needless to say PT seems to have fixed the problem and I am a happy camper again.

Unfortunately there seems to be no way of knowing if the Surge on the shelf of your favorite sporting goods store has the bad solder mixture (I asked Ryan, just to be sure) but PT stands behind their products and they will make it right if you do end up with a bad one.

For those of you trying to decide between sending your Surge in for warranty work or taking it back - I'd say give PT a chance to fix it first.

Jon

 

[Unforgiven]

Re: Update ...PT Surge

I sent my Surge back to PT, received it in the mail a few days ago.... same light, same battery holder but a new board on the BH. It did smoke a little when it was turned on but stopped completely in a few minutes. The bulb now stays tight enough that it doesn't fall out or move /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.... The reason I know it is the same light and Battery holder is that I marked them (including the board) before I sent them in. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif Turn around was about 3 weeks. Kinda slow........

 

[LEDmodMan]

Re: Update ...PT Surge

Hmmm... Maybe it's time for me to finally purchase another one! I am very happy that PT fixed this problem, puts my image of their company back into the good light where I held it before this problem! Kudos to PT!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Maybe this thread now needs to be moved to Cheers & Jeers??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

***edit*** WOW, I didn't realize this thread had nearly 2,300 views so far... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[Empath]

Re: Update ...PT Surge

LEDmodMan, feel free to begin a new thread in Cheers'N'Jeers if you wish. I can't speak for every moderator here, but in my opinion this thread is perfect for the General Flashlight forum. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[LEDmodMan]

Re: Update ...PT Surge

I feel that it would be StoneDog's place to start that thread in Cheers 'N' Jeers, as he was the one who dealt with PT on this matter...

 

[DDS]

Re: Update ...PT Surge

I had a bad light too, and sent it back for replacement. The light was used for about 6 min last night and the bulb failed again! I must have received another defective one. Guess I will try again! Dave

 

[Ray_of_Light]

I own 2 Surges, and I never had such a problem. I believe the problem you had lyes with the type of soldering alloy used in the flashlight.
A standard electronic 63% tin, 37% lead, has a melting point a little above 350 °C. A 50% tin, 50% lead will melt above 500 °C. A 2% silver, 63% tin, and 35% lead will melt below 200 °C.

Check the type of soldering wire you used. The Surge bulb socket must be soldered with the second type I mentioned above (melting at 500 °C). You may not find it in electronic stores, but in hardware stores since is used to weld metal water pipes.

Anthony

 

[DDS]

Anthony: Thanks for info on solders; very informative. Since this is a new light I will try to have PT make it right!
Regards, Dave

 

[Roy]

Would the fact that the Surge was designed as a DIVE light have anything to do with the bulb mount failured? The benifits of having a large body of water as a heatsink are missing.