'CustomLites' LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

aL01

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Jun 1, 2010
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Hi Fellow CPF'ers,

I purchased a LED-ENGINE-UV365nm from 'Nailbender' at 'CustomLites' a few years ago for under $100.00, I'm thinking that if you want quality, you pay for quality.

I anticipated it would last years with light use, only just used for currency checking when I infrequently got a large note.

Not long ago, it started shutting-itself off after about ~40-seconds or so, for no reason. I didn't touch the switch or do anything, and it NEVER did this before.

I cleaned the threads and contacts, tested the batteries....everything I could think of.

I emailed 'CustomLites', they emailed me back stating that it only has a 30-day Warranty'.

A asked if they could please diagnose it, or perhaps fix it, and I would be more than willing to pay for the parts +/or labor.

Or, at the very least, would they sell me the parts to fix it myself.

Again... minus the vulgarity..."It Has A 30-day Warranty",

That's that.

On the 'CustomLite' WebSite'

About Us
Our mission is simple: to provide the best products and service to our customers at the lowest prices possible. We take great pride in our company, our commitment to customer service and in the products we sell.
 
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alpg88

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Apr 19, 2005
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5,283
Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

are you using protected cells?
is it p60 drop in?
 

WarriorOfLight

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Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

I do not have a Nailbender Nichia Dropin, but I assume the Nailbender Dropin uses a "normal" Driver board with linear driver. The "problem" with Nichia high power UV LEDs is the high forward voltage. This voltage is significant higher than it is for "normal" (=white) LEDs. It is ~3.2V-4.4V depending on the ranking of the LED. From what I know the "L-Rank" of the LED is extremely rare. Most NCSU033A LEDs are M or H ranked:

http://dmcleish.com/CPF/365nm/NCSU033A.pdf

Basically a Buckboost driver is the best solution for this LED or a 2xLiIon power supply. If the voltage of the Liion cell was not high enough, because the cell was not full anymore, it may be possible that the Dropin shuts off due to a too low voltage. At all cellst with a end voltage of 4.35V at the end of the charging process are the better choice instead of the 4.2V cells. But for this you also need a charger that supports this higher switch of voltage during the charging process.
 
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aL01

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Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

Yes, I am using two #16340 protected cells.

It is a P60 drop-in.

Thanks!
 
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aL01

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Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

This is the email I recently got back from the seller, 'CustomLites' (minus a vulgarity):


*EMAIL FROM 'CUSTOMLITES' REMOVED IN COMPLIANCE WITH RULE #12 (Under Protest)
 
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alpg88

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Apr 19, 2005
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5,283
Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

thanks for posting the email, i did not even think of not using them after YOUR post, but after THEIR response, i know all i need to know about the company. now i definitely wont be giving them any business, not that they will miss it, but...

now back to your problem, it could be the driver, or the led, it would be helpful to see what current it was running at, if driver was pushing it harder than ledengin specified , i assume you have lz1 led which has absolute max of 1A,
if it was the driver, it could be replaced. but first see what driver was there in a first place, if you have skills and tools try to replace the led for a white led, see if problem still occurs, it is does than led is not the issue driver is, otherwise, led may be dying, if led is dying replace it with either nichia, or same lz1, also try another cell, unprotected, maybe it's pcb shuts off, it is unlikely, but who knows,
another thing i'm curious about, p60 use 16mm star, afaik, ledengin doesn't make 16mm stars for their leds, neither does sinkpad, i wonder what star they used, cuz footprint of ledenging is different from pretty much any other led.
 
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nbp

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Dec 16, 2007
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Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

Rules about posting private communication applies across the board. You can summarize but not copy-paste. Thanks.
 

aL01

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Jun 1, 2010
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Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

Mr. nbp (Moderator),
I agree that posting a private communication is definitely not proper netiquette.
However, in-my-opinion, posting a private communication from a Commercial Dealer falls under the 'Category' of 'Fair Game' and does not violate the rules of proper netiquette.
Perhaps if you were to take another look at this you may agree.

In compliance with whatever netiquette is the flavor of the month, I digress and will comply.
 

archimedes

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Re: LED-ENGIN-UV365nm shuts-off after ~40seconds

.... In compliance with whatever netiquette is the flavor of the month, I digress and will comply.

The rules on CPF regarding personal communications have not changed, for at least as long as I have been here, and apply to all private messages, regardless of whether or not the individual is a dealer / manufacturer or any other status.
 
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