Strobe knower-abouters

[Saniflush]

So I am still adding to my breadth of knowledge when it comes to things going wrong and right in almost all things photography, hence why I am coming to the knower-abouters...

I have a Sea Life strobe and put hot batteries in it Saturday morning before we were heading to the boat. As normal after I had them in I turned it on to ensure there was not problem. Initially the blue light came on and I could hear the light "warming up" but after about 4 seconds I heard and audible pop and the entire strobe went dead.

I have contacted Sea Life and I am sure they will get it handled but my question to the group is anyone know what it was? It almost sounded like what a normal bulb sounds like when it blows but I had not even test flashed the unit so I wouldn't think that was it.

 

[bvanant]

sounds like either the capacitor or the flash tube has expired. You can check to see what the tube looks like. I assume it no longer is working?
Bill

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

certainly sounds like capacitor. especially if you cant clearly see the blown bulb/flash tube.

 

[Saniflush]

sounds like either the capacitor or the flash tube has expired. You can check to see what the tube looks like. I assume it no longer is working?
Bill

It is not. Dead as door nail.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

how old is it out of interest? i had a similar sea&sea issue sent them in and backscatter just sent me new ones as opposed to fixing under warranty.

 

[Saniflush]

A little over a year old. It really does not have many uses on it. I would guess <200. Is there a "normal' range that should be expected as far as life of it is concerned? How do you go about figuring out is a different strobe would work?
Like I said I am new to strobes and learning as I go.

I would be very surprised if they didn't make good on the thing once I send it back today. Sea Life has already sent me a RMA this morning.

 

[Saniflush]

A bit of an update on this just to close the loop. I sent the strobe into Sea Life and as no surprise to me, they fixed it free of charge and in about two days then had it fedex'd back to me in another two. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get an explanation of what had to be done other than it saying "replaced flash" but that is just the nerd in me liking more information.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

That’s a good result..

 

[Hoag]

While it would be nice to know what the problem was, I'd say take the win.

 

[fmerkel]

You seldom, more likely never, get any detailed info.

Don't know if the hot batteries were a cause or not. When they are fresh out of the charger, especially if quite warm their voltage and ability to deliver amperage is high. Let them cool down a bit first.
If your batteries are getting HOT, as in damn near too hot to hold, your charger is doing a bad job, or the cells are getting quite old and need replacement. Maybe both.
If you have one of those FAST (like 15-30 minute) chargers, THROW IT AWAY, and get a decent charger. Those things are hell on batteries.