Laser Tube Shelf Life

[macona]

I had to test some power meter heads that I am going to sell so I pulled out my 40W tube and power supply. It has been sitting for about 2 years now (Made 2/22/2011) and have never needed it since I decided to go with the YAG for my laser cutter. I only tried it once when I got it to verify it worked.

It looks like the shelf life on these guys is not very good. I am only getting 27 watts out of the tube measured with a Coherent LabMax and a LM150 head. I did not measure the output when I got it but I am sure it was at least 40W. I'll take measurements in the future to see how much weaker it gets over time.

For those of you considering keeping tube as a spare it is probably not a good idea.

A seller in seattle recently sent me a RECI 80W tube to do a gas analysis on. These things are pretty well built compared to the soft seal tubes. The mirror mounts are actually 1.3" conflat vacuum fittings with copper seals.