Firehouse ARC2 strobe failed with limited use!

[Rangerider]

I have one of the Firehouse Arc2 strobe lights and it failed after very limited use. The little battery is puffed and shows signs of leakage. It is out of warranty of course and FHT says too bad for me since it is over 90 days since purchase. FH says I either overheated the battery or charged it when hot. I don't believe either of those to be my case. They don't even offer a replacement battery! They charge a lot for their lights and then won't even sell me a new battery which they buy in bulk for about $1 max. cheap I won't be buying anymore of their products after this experience. Anybody know of a good source for a LDR 602025 3.7V 240mAh battery?

 

[iaincaradoc]

I've had good luck finding parts like that at some of the "maker" sites, like adafruit or radicalrc.

 

[lannes]

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[Magilla Gorilla]

I have one of the Firehouse Arc2 strobe lights and it failed after very limited use. The little battery is puffed and shows signs of leakage. It is out of warranty of course and FHT says too bad for me since it is over 90 days since purchase. FH says I either overheated the battery or charged it when hot. I don't believe either of those to be my case. They don't even offer a replacement battery! They charge a lot for their lights and then won't even sell me a new battery which they buy in bulk for about $1 max. cheap I won't be buying anymore of their products after this experience. Anybody know of a good source for a LDR 602025 3.7V 240mAh battery?

That's disappointing to hear. I also have FT strobes.

If they buy the batteries for $1.00 you would think they would at least want to help out their customers by offering replacements for say $5.00. Keep everyone happy and make a bunch of money at the same time.

 

[Manty]

My FT strobe 2 failed after 3 uses! It works if I leave it plugged in but that's of little use. I located batteries and ordered 2 but they are coming from China! Hoping its the battery which I can renew

 

[Magilla Gorilla]

My FT strobe 2 failed after 3 uses! It works if I leave it plugged in but that's of little use. I located batteries and ordered 2 but they are coming from China! Hoping its the battery which I can renew

Let us know if they fit and work properly please. And if so post a link.

Many here on the forum use these strobes.

Mine have been used a lot since new in December 2018. It's only a matter of time for all of us.

 

[Manty]

il keep you posted when they arrive. I bought them from amazon UK and they came from

E&A Distribution LTD.

 

[lowellton]

I have one of the Firehouse Arc2 strobe lights and it failed after very limited use. The little battery is puffed and shows signs of leakage. It is out of warranty of course and FHT says too bad for me since it is over 90 days since purchase. FH says I either overheated the battery or charged it when hot. I don't believe either of those to be my case. They don't even offer a replacement battery! They charge a lot for their lights and then won't even sell me a new battery which they buy in bulk for about $1 max. cheap I won't be buying anymore of their products after this experience. Anybody know of a good source for a LDR 602025 3.7V 240mAh battery?

Same here. Bought a fht arc 2 strobe kit and the mount is terrible. It is hard plastic not as advertised as flex

 

[R.J.]

Perhaps the lack of 'packaging' around the earlier Arc strobes presents condensation issues which could in turn affect a battery over time. I wonder if the arc V is better because of housing or if this is a faulty battery issue. As Magilla Gorilla mentioned, "many here on the forum use these strobes" I wonder how others have fared with different arc models.
I look forward to seeing what solutions work for others on this feed.

 

[Public Safety UAS]

I have one of the Firehouse Arc2 strobe lights and it failed after very limited use. The little battery is puffed and shows signs of leakage. It is out of warranty of course and FHT says too bad for me since it is over 90 days since purchase. FH says I either overheated the battery or charged it when hot. I don't believe either of those to be my case. They don't even offer a replacement battery! They charge a lot for their lights and then won't even sell me a new battery which they buy in bulk for about $1 max. cheap I won't be buying anymore of their products after this experience. Anybody know of a good source for a LDR 602025 3.7V 240mAh battery?

We are happy to replace the unit, we wararnty them for 90 days, as you all know lipos if they get hot, or are not charged properly can puff, we dont typically keep spares as we have not had a lot of requests for them, but if there are those that need them we can certainly get them. The advantage of the arc light is that you CAN replace it as its NOT in case. Our new Arc "V" is encased and as nice as that it, when they get older or are not charaged or stored right like any of the strobes (Lume ect) its hard to open the sealed case. But we do stand by our products, and always look to the drone community for input. I do aplogize to the user that posted, very busy day and I just did not have time to look up the battery nor did i know when it was purchased.

 

[Public Safety UAS]

Same here. Bought a fht arc 2 strobe kit and the mount is terrible. It is hard plastic not as advertised as flex

Thats been updated to PET G but to much flex can get loose and fall off

 

[Public Safety UAS]

My FT strobe 2 failed after 3 uses! It works if I leave it plugged in but that's of little use. I located batteries and ordered 2 but they are coming from China! Hoping its the battery which I can renew

Contact is if its under warranty or not right we will replace as we always do.

 

[Public Safety UAS]

That's disappointing to hear. I also have FT strobes.

If they buy the batteries for $1.00 you would think they would at least want to help out their customers by offering replacements for say $5.00. Keep everyone happy and make a bunch of money at the same time.

Now that we know you need and want them we will get them, never had any requests and most folks cant solder.

 

[iaincaradoc]

Now that we know you need and want them we will get them, never had any requests and most folks cant solder.

Some of us have been known to reflow SMD with a toaster oven from Goodwill - or even with a large fresnel lens on a slab of concrete. Takes a little finesse, but it works.

 

[Public Safety UAS]

Im sure of that....again just a matter of identifying need for them, the user that posted bought it a year ago, so while im sure it was not abused, it is a lipo.

 

[Magilla Gorilla]

Now that we know you need and want them we will get them, never had any requests and most folks cant solder.

Thanks for all the replies.

I Haven't had to replace mine yet but it's good to know we can get them from you.

You have restored faith in your Company hopefully to all on the forum who are following this thread and who will read it in the future.

 

[vindibona1]

If you were to Google FHT's address you'd see that it appears to be one guy working out of his garage. It's really too bad he doesn't want to stand behind his products. I too have FHT strobes. What i want to know is how you "overcharge" a battery causing it to swell? How do you overheat it with normal use? I'm disappointed to hear of the poor support.

 

[Firehouse Technology]

If you were to Google FHT's address you'd see that it appears to be one guy working out of his garage. It's really too bad he doesn't want to stand behind his products. I too have FHT strobes. What i want to know is how you "overcharge" a battery causing it to swell? How do you overheat it with normal use? I'm disappointed to hear of the poor support.

Im sorry to inform you it was not poor support, far from it, this was an item that was purchased a year ago, the lipo (like a lot of small lipos had started to swell, the request was for a lipo or the part which we did not have, we can of course get them if they are needed, but this in fairness was a year old light, all of you have drone batteries you know what lipos do with age and use, we always support what we sell, and have sold 10000 lights with very few issues. If it was a few months we would just replace, a year we try to help and are happy to stock batteries if the community needs them, any small strobe (which all use this battery will do the same thing in time the FHT lights at least you can replace, a lume, or other copycat you cannot.

 

[dronerdave]

What i want to know is how you "overcharge" a battery causing it to swell? How do you overheat it with normal use?

One way is put a higher charge rate that the battery can't handle. I have several FH strobes and actually don't know what they suggest as a charging rate but some higher amp USB chargers might supply too high of a charge. Firehouse should be able to answer that. Leaving a standard lipo battery (such as what's used in most fixed wing RC planes, cars ,boats) fully charged or under charged for long periods of time isn't good for them either. Heat during storage can also be hard on them. I suspect the batteries on these strobe are no different.

So far FH customer support IMO has been very good.

 

[vindibona1]

One way is put a higher charge rate that the battery can't handle. I have several FH strobes and actually don't know what they suggest as a charging rate but some higher amp USB chargers might supply too high of a charge. Firehouse should be able to answer that. Leaving a standard lipo battery (such as what's used in most fixed wing RC planes, cars ,boats) fully charged or under charged for long periods of time isn't good for them either. Heat during storage can also be hard on them. I suspect the batteries on these strobe are no different.

So far FH customer support IMO has been very good.

Thanks. The batteries do charge up quickly in just a few minutes with a standard 3.1 Amp charger. The indicators change to green when charged making it easy to know when to disconnect them. I can't speak to the customer service aspect of FHT, but after buying my Arc strobe I did order two front strobes (R/G) which I like a lot to help determine LOS orientation.