Hi Ron–

My experience with diodes is that they tend to overheat (from the power supply), and they really can’t be run as long or as “hot” as a laser with an internal cooling system.

On my Soap Box, now.

I can’t be without my laser of choice. My lasers have to be there and be dependable to work for me ALL day, EVERY day. We turn our pulsed Nd:YAGs on in the morning, run them all day long, and do it again the next day–without failure or faults.

If I have 4 quads of Laser Perio Therapy scheduled at &#361,000 a quad–I HAVE to be able to count on my device working.

You should give Gordon Wilson a call in Arizona 602-667-9111. He’ll give you the straight scoop. He has both the Biolase Waterlase and the PerioLase. He has had a printer cable problem, and one “fault” issue that self-corrected when he restarted his laser several times.

Carbon dioxide and Nd:YAGs are the two work-horses laser wavelengths in science, industry, and the military. The main reasons relate to their overall utility, but importantly their longstanding history of stability and reliability.

Off my box….

“Is this a sign of things to come?”

It’s more like a tendency to occur, especially if you run them often and hard.

“Should I just request a new one since its only been in the office a couple weeks? “

No need to request a new laser. Those thermisters are the most sensitive to the excess heat from the power supply. In fact, as laser components go in those small solid state diodes, through the process of component elimination, you should get the “better-of-the-batch” as far as one with better tolerances replacing the ones that failed.

Good luck!

Bob