Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Every battery has a finite life. Used, not used, plugged in, not plugged in, the battery will eventually reach the end of its serviceable life.

As always, you can send the unit in for us to review if you are unsure or uncomfortable in trouble shooting. Without physically looking at it, we can only give you a best assesment.

Are you using the modling lamps when in use? Are you getting a low battery alarm before it shuts off?

If you do wish to trouble shoot on your end, you can look for the following:
- Are the cables tight and free from damage or corrosion?

-Is the battery swollen, cracked, leaking, extremely hot during charging, smell like rotten eggs (sulfur), or otherwise damaged?

-Often, auto parts stores will be able to test the SLA batteries in the Vagabond systems (though not the lithium types in the VML).

-If you have a multimeter and know how to use it (or know someone who does), you can disconnect the battery (making very sure the cables do not touch, regardless of which end you disconnect from). Then plug the inverter in as though you are charging. Then using the multimeter set to VDC, measure the voltage between the red and black connections. This should read 13.8 VDC (13.6VDC to 14.2VDC is an acceptable range).

Hi, just registered, been a PCB and Alien Bees user for years. Always good, or made good. Best service around. So here's my question. Been using the VBII for a couple years now. Not too often, just when I'm on location and need the bigger AB guns rather than my half-dozen speedlights, but the VBII remains plugged in at my studio at all times and continues to deliver on the battery that came with the unit. OK, that's my lecture for the left-it-in-the closet and top-it-off folks; just plug it in and check on it occasionally, you got other freaking things to worry about, why borrow trouble. :roll:

OK, my question. I know that times can vary etc. and I've run all kinds of devices off the VBII including my 15in MacBook Pro, but recently, the battery went kaput on my MacBookPro and being 3 years old and 90% of the time hooked to a large external LCD and a bunch of hard drives, I'm thinking I'll wait a little longer and just replace it. OK, all that to say, I'm going on a shoot tomorrow where I'll have a couple hours to twiddle my thumbs between sessions and would like to run my laptop to do some editing, but wanted to make sure that is safe without a battery in the laptop. I ask because I'm aware that the battery acts like a surge protector between the power source and the comp. Should I just insert a small surge protector between the VBII and the MacBook Pro to be on the safe side? I will most likely be working in my car and will probably plug the VBII into the car at some point to keep a brown-out situation from going to the laptop. Phew! Get it? Man, the strings, tape and rubber bands a photographer will use just out of sight to keep things pretty in-frame! :lol:

Thanks, hoping to get an answer before I drive away in 13 hours!

If it makes you feel better to use a power strip, you can. However, it will not be necessary as you will not get a surge from the inverter. Furthermore, the charger block on the cord will also offer some buffering (probably up to 240V), again, which will not be necessary.

Plugging the VII into charge will not prevent any brown outs, it will only charge the battery while in use, resulting in a longer run time.

Thanks for the quick reply! By "brown out" I guess I actually meant that "longer run time" to avoid any variation or drop as the battery gets closer to exhausting itself, which makes me nervous enough that I'll be constantly saving. ;-)

Hello,

I use the Vagabond II with my A Bees and it's great. I would now like to use it for video work to power two umbrellas with 4 and 3 26-watt CLF bulbs, respectively. Will this 180 watt draw hurt the Vagabond II? Would it hurt it to power more CLFs, say 400 watts worth?

Thanks.

Bob Milnover

Max sustained output is about 300 Watts, so 180 will not hurt. However, you are looking at less than an hour of continuous use with a fully functioning original battery.

Thank you for the super quick reply, especially on a weekend. One hour and 300 watts is more than I expected. This is for a quick interview, no more than 15 minutes.

I also have a Vagabond mini lithium that I love, I gaff it to a lightstand and it works wonderfully. So much power in something so small and light. I've never run it down fully yet, using AB 800's and a 1600. Then again, I'm not popping them for hours or all on full setting. But sometimes just the 1600 on full for ceiling bounce, no other strobes.

What would be the safe wattage draw using say 200 watts of CFL's powered by the mini lithium Vagabond?? This would make many of my brief video shoots even lighter on the shoulders.

Thanks again.

Bob Milnover

Max wattage on the VML is 120W. Be careful to not exceed these wattages. Loads above what is listed may still run some devices (like a standard lightbulb), but the voltage will drop to the point that it matches the watt limit. It will, however, try to run at higher voltages, which it cannot do, and the unit will over heat.

Thank you again. So, I'll stick with the mini hooked up to strobes only. I'm glad I asked.

I have a question as far as flammable surfaces goes. When shooting in a home with carpet or shooting outdoors in a field, what could I use to put my generator on that wouldn't be flammable? I know this is kind of a silly question, and I wasn't even sure to ask it here or somewhere else, but I want to use my new Vegabond mini outdoors soon and want to make sure I'm taking the right precautions to be safe. ALSO, another question.. in the manual it states "do not charge the battery to 100% and then store it" and it says to partially charge it every few months. I want to know if this is correct or if what you say at the beginning of this post is correct that you DO want to fully "recap" it every couple weeks or so (not every 3 months).