Hi, so my old 60w co2 laser tube died on me after a lonnnnng time of use so purchased a new one, on receiving it from the courrier it was damaged in transit one of the water inlet pipes had broke at the bend (see photos) the company had shipped me a new one but told me i can keep the broken one.
The question i have is can it be fixed? I was thinking of extending the silicon water pipe and using some silicon seal to seal it all or even some epoxy? What are your thoughts?
There is no way to do this that I’d trust. If it leaks while running are all your electronics underneath it?
Is this on the anode end?
There might be some way of hacking it, but I’d suggest not.
Good luck
I’ve tried the same with a 40 watt tube, it’s a shame that there are so many breaking in transport.
But, I repaired mine with two component epoxy (here they call the chemical metal), it worked fine for me. If there is no other (hidden) damage and you have some expertise with epoxy it is worth a try.
In the picture it looks as I fixed it while the tube is mounted in the machine, it was not. The tube hold tight and worked until it was “normal” old and worn.
If it doesn’t leak… it should be fine…
Thanks for the photos 
Yes its on the anode end! I was thinking there might be enough lip left on the glass pipe to get a good attachment with a silicone pipe and then cake it with epoxy or something! Ill give it a go and connect up the water chiller and just let it run theough and see if it leaks.
You can also pressure test the tube with water,…after you repair it. Install a valve at one end and close with a plug or a valve, at the other end and pump up the tube with a little overpressure, 0.5 bar is more than enough to test and above what our refrigeration machines deliver. Let it stand with pressure on for a few hours. (Obviously not in the machine;-) )
Instead of trying to put epoxy around the silicone tube and glass I’d suggest trying to build-out the broken portion of the glass, allowing you to attach the silicone tube in a normal way.
Thanks for the advice.
Sounds like a good idea ill give it a go
Or locate a local glass blower shop. They can fuse a new tube to the broken area. Of course, this does not apply if the tube is quartz glass.
I’ve heard of laser tube repair shops that can do glass repair. However, they’re typically working with medical grade or industrial lasers tubes costing quite a bit of money. The ones I’ve seen won’t even look at Chinese commercial tubes. Not likely economically viable especially considering this is meant to be a cheap freebie at this point.
