Re: [APD] Odyssea Lights: Are they a P.o.S,?

[Stuart Halliday <stuart at stuarthalliday_com>]

I believe Steve B wrote this email section below:

>   OK, so what does everyone think?
>   What's wrong with my lights?  Are they overheating, and why?
>    
>   Are they just a cheap piece of $H1T?  :-)

Aren't the sunpaq bulbs under any sort of guarantee?

>   Please advise, I'm about to bash these lights against the wall!  ;-)

Perhaps you're looking at the wrong piece of equipment? :-)

Are the ends of the tubes water-tight? Condensation is not a wonderful 
friend of electricity.

Is the light Controller mechanical or electronic? If it's mechanical then 
perhaps the Starter unit needs replacement?

Check the controller isn't overheating in any case. It's probably kicking 
out 200W if its mechanical.

Check that the controller isn't getting over driven. Is it rated for these 
amount of wattage bulbs?

One cheap and dirty trick by low down cheap-skate cowboys is to supply a 
controller that is said to be a particular wattage but in reality they've 
rounded up the wattage to make it look good!

You are driving it at its working limit...

As in most things electrical, your 4 tubes are rated at 65W each. But what 
if they're actually 68-70W? Manufacturing processes often vary like this.
So you maybe over driving the controller?

I'd ask Odyssea if they have a safety factor built into their controller.

Lastly.
Perhaps your Mains is dirty or the plug has a bad connection into the wall? 
This can cause random electrical breakdown in equipment.


I've been a electronic engineer years before I was an aquarist. :-)

-- 
Stuart Halliday
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