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



Hi Stuart,
   
  I'm not sure about any warranties, but I will check this weekend.  I ordered them online from Drs. F&S, so if the manufacturer doesn't have a guarantee maybe they do.  I will try to switch the bulbs' location by taking a "burned out" bulb and putting it in the spot that a good bulb is using to see if the bulb is dead or the lights themselves are the problem.
   
  I'm pretty sure the end of the tubes are water-tight.  There is a sliding plastic cover which covers the bulbs, and then there are plastic pieces which snap over the end of the bulbs.  How do I tell for sure if there is water interfering?
   
  What do you mean by controller?  I'm not sure how to tell if its mechanical or electrical controller.  What is the starter unit?  The lights are plugged into a power strip from Coralife which is a Digital timer power center.
   
  I found a discussion at http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=192160 mentioning "weaponspeed," which was the E-Bayer I bought the lights from.  Sounds like these lights are pretty inferior and the E-Bayer has ripped off others by providing bad customer service, switching out bulbs with blue instead of actinics, etc.
   
  I've also seen mentions of fires caused by these lights.  
   
  I'm not an electrical engineer, so I'm sorry but most of the terms/parts you mentioned I am unfamiliar with.  All I know how to do with lights is change the bulbs and plug them in  :-)
   
  I'm thinking I'm going to ditch these lights, what do you think?
   
  Cheers & Gig'Em,
  Steve
   
   
   
   
  

Stuart Halliday <stuart at stuarthalliday_com> wrote:
  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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