My Reefbrite LED's - update... 1 unit failed

[Slick Fork]

So, after slightly over a year of running the all-white unit has crapped out. One bank of LED's only running at about half the brightness. Retailer tells me they can't/won't do anything for me since I'm out of the warranty period, even though it's only by a matter of weeks.

To say I'm disgusted is an understatement, I get that things fail, but to have something this expensive fail so soon after the warranty is up and then have them say "tough luck" stinks. For that reason alone I would NOT recommend these to anybody.

Now I am not sure what I'm going to do, I don't have the cash to replace it or the knowledge to try to fix it.

I need this like I need a hole in my head

[mike31154]

That's unfortunate, but seeing as they were costly it would likely be an idea to try & find out what the problem is. Each stick features two banks of 3 watt LEDs, correct? Are they dimmable. In all likelihood it's a driver/power supply problem. Could also be one LED gone open circuit & taking out the remainder, depending on how they're hooked up to the driver. I'm guessing each bank of six LEDs has one driver. Since it's out of warranty, no harm in opening these puppys up to have a look see. Could be relatively simple, even cheap fix. It would be a shame to let these things start gathering dust.

[Milad]

If you were near by I could troubleshoot and maybe fix it for you. Coming to van anytime soon?

[Slick Fork]

Mike: Yes, there are two banks of 6 LED's per side... Non-dimmable as far as I know. I tried swapping power supplies and the problem remained with the all-white so I know it's an internal problem.

Milad: I appreciate the offer, wish I was in Vancouver

[Myka]

Jeez, this sounds like Solaris all over again. I wonder if other people are having troubles with this particular brand/model. Sorry to hear about your experiences.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Myka

Jeez, this sounds like Solaris all over again. I wonder if other people are having troubles with this particular brand/model. Sorry to hear about your experiences.

I'm not sure this issue is comparable to the Solaris fiasco. They appeared to have poorly designed power supplies for the size of the fixture and the patent lawsuit finished them off.

I was at bkelly's place yesterday and he has a Reefbright on his tank for supplemental lighting. It's a relatively simple fixture with no dimming or other fancy features, not even a built in timer. Kind of makes me wonder why the price is so high. Just two banks of LEDs run by a 24 VDC wall adapter. Must be good quality LEDs, so certainly worth trying to fix.

If the power supply is working, the next thing to look at would be the driver(s) inside the light stick itself and the individual LEDs. One bank of six is working at half brightness & the other not at all if I got the diagnostics right. Could be just a loose connection, or a single bad LED taking out one bank of six & affecting the power to the other. Someone with a multimeter and knowledge of how to use it might get it going again fairly quickly.

Pop it open and post a few pics, I'm curious to see what the guts look like, build/soldering quality, how the LEDs are mounted etc. I'm still fence sitting with LEDs as my primary lighting choice, waiting for further development & price drops.

[gobytron]

sorry to hear but seriously, thanks for sharing the experience.

[Hustler]

Tough call, Is this a common occurance?
I have a 4 bulb T5 4 foot fixture thats 6 months old and 1 fixture is dead... changed 3 bulbs and still nothing... bought at big als....dont have the reciept but it was a high end unit and costly and still isnt what i figured it would be.... I have shop lights 20 years old that have been hit with heavy objects that still work like the day they were made lol...

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by mike31154

I'm not sure this issue is comparable to the Solaris fiasco. They appeared to have poorly designed power supplies for the size of the fixture and the patent lawsuit finished them off.

I was at bkelly's place yesterday and he has a Reefbright on his tank for supplemental lighting. It's a relatively simple fixture with no dimming or other fancy features, not even a built in timer. Kind of makes me wonder why the price is so high. Just two banks of LEDs run by a 24 VDC wall adapter. Must be good quality LEDs, so certainly worth trying to fix.

If the power supply is working, the next thing to look at would be the driver(s) inside the light stick itself and the individual LEDs. One bank of six is working at half brightness & the other not at all if I got the diagnostics right. Could be just a loose connection, or a single bad LED taking out one bank of six & affecting the power to the other. Someone with a multimeter and knowledge of how to use it might get it going again fairly quickly.

Pop it open and post a few pics, I'm curious to see what the guts look like, build/soldering quality, how the LEDs are mounted etc. I'm still fence sitting with LEDs as my primary lighting choice, waiting for further development & price drops.

Hi Mike,

I will try to pop it open later this week, next few days are a little hectic.

Gobytron: No problem on the sharing... I should note though that the other is still going strong, I get that things fail but am really disappointed that the manufacturer would tell me to pound sand so close to the warranty being up.

Hopefully once I crack it open someone will be able to say "OH, there's your problem!"

[Slick Fork]

Thought I'd share an update and give credit where it's due.

After reading about my issue I got a PM from Pfoster at Reef Wholesale stating that he had never been approached by the retailer about this issue and offering to replace the defective unit. So, I sent him the broken one and got a brand new one in the mail.

Gotta say that I'm really impressed with the customer service from Reef Wholesale.