Kessil Club

[grego84]

Originally Posted by fourzero

Have had 2 A350W units fail, same failure mode. See details here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2506698

hmm starting to regret buying these if they will just fail outside of warranty

[mrg02d]

Originally Posted by minus9

I'm running about 85% now, backing down from 88% and I may back down to 80%, just waiting to see how everything reacts with a little less intensity.
Here's a quick shot I took a couple of hours ago. Not the best, but you get the idea.

Looking good. I see a lot of people went with the 360, even on small tanks. I'm guessing none actually tried out this smaller and cheaper 160 first? Haven't seen anyone mention having to upgrade to the larger lights or buy another 160.

[Newbie Aquarist]

Originally Posted by grego84

hmm starting to regret buying these if they will just fail outside of warranty

I'm sure that Kessil has addressed that issue and encorperated the fix in the new 160/360s and hopefully in the AP700s.

[mrg02d]

Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist

I'm sure that Kessil has addressed that issue and encorperated the fix in the new 160/360s and hopefully in the AP700s.

Could have also been a bad batch. Bad solder joint.

[JamesHolt]

2 - 2 1/2 year old lights failed, think how many on/off cycles that it has done (hanging over a salty tank).
The one pic looks like the wire tie they used for positioning of the wire was a little loose and loaded the connector up, the way it was turned it would be pulling against the split in the connector....
Add in some time and salty air and POOF...

[grego84]

Valid points, I suppose we will see if it's been fixed in due time.

[fourzero]

The two oldest lights I have that failed were from F/N E329222-QOVZ.

I have a third slightly newer light from F/N E353101-QOVZ, this one is just barely starting to turn brown.

WP_20150601_003.jpg

The fourth, newest light (that was sold to me at a discount to replace the very first one that failed, is also from F/N E353101-QOVZ. They have done away with the 2 pin connector altogether!

WP_20150601_004.jpg

So... the good news is, looks like newer lights have done away with the problematic connector altogether. Given that two lights with the same F/N are configured very differently, it must have been a change made over the course of time, unfortunately I don't know how to decipher their S/N or F/N data.

I have been contacted by Kessil and sent them all S/N, F/N and additional pictures. We will see what the response is. They have escalated it to engineering.

[fourzero]

Originally Posted by mrg02d

Could have also been a bad batch. Bad solder joint.

It's not a solder joint, it's a white 2-pin connector on the +48VDC supply to the unit. Take a look at the other thread.

[fourzero]

Originally Posted by JamesHolt

2 - 2 1/2 year old lights failed, think how many on/off cycles that it has done (hanging over a salty tank).
The one pic looks like the wire tie they used for positioning of the wire was a little loose and loaded the connector up, the way it was turned it would be pulling against the split in the connector....
Add in some time and salty air and POOF...

If the expected lifespan of expensive LED units is acceptable at 2.5 years, that kind of ruins the economics, no?

2.5 years, turned on/off 913 times, run for 10 hrs. a day, 9,125 hours before failure. That sucks, when everyone is expecting 50,000..

[JamesHolt]

Originally Posted by fourzero

If the expected lifespan of expensive LED units is acceptable at 2.5 years, that kind of ruins the economics, no?

2.5 years, turned on/off 913 times, run for 10 hrs. a day, 9,125 hours before failure. That sucks, when everyone is expecting 50,000..

Didnt mean to imply that it was acceptable, just pointing out that it has been cycling for a while..
It still is a failure that should be corrected, its not like he was swinging the light around by its cord..
At least it just quit working and didnt go up in smoke like my T8 fixture....
Nothing like a little fire coming out of your lights to get the heart pumping..

[grego84]

Originally Posted by JamesHolt

Didnt mean to imply that it was acceptable, just pointing out that it has been cycling for a while..
It still is a failure that should be corrected, its not like he was swinging the light around by its cord..
At least it just quit working and didnt go up in smoke like my T8 fixture....
Nothing like a little fire coming out of your lights to get the heart pumping..

Well in most cases its better the lights to go up than your power strips in the tank stand...unless you have something flammable above your lights.

[JamesHolt]

Originally Posted by grego84

Well in most cases its better the lights to go up than your power strips in the tank stand...unless you have something flammable above your lights.

Very True

[jayblock]

Does anyone know what i could possibly be doing wrong? i am trying to put in a program schedule in the Kessil Controller running 2 a360WE's. Each time i get through all the times, color & intensity levels it appears to have wiped out the data on the other change points i already programed. I was impossible to program after 20 tries. I even noticed at one point the time being in the high double digits such as 90 in the hr space. I unplugged and plugged back in. only thing i can think of is maybe a firmware update. any ideas? maybe its just a defective unit?

Here is the program i was putting in but if anyone has a better idea for a program schedule i would love to get your thoughts. right now i am changing from 250W MH. so this is an acclimation schedule. but please share your acclimation and normal schedules

Time Color Intensity
2:00 0% 0%
18:00 5% 15%
19:00 25% 25%
20:00 40% 40%
00:00 25% 40%
1:00 0% 30%

[Newbie Aquarist]

Have you updated the firmware in the controller? Also your last setting should be 0-0 or your lights are going to run all night.

[Jeff B]

Originally Posted by jayblock

Does anyone know what i could possibly be doing wrong? i am trying to put in a program schedule in the Kessil Controller running 2 a360WE's. Each time i get through all the times, color & intensity levels it appears to have wiped out the data on the other change points i already programed. I was impossible to program after 20 tries. I even noticed at one point the time being in the high double digits such as 90 in the hr space. I unplugged and plugged back in. only thing i can think of is maybe a firmware update. any ideas? maybe its just a defective unit?

Here is the program i was putting in but if anyone has a better idea for a program schedule i would love to get your thoughts. right now i am changing from 250W MH. so this is an acclimation schedule. but please share your acclimation and normal schedules

Time Color Intensity
2:00 0% 0%
18:00 5% 15%
19:00 25% 25%
20:00 40% 40%
00:00 25% 40%
1:00 0% 30%

I don't believe the controller will allow you to program past midnight like you are trying to do. You have to program the earliest AM time first and work towards ending at 23:59. Try the following and see if these values will program the times you want:

Time Color Intensity
1:00 0% 30%
2:00 0% 0%
18:00 5% 15%
19:00 25% 25%
20:00 40% 40%
23:59 25% 40%

Jeff

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by jayblock

Does anyone know what i could possibly be doing wrong? i am trying to put in a program schedule in the Kessil Controller running 2 a360WE's. Each time i get through all the times, color & intensity levels it appears to have wiped out the data on the other change points i already programed. I was impossible to program after 20 tries. I even noticed at one point the time being in the high double digits such as 90 in the hr space. I unplugged and plugged back in. only thing i can think of is maybe a firmware update. any ideas? maybe its just a defective unit?

Here is the program i was putting in but if anyone has a better idea for a program schedule i would love to get your thoughts. right now i am changing from 250W MH. so this is an acclimation schedule. but please share your acclimation and normal schedules

Time Color Intensity
2:00 0% 0%
18:00 5% 15%
19:00 25% 25%
20:00 40% 40%
00:00 25% 40%
1:00 0% 30%

http://www.kessil.com/aquarium/Acces...roller_use.php

[fourzero]

Kessil customer svc. manager contacted me today, this was a problem with a small batch of lights and they have handled the matter to my satisfaction. I am also confident that they have addressed this issue with the connectors.

Fantastic customer service!!

[moondoggy4]

^^^^^ Good to hear, One of the reason this thread is long (has been) and (is) there commitment to C/S. So far I have owned a 150 and now own a 160 we.

[JamesHolt]

Originally Posted by fourzero

Kessil customer svc. manager contacted me today, this was a problem with a small batch of lights and they have handled the matter to my satisfaction. I am also confident that they have addressed this issue with the connectors.

Fantastic customer service!!

Yet another reason to get one of these lights

[grego84]

Originally Posted by fourzero

Kessil customer svc. manager contacted me today, this was a problem with a small batch of lights and they have handled the matter to my satisfaction. I am also confident that they have addressed this issue with the connectors.

Fantastic customer service!!

Faith in Kessil restored!

[tangers]

Hey guys... I am setting up a new corner tank and am contemplating the 360we's. It's a 135 gallon tank. 36 from back corner to right corner, 36 from back corner to left corner, and 30" deep. From far left tip to far right tip it is 48" and from over flow to the front bow is 26". The lights will go in a canopy that itself is only 12" tall. So my question is will I be ok being that they will be approx 7-8" off the water? And would I be able to go with two or is 3 necessary? Also any mounting ideas for me as I've never had kessils before?

[tangers]

[mmittlesteadt]

Originally Posted by tangers

Hey guys... I am setting up a new corner tank and am contemplating the 360we's. It's a 135 gallon tank. 36 from back corner to right corner, 36 from back corner to left corner, and 30" deep. From far left tip to far right tip it is 48" and from over flow to the front bow is 26". The lights will go in a canopy that itself is only 12" tall. So my question is will I be ok being that they will be approx 7-8" off the water? And would I be able to go with two or is 3 necessary? Also any mounting ideas for me as I've never had kessils before?

This is the coverage I'm getting over my 40 breeder (36" wide) with my A160WE, which is 8" off the water (lens end). This pic was taken on a sunny afternoon with the the spectrum on full daylight, but the intensity level just barely "on". The tank is barely being lit by sunlight from a window as the shades are pulled and there is no direct sunlight coming in.



This is with it about 3" above the water...



The "WE's" have a 70 degree radius (from center) so the cover quite a bit, even fairly close to the water. The 360WE's have more output and will reach deeper. We have 3 over a 220 gallon (30" deep, 72" long and 24" wide) where I work and they are about 9" over the surface and the corals at the bottom of the tank are doing great (SPS, LPS and softies).

I think you could get by with 2 of the 360WE's. I was going to mount mine right on top of my 11" high canopy, but needed it a bit lower, so I did this (as I wanted to retain the shimmer on the ceiling also)...

[RuttingB]

I have a 50g cube that has been up for 7 months. Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix. Stable parameters at CA-425, Mg-1400, Alk-8.5, PO4-0.00 using Hannah, Nitrates- 5ppm using Salifert. Been slowly loosing corals Scoly's, Chalices, Favias, some Zoo's. Some still living are: Zoo's, Mushrooms, torch, three trial SPS, some acans.

The settings are set at max color 50 and max Intensity 60. Been all over the spectrum and nothing changes. I am at wits end. I broke down and got out of the hobby but had a great 120 mostly SPS. Couldnt keep softies or lps alive. Here I go again. But the last time I ran all T-5's. I'm thinking it is a lighting issue. All corals have been dipped and they still just melt away.

I'm going back to Tropic Marin Salt Mix to see if this helps. In fact I may be getting out of the hobby again as I just lost about a $1,000 worth of Cornbred Corals.

Any ideas?

[gablett]

So I have a 220 gallon (72x30Dx24T) lit with 3 lumen bright minis with radium 20ks. I am wanting something for sunrise/sunset and to supplement a little actinic for viewing pleasure. I was thinking about doing this will kessil 160s. Would there be enough coverage with these? I have 2 islands, 1 on each and I was thinking of doing 2 of them sort of pointed at the islands. I can mount them decently high off the water. Thanks.