Another Kessil A360-E died on me!

ThRoewer · May 5, 2020

When I checked my tanks this evening one of my Kessil A360WE was out. To make sure it wasn't just the power supply I plugged it into another Kessil's power and the "dead" one just flashed and tripped the protective circuit of that power supply.
So another Kessil that shorted out.
It is by now the 4th or 5th and I'm starting to wonder if it is worth replacing it with another Kessil or rather switch to a different LED brand.
I like the Kessil light, but the fact that they can't be repaired and are always a total loss if something breaks is starting to get expensive...

sarcophytonIndy · May 5, 2020

Over what period of time? I have had kessils for about three years with no failures. I now have five total. Do you have a lot of surface agitation which might cause salt spray on your kessils? How far off the water are the mounted?

ThRoewer · May 5, 2020

Unfortunately, I didn't track them by serial number so I don't know which lasted how long.
I still have 5 in operation over various tanks.
They are usually 7" to 10" above the water. There is some spray but that is to be expected.

andrewkw · May 5, 2020

My a350 is still going strong from 2012
my a360 from 2013/2014 has issues. I can no longer adjust the colour spectrum and it tends to blink when I turn it on.
a360we from 2015 still going strong.

I just got a a360x last week to replace the a360. IMO the most important thing about these lights is they must be taken apart and cleaned at least once a year. Unsure about the new 360x everyone says they don't need to be taken apart but I'm willing to bet in a year there will be dust caked on despite the redesign. Obviously my sample size is only a few lights but one problem out of 3 and it wasn't a problem for about 5 years is pretty good.

Peter K · May 5, 2020

I have had several 360WE's going for over 4 years now with no issues. I took them apart every 6 months for a complete cleaning. I've attached some pictures of what it looked like before the first cleaning (about a year) and why I started cleaning every 6 months:

Chucki · May 5, 2020

I heard that Kessil will offer new light at a discount if you have out of warranty lights that are not functioning. Can anyone verify?

Peter K · May 5, 2020

Chucki said:
I heard that Kessil will offer new light at a discount if you have out of warranty lights that are not functioning. Can anyone verify?

That is correct, I have done that it was $100 or $150 off if I remember correctly.

sarcophytonIndy · May 5, 2020

Peter K said:
I have had several 360WE's going for over 4 years now with no issues. I took them apart every 6 months for a complete cleaning. I've attached some pictures of what it looked like before the first cleaning (about a year) and why I started cleaning every 6 months:

Do you have a specific cleaning steps that you follow? Do you use rubbing alcohol for any part? Or is it basically get a can or air and blast every surface ?

ThRoewer · May 18, 2020

Another one just died! It was still good at noon but when I checked on my tanks 4 hours later it was out and doing the same shorting out like the others.

"Our lights have a normal life expectancy of 35,000 hours, about 5-7 years for most customers. There are many factors that can reduce the life expectancy of the light such as the environment (humidity, moisture, salt creep, and temperature) as well as the maintenance of the light. Regular cleaning and maintenance of the light are important and if not performed, it may affect the longevity of the light."

Well, these are lights for reef tanks so humidity, moisture, salt creep, and elevated temperatures are to be expected. (Let's not even talk about their horticulture lights with basically the same design that are meant to be operated in high moisture hothouses!)
On top of that, they are not designed to be serviceable without breaking seals and voiding warranty.

I will have to rethink if I replace them (well, don't have the money for that anyway) or rather switch to a cheaper and more robust light source, either Chinese LED boxes or T5...

SR Reefing · May 18, 2020

T5 works, but electricity bill is going to be a bit higher, also it produce a lot of heat during operation. Now is summer time, so you need to run these AC harder which also mean more electric cost.

Chinese LED some might work, check BRS review on some of the Chinese LED before you buy one.

SR Reefing · May 18, 2020

Peter K said:
I have had several 360WE's going for over 4 years now with no issues. I took them apart every 6 months for a complete cleaning. I've attached some pictures of what it looked like before the first cleaning (about a year) and why I started cleaning every 6 months:

Haven't clean my for years, can't believe it is that dusty inside.

ThRoewer · May 18, 2020

SR Reefing said:
T5 works, but electricity bill is going to be a bit higher, also it produce a lot of heat during operation. Now is summer time, so you need to run these AC harder which also mean more electric cost.

Chinese LED some might work, check BRS review on some of the Chinese LED before you buy one.

I have 4 DYsunY and kind of like them. More importantly, my corals and anemones like them. They are a pain to program but the programs that are preset are actually not too bad. I'm thinking to get a few more of those for now. 4 pannels cost less than 1.5 of the Kessils and so far they haven't given me any grief. More importantly, since they use discrete standard LEDs they can be repaired if one burns out.

BullyBee · May 19, 2020

I want a kessil so bad but all these reports of them not lasting is starting to get old

CarolinaReefs · Jul 26, 2020

I had one of mine go out this week. Same symptoms. Plug it in and it flashes and trips the power supply. I'm not interested in getting a replacement at this point. I am also looking for more affordable options for an led for my 4' frag tank.