Im done with ecotech who makes a reliable led?

[BZOFIQ]

That whole concept of longevity with LEDs vs replacing cost of T5s just went out the window.

Most people have gone with one brand, then next, then next, then new model, then pro, then wifi controllable, then LEDs that change water for you - you get the point. I didnt even account for failures in-between.



But I'll be derailing the thread if that's all I said...so here is my $.02 re Ecotech:

I would never buy their horrible products....but hey to each their own.

 

[Sarah24!]

I just contacted ecotech about the location of manufacturing etc. we should have a definitive answer in a bit

Hello,

How does that even help the op? What benefits does the op gain from that? If he wanted or cared to know don't you think he would have called already? How old is the material you are reading? Other than the date, has anything in that actually changed? People are paying for bells and whistles and the name. FYI most car parts are made in Mexico, Canada and other countries. They are assembled partially in the USA. Chevy and ford have assembly lines where they make the frame and some parts but most are made any where but here. Look at parts stores lol let’s see how many parts we find made in USA and made somewhere else. If you want to start your own thread on how great Ecotech is, it’s only a click away. No sense in railroading the op’s thread.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Hello,

How does that even help the op? What benefits does the op gain from that? If he wanted or cared to know don't you think he would have called already? How old is the material you are reading? Other than the date, has anything in that actually changed? People are paying for bells and whistles and the name. FYI most car parts are made in Mexico, Canada and other countries. They are assembled partially in the USA. Chevy and ford have assembly lines where they make the frame and some parts but most are made any where but here. Look at parts stores lol let’s see how many parts we find made in USA and made somewhere else. If you want to start your own thread on how great Ecotech is, it’s only a click away. No sense in railroading the op’s thread.

Actually, most parts on Chevy and ford are us made. And a majority of the worlds car parts come from Japan, not Mexico or Canada. German cars are made with German parts to German specifications. My best friend is actually a mechanic. He specializes in gm vehicles. I guarantee he knows what he is talking about when it cones to parts

 

[TheOne]

Some people just don’t understand what waranty means. Waranty is set by corporate. Waranty is a set time frame. Waranty means that a company guarantees their product for a set time frame. Out of that set time frame, they cannot replace it free of charge. There’s no need to not support the company because you broke your product when it was out of waranty. It’s not their fault it was out of waranty. You’re comparing a $800 U.S. made, top of the line light to a cheap, Chinese fixture. Current is hurting for business and frankly sits on inventory for a long time. Not to mention their fixtures with “heat sinks” are discontinued and they are liquidating them. It’s really sad ecotech, one of the best aquarium equipment companies, is getting bashed because some people don’t understand what a waranty policy is. They offered the op to repair it for a little more than $100. I would say that is good customer service. They could’ve said “nope, but a new one for $800”. Look at cars. When you buy a new car, you typically get a 100,000 mile waranty. I don’t hear people complaining about companies because their old car broke. My GMC Sierra was a crap shoot after 100,000 miles and gmc wouldn’t replace my transmission. I have no hard feelings to them. It was right after the waranty was up too. Maybe you didn’t take care of your equipment like you should have. Like kessil previously stated, there’s a list of upkeep that should be done to ensure the longevity of a fixture. Hate ecotech all you want, but it’s your fault for not understanding the waranty.

Warranty means nothing to Ecotech. My light was within warranty and they did nothing about it but give excuses. Spend your money the way you see fit. Have a Blessed Day!

 

[45ZoaGarden]

And “part stores” usually don’t sell genuine parts from the manufacturer. Most of the brands are cheaper knock offs. This is why I go to the dealership for parts instead of autozone LOL

 

[TheOne]

Actually, most parts on Chevy and ford are us made. And a majority of the worlds car parts come from Japan, not Mexico or Canada. German cars are made with German parts to German specifications. My best friend is actually a mechanic. He specializes in gm vehicles. I guarantee he knows what he is talking about when it cones to parts

I've spent 10 years working for Toyota and they have sent me all over the world. I spent six months last year traveling for them so I know I know a thing or two about it. Have a very very blessed day.

 

[Zach W]

That whole concept of longevity with LEDs vs replacing cost of T5s just went out the window.

Most people have gone with one brand, then next, then next, then new model, then pro, then wifi controllable, then LEDs that change water for you - you get the point. I didnt even account for failures in-between.



But I'll be derailing the thread if that's all I said...so here is my $.02 re Ecotech:

I would never buy their horrible products....but hey to each their own.

Just a couple things here, LEDs are more efficient and do last longer then T5s, it is just a matter of if you properly care for your electronics and set yourself up for success. You are absolutely right that if you are not doing things well in terms of preparations and moisture mitigation T5s are the better way to go, but that is not true in all instances.

And the blanket statement that ecotech has "horrible products" is just an emotional response to a situation you had or someone you know/something you've read. There are so many radions out there so the likelihood of coming across negative comments is higher, but saying their products are horrible just isnt true. Year to year they get great reviews, just look at BRS best LEDs for 2019, Radion XR30 G4 Pro w/ diffusers was one of the top three and the top premium fixture. Lets not trash an entire brand for one experience.

 

[Sarah24!]

How is he “mistreated” if he was out of warranty? Out of warranty is out of warranty. They cannot replace it free of charge if it is out of warranty. Read the op’s applications. Most lights would fail in that condition. As of why local aquariums don’t use ecotech products, they simply cannot afford them. Most aquariums use hundreds of fixtures. A cheap $100 fixture opposed to a $800 fixture will add up over time. There is no definite fix. If you let condensation build up on the lights, you have other problems then your lights. You need to take care of your equipment right? Do you get oil changes for your car every so often? He needs fans in the canopy or he will get rust, mold, and kill more lights just like kessil said. I actually already offered my opinion on what lights to get.

Oh good grief did you actually read my post lol? Can you highlight where I said companies limited warranty says it’s too their discretion to fix them even when under warranty. They don't have to replace them under warranty even if they get wet. If you tell them yeah I dropped this in my tank, they won’t fix it, proven fact. In warranty or out of warranty. You realize your rational on local aquariums is lacking. They want to have amazing reefs and they do, but they can still do it with a cheap light. Mh and t5 are expensive and you have to replace the bulbs they are not cheap. They are great lights. The idea of the led was 50,000 hours of use. Most leds are on for 8 hours maybe 12 so it’s all about the math. 8 by 365 is 2920 hours divided into 50,000 is 17 years! 12 hours by 365 is 4380 hours by 50,000 is roughly 10 years. Math doesn’t lie and if you studied architecture you definitely know math.

 

[fl3xlinton]

So hydra 64
Cobalt came out with a new light I hear it’s good
Reef breeders all good

 

[justingraham]

Warranty means nothing to Ecotech. My light was within warranty and they did nothing about it but give excuses. Spend your money the way you see fit. Have a Blessed Day!

Really?
Your light was in warranty and they did not honor it?
I have read some forums like this one with the product out of warranty and Ecotech not covering it or partially covering it but I have never seen ecotech not cover something under warranty.
And ecotech has always been good to me now Neptune on the other hand is getting worse but o well

And to add to the new debate going on people are emotional and rightfully so you just lost an 800 dollar light that is now a paperweight just out of warranty and you call and ecotech isn’t fully covering it so ur mad and when ur mad what they said and what you think they said on the phone are probably two different things. Offering to fix a 800 dollar light for 100 some bucks is good customer service in my book. It’s prolly the price of the board that is covered in moisture.

Now I’m sorry u don’t have a light and if it was me I’d switch to ati 8 bulb fixture or them new looking Radion they look sweet.

 

[Zach W]

Oh good grief did you actually read my post lol? Can you highlight where I said companies limited warranty says it’s too their discretion to fix them even when under warranty. They don't have to replace them under warranty even if they get wet. If you tell them yeah I dropped this in my tank, they won’t fix it, proven fact. In warranty or out of warranty. You realize your rational on local aquariums is lacking. They want to have amazing reefs and they do, but they can still do it with a cheap light. Mh and t5 are expensive and you have to replace the bulbs they are not cheap. They are great lights. The idea of the led was 50,000 hours of use. Most leds are on for 8 hours maybe 12 so it’s all about the math. 8 by 365 is 2920 hours divided into 50,000 is 17 years! 12 hours by 365 is 4380 hours by 50,000 is roughly 10 years. Math doesn’t lie and if you studied architecture you definitely know math.

Just trying to understand this statement, are you saying you think dropping a light into the tank should be covered by warranty?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Just trying to understand this statement, are you saying you think dropping a light into the tank should be covered by warranty?

This is the crap that people are trying to pull with ecotech. And the reason ecotech is not covering it. If someone says they have water damage to the light, as a company, that’s what I would think happened. I wouldn’t cover it either.

 

[CuzzA]

Worth showing.

 

[FMF0331]

i have the AI 52 HD. Looking to get the newer model in the future

 

[Sarah24!]

Just trying to understand this statement, are you saying you think dropping a light into the tank should be covered by warranty?

No I’m not saying it should but warranty is clearly stated as discretionary. Meaning if one dropped it in they can choose to fix it or not including out of warranty. Nothing is actually promised which is why it’s a limited warranty. Example when I dropped my light in the water it failed. When I called current usa I was 2 years out of warranty. They still replaced it (which the light actually didn’t fail, but the ramp timer did). So in short with the how limited warranty is worded they don’t have to fix anything warranty or not. They state that they will replace an item of it fails under normal conditions. So even if he was under warranty, do to the item getting wet that’s not covered.

It’s not their product so much that people dislike, its
How badly they are treated as customers. I did not even own any items and I was treated poorly. When I went to research their lights, all they said was we are the best light. They couldn’t tell me why, when I asked again I was transferred and their response was they are better because of reef link wifi cosmetics etc. not once did they say or explain what made their lights good. I don’t care how the light looks, nor do I care if it has reef link or WiFi. I want it to grow coral and be durable. Every company will have items that fail its proven. But when I mention they are horrible and have bad reviews 95% are how the person was treated. In this case the op clearly stated he was treated poorly. it’s bad enough when expensive items break, even worse when it cost money to fix. But above those and main reason people switch any item, is customer service.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Lets not trash an entire brand for one experience.

You'd be silly to think that my response was based off this thread.

Like many others I just didnt have good experience with this brand - I dont see their stuff as a long term solution.

 

[Zach W]

You'd be silly to think that my response was based off this thread.

Like many others I just didnt have good experience with this brand - I dont see their stuff as a long term solution.

I never said your response was based on this thread, I said “emotional response to a situation you had or someone you know/something you've read“. I fully believe that you had a negative experience, but my statement was just disputing the statement that they make horrible products.

Most here have had issue with the customer service, which if true is a problem for the company because customer relations is a huge part of any companies success. But you went after the actual product as “horrible” which in my opinion on the whole isn’t accurate. Again not saying you didn’t have a poor experience, and it sucks you did, but bashing the company as a whole that puts out thousands and thousands of units with no issue based on your problem isn’t fair.

 

[Heathd]

They have moisture reactive pads on the pcb that change color when exposed to moisture. I dont know what the threshold is to trigger a color change, but i imagine it doesnt take much. Opening it up, its probably the first thing they see as they pull the outer shell off. Pretty common to see these in electronics now.

It seems like a lazy design if water or moisture damage is the cause of so many lights going out. I recognize you cant produce an affordable consumer good by preparing a hardened product that can endure multiple hazards or modes of failure... But some conformal coating and ip67 rated internal connectors cant be that expensive ...

 

[scottedontknow]

KESSIL ALL DAY EVERYDAY!!!!!!! yes price is a bit much or so it would seem BUT ive been running A350/A360's A150/A160's FOR YEARS an i mean i treating my first set of 150's so bad (like so close to the water they could actually have touched the surface parts of the day lol) and to this day they all still run like new! i so take them appart a couple times a year and clean them out, but like i said still in near perfect shape! theyre 10000000% worth the investment, also their customer service is awesome!!!

 

[Zach W]

No I’m not saying it should but warranty is clearly stated as discretionary. Meaning if one dropped it in they can choose to fix it or not including out of warranty. Nothing is actually promised which is why it’s a limited warranty. Example when I dropped my light in the water it failed. When I called current usa I was 2 years out of warranty. They still replaced it (which the light actually didn’t fail, but the ramp timer did). So in short with the how limited warranty is worded they don’t have to fix anything warranty or not. They state that they will replace an item of it fails under normal conditions. So even if he was under warranty, do to the item getting wet that’s not covered.

It’s not their product so much that people dislike, its
How badly they are treated as customers. I did not even own any items and I was treated poorly. When I went to research their lights, all they said was we are the best light. They couldn’t tell me why, when I asked again I was transferred and their response was they are better because of reef link wifi cosmetics etc. not once did they say or explain what made their lights good. I don’t care how the light looks, nor do I care if it has reef link or WiFi. I want it to grow coral and be durable. Every company will have items that fail its proven. But when I mention they are horrible and have bad reviews 95% are how the person was treated. In this case the op clearly stated he was treated poorly. it’s bad enough when expensive items break, even worse when it cost money to fix. But above those and main reason people switch any item, is customer service.

Thanks for the clarification, and that is awesome that current USA replaced it for you! I do think there is a difference between a premium fixture vs a fixture like the current USA, and the fact that they were trying to liquidate some stock like mentioned before but to the bigger picture, if true I agree.

I have not had to deal with ecotech's customer service, but if it is as bad as described that is definitely a problem for them. People with negative experiences are often far more vocal then those with positive experiences though as well. There could be 10+ great reviews for every negative but we just dont hear about them. Regardless customer service is a huge part of any companies success!