Cracking Radion G5

[mfinn]

I think as a whole the society needs to be willing to start paying more if we want better quality products and more investment in the country. I am sure Ecotech will make this right by most likely sending out new cover panels.

These lights are already $840 each. How much more?

If by sending out parts and making us repair the brand new lights is making this right, I'm going to disagree.

 

[najer]

It would be interest to see what they are torqued to, I was going to buy a 15 but read too many negative reviews so far?!

 

[Mhart032]

My XR15 blues are not cracked, so maybe this is only on the XR30s?

 

[Hypnotize]

Agree 1000%!! Folks cannot complain about the lack of domestic manufacturing jobs and advocate for made-in-the-US without also recognizing that labor arbitrage is real and that things will cost more. Cannot happen overnight as skills and facilities have to be rebuilt here also. Sorry for the mini soap box ....

Agree but I don't agree with a 900$ being shipped out like this. You can't ask highend prices but deliver this.

Made in USA and made in Germany is supposed mean something.

 

[dave57]

dang and I was looking into buying these lights.. not anymore. Pieces of junk can’t even stay together. Cost more than a dang car payment

 

[Clownreef]

When I used to work at Apple we would get dozens of MacBooks with stress cracks. Thats why Apple decided to go with the aluminum casing instead. $1000 lights with stress cracks out of the boxs. Looks like Ecotech is about two embark on a nightmare.

 

[Hypnotize]

It would be interesting to see what percentage of G5 owners are having this problem. Also, whether they come already cracked (suggesting it’s a bolt torquing problem) or crack with use (suggesting it’s a thermal management problem, at least in part). Either way, an ‘ouch’ for ETM.

Neither here nor there perhaps, but it did occur to me that ETM seemed to be taking on a whole lot of new stuff simultaneously for a small business .... versa, mobius, G5. Had they asked me (which they didn’t ) .....

Mine run at 42% and we're not cracked out of the box others here have had cracks fresh from the box.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I am just going to speak from a consumer stand point, Ecotech, you failed!

 

[mfinn]

Looks like this is pretty common issue with the new gen 5's.
I received 3 new gen 5 XR30's on Thursday.
I opened up the boxes and all 3 lights had cracks in the case around the bottom bolts.
I've had pretty good luck with ETM products in the past so I was too worried about getting the issue resolved.
I called ETM Friday morning and spoke with a rep.
He seemed to be very sympathetic and agreed that this needed to be resolved right away.
He did ask for pictures and proof of purchase which is normal.
I told him that replacement was what I wanted, and I asked him to make sure that the replacement lights would be inspected before shipping them out. He agreed.
Later that afternoon I received a email from ETM and it stated that new cases were going to be sent out and that I had to repair the lights myself. He also sent a link to a video he said would show me how to do the repairs.
(I had a issue with my new Jeep Wrangler's transmission right after I bought it. I'm glad they didn't take this attitude.)

Some people may be ok with this sort of customer service, but I am not.
I paid $2520 for 3 lights and I expected them to be perfect right out of the box.

 

[HolySmoke]

Mine were not noticeably damaged during shipping despite the lack of barrier between light and huge driver. However they def took a beating in shipment because the fan noise is very inconsistent.

Within the first hour of hooking up my lights I heard the pooping really bad on both xr30s. The xr15 has been perfect since I installed. After seeing how much light comes out of a 30, the 15 feels like a g4 pro with diffuser and although I know the spread is more uniform than g4, it just doesn't have that wow factor to it.

The xr15 is half the diodes, half the heat, and although smaller heatsink, it has the same size fan.

I think the xr30 just produces so much more heat. That combined with the temp change after the fan has been running and it is probably too drastic for any quality/thickness of plastic. I think the poster about the macbook is right and aluminum might be there only move at this point.
Besides aluminum they would need larger/multiple fans running constantly at really slow speeds as soon as the light turns on. That would allow temps to rise slow and hopefully not reach the threshold, were the diodes degrade.

 

[DKtl]

hey Ecotech, what's going on? 5 out of 6 XR15 lamps defective? That's not nice. Now it's your turn! Please suggest solutions!

 

[User1]

The transmission part made me laugh. The rest, not so much. You may be set on the lights but have you considered returning them? And when you do reply to the mail why?

I do not want to put words into ETM's mouth so this is just my opinion. I've read enough threads here and elsewhere regarding these lights and their arrival state to hobbyist homes. So you are not alone. It isn't just the case but also fan noise which is odd because the one video they show how proud they are of their own design. Go figure. I guess my thought is that this is a bigger problem and they feel this is their best option at the moment (due to virus, remote work, etc) to fix. Maybe after the world troubles they can ship and replace. Maybe worth another email before refund or doing this on your own.

I've never owned ETM products but I recall them going the extra mile when they had their return pump issues. Redesign and replaced. I don't recall the hobbyist having to do anything other than send/receive. Hope it works out for you. That is a lot of money on lighting.

 

[LOVEROCK]

expensive and cheap

 

[mfinn]

The transmission part made me laugh. The rest, not so much. You may be set on the lights but have you considered returning them? And when you do reply to the mail why?

I do not want to put words into ETM's mouth so this is just my opinion. I've read enough threads here and elsewhere regarding these lights and their arrival state to hobbyist homes. So you are not alone. It isn't just the case but also fan noise which is odd because the one video they show how proud they are of their own design. Go figure. I guess my thought is that this is a bigger problem and they feel this is their best option at the moment (due to virus, remote work, etc) to fix. Maybe after the world troubles they can ship and replace. Maybe worth another email before refund or doing this on your own.

I've never owned ETM products but I recall them going the extra mile when they had their return pump issues. Redesign and replaced. I don't recall the hobbyist having to do anything other than send/receive. Hope it works out for you. That is a lot of money on lighting.

I am trying to keep the vendor out of it. He is a small business and barely able to keep his head above water.
This IMO is a manufacturing issue and should be dealt with ETM.
I've owned ETM products for a decade and have defended them as a stand up business.
I too was a part of the L1 issues a while back and it was handled with class.

The email telling me I had to repair the lights myself wasn't.

 

[ScottB]

Bummer, sorry to hear about these issues. Agree that is unsatisfactory and I would be trying again for new replacements. Your vendor might be able to convince ETM easier than you. My LFS owner does most of my arguing for me in similar situations.

In the end tho, I have repaired Radions several times and it is not hard. We keep a bunch of Gen 1s and 2s going strong. If you really want the Gen5 features, it might be the fastest route. I did not see a youtube video on that yet, but if this is a large issue there will be one soon.

Good luck.

 

[Lunardogz]

I had ordered my and noticed the popping noise every times the fan goes on. I contacted ETM with a video and which clearly showed the popping noise and they told me it was normal. They didn’t even tell me to check the fixture. Customer service failed on they end. The only way that I have found out is through my friend which have the same fixture. It seem like they didn’t want to put any effort in finding out about the problem in my opinion.

 

[Hydrored]

Well I just looked and 3 of my 4 blues are cracked along with an already warped lense.

edit that- all 4 are

 

[TheHarold]

@Tim at EcoTech just tagging you here.

 

[zoomonster]

Hmmm... thought I was lucky as I have not had fan problems, popping etc. etc. I saw that pic above and went and inspected each light. All 3 of my G5 Pro's have the stress cracks on each bolt. So much for the past speculation that it was just the G5 blues. I think I will be on the phone with BRS and maybe Ecotech tomorrow. I expect BRS will be more useful especially since they are on the hook for the CC purchase. New adopters usually get the shaft. If I did not have to have new lights when I did I would have waited 6-12 months on a new product.

 

[Olys_Tank]

Same problem here in switzerland with mine G5 and those of my friends here... crazy...