I bought 2 Kessil A360X and they seem to have different colors. what the heck?

[Subnautica]

I bought them used off ebay and they looked like new, but today I noticed on the same setting, one light has a bit different color than the other. I captured the photos below and you can see the first one shows purple while the other doesn't (the intensity looks different but that's because of the camera). Is it possible the 2nd one is faulty?

 

[Sean Clark]

Silly question but have you verified that both of the color knobs are in the same position; all the way up or all the way down?

 

[Pntbll687]

Do you have a link to the listing?

One could be a tuna blue and one could be tuna sun

 

[Subnautica]

Silly question but have you verified that both of the color knobs are in the same position; all the way up or all the way down?

Not silly at all. Yes I should have clarified I linked them to the spectral x controller. So that means the knobs won't work right?

 

[Subnautica]

Do you have a link to the listing?

One could be a tuna blue and one could be tuna sun

They are both tuna blue. I checked the sticker on the lights.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

For craps an giggles look at them from a different angle. I’ve noticed that since they have a ton of diodes in one small spot that they reflect differently from different angles. That’s just when looking at the light itself, or how it reflects off…say a wall. In the tank however, they should be perfectly blended. Other than that, verify firmware on both are the same. After that, one could be much older than the other.

 

[Sean Clark]

Not silly at all. Yes I should have clarified I linked them to the spectral x controller. So that means the knobs won't work right?

Correct.

 

[Subnautica]

For craps an giggles look at them from a different angle. I’ve noticed that since they have a ton of diodes in one small spot that they reflect differently from different angles. That’s just when looking at the light itself, or how it reflects off…say a wall. In the tank however, they should be perfectly blended. Other than that, verify firmware on both are the same. After that, one could be much older than the other.

Thank you I'll check. Could be the angles

 

[Subnautica]

For craps an giggles look at them from a different angle. I’ve noticed that since they have a ton of diodes in one small spot that they reflect differently from different angles. That’s just when looking at the light itself, or how it reflects off…say a wall. In the tank however, they should be perfectly blended. Other than that, verify firmware on both are the same. After that, one could be much older than the other.

Wait, they do have firmware?

 

[Sean Clark]

Wait, they do have firmware?

The controller does.

Kessil Downloads | Kessil LED

Kessil designs and manufactures advanced LED lighting products for the horticulture, aquarium and algae industries.Kessil is leading The Spectral Revolution.

kessil.com

 

[mindme]

Not silly at all. Yes I should have clarified I linked them to the spectral x controller. So that means the knobs won't work right?

Yeah, knobs do nothing when hooked up to a controller.

I have the same lights and haven't had this problem except when the lights got hot, then they would stick at a certain light, while others would keep turning down.

This was however due to me not realizing the top of these lights needed to be cleaned as well as the side, so the top vent was completely covered with dust bunny type lint, blocking the air flow and making the light physically hot.

I turned the lights out, let them cool down and then blew the tops off to clean them, and it went back to normal and I've not had the experience since. All 3 of the my lights are the same color.

But your situation sounds different. Since they are newer I would expect they aren't getting hot and don't need to be cleaned. Still, I wonder if there is maybe a small connection. Touch the lights and make sure they aren't getting very hot.

Good luck.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Thank you I'll check. Could be the angles

I’ve had several different kessils over the years. I can tell you that this is normal as far as seeing the reflection on the wall as different colors and seeing different shades or colors from different angles. It would not be normal to notice different colors in the tank though.

 

[SCReef'n]

So I had a similar issue. Dial the intensity down and check the leds with a pair of sunglasses on. Take pictures too like this

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Wait, they do have firmware?

If you use the Kessil app to connect with a dongle it will show the firmware of each light. I think the controller does as well, but I’ve never used one so I’m not certain. If they’re not the same Kessil support will walk you through updating them, but you need a computer and a usb cable

 

[SCReef'n]

These were my two lights. Same setting same situation as you.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Yeah, knobs do nothing when hooked up to a controller.

I have the same lights and haven't had this problem except when the lights got hot, then they would stick at a certain light, while others would keep turning down.

This was however due to me not realizing the top of these lights needed to be cleaned as well as the side, so the top vent was completely covered with dust bunny type lint, blocking the air flow and making the light physically hot.

I turned the lights out, let them cool down and then blew the tops off to clean them, and it went back to normal and I've not had the experience since. All 3 of the my lights are the same color.

But your situation sounds different. Since they are newer I would expect they aren't getting hot and don't need to be cleaned. Still, I wonder if there is maybe a small connection. Touch the lights and make sure they aren't getting very hot.

Good luck.

Exactly this. I forgot to mention overheating. They do need to be cleaned/blown out somewhat frequently

edit. And he was lucky that they came back after cleaning. Typically they burn out some diodes when overheated and those affected diodes are toast.

 

[mindme]

Exactly this. I forgot to mention overheating. They do need to be cleaned/blown out somewhat frequently

edit. And he was lucky that they came back after cleaning. Typically they burn out some diodes when overheated and those affected diodes are toast.

I guess I was lucky and it didn't stay too hot for too long. For how much these lights cost, I was freaking out thinking I was going to need to replace one after only 14 months.

What happened was one night when the lights are going down before cutting off, I noticed 1 light was still almost white, like day time. It was like it quit taking commands from the controller.

I have smaller kessils on my other tanks, and the top on them is solid. So I was just blowing out the sides on the bigger ones like I do on the smaller one. My tank is 36" on the stand, and then standard 180g size, so the lights are pretty high up and I never see the tops.

When I got up on my step stool to inspect the light, I noticed it was covered and the light was physically hot. Like a years worth of dust and crap that settled on it. Total cringe moment.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I guess I was lucky and it didn't stay too hot for too long. For how much these lights cost, I was freaking out thinking I was going to need to replace one after only 14 months.

What happened was one night when the lights are going down before cutting off, I noticed 1 light was still almost white, like day time. It was like it quit taking commands from the controller.

I have smaller kessils on my other tanks, and the top on them is solid. So I was just blowing out the sides on the bigger ones like I do on the smaller one. My tank is 36" on the stand, and then standard 180g size, so the lights are pretty high up and I never see the tops.

When I got up on my step stool to inspect the light, I noticed it was covered and the light was physically hot. Like a years worth of dust and crap that settled on it. Total cringe moment.

I think we’ve all run across a total cringe moment, or two!

 

[mindme]

I think we’ve all run across a total cringe moment, or two!

As you said I got lucky. Because it wasn't just the one light that was covered, it was all 3. It was just the one light that alerted me to the issue. It was literally like a layer of lint from the dryer lint trap.

I had no idea it often resulted in losing diodes, so even more lucky than I thought. I could have lost all my lights there shortly.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

As you said I got lucky. Because it wasn't just the one light that was covered, it was all 3. It was just the one light that alerted me to the issue. It was literally like a layer of lint from the dryer lint trap.

I had no idea it often resulted in losing diodes, so even more lucky than I thought. I could have lost all my lights there shortly.

Yeah, sometimes they burn out completely and other times they just lose intensity. I’ve asked Kessil about replacing the diode unit before. Their response was that it would cost almost as much as the entire light. This was out of warranty of course, they are awesome to work with and problems with kessils are few and far between. They, as with everyone else do have a useable lifespan though. Once you hit 5-6 years of use it may be time to upgrade. Or at least verify output with a par meter as they will still look fine to the human eye. I, like a lot of others, just assumed leds lasts forever. Figure we use them 3000-5000 hours a year depending on how long you light your tank. Most all leds top out at 50000 hours if you’re lucky