My Kessil vs Ecotech story

[Sisterlimonpot]

It's pretty obvious. You create a light with a mount that has the light about a foot over a huge tank full of saltwater and then you add a fan pointing straight down to suck up any moisture that rises. I may not be an engineer but neither was the person that created the lights for Ecotech I can assure you of that, ha.

I've had the Gen4 pros completely apart and I concluded quite the opposite. Their design seemed to accommodate for every concern a light would need when performing the duties in a moist salt water environment. The fan and aluminum channel for cooling are completely sealed off from all the electronics via a gasket. Any salt creep that has accumulated in the fan and ducts wouldn't warrant their claim for water damage, it would have been a lot more obvious.

Given what I personally know about Ecotech, their had to be some irrefutable evidence to claim water damage.

I'm not trying to defend Ecotech, and I can't speak to your individual claim. That's why I asked the question, if they provided you with the evidence of water damage?

 

[Kyl]

Some manufacturers use moisture sensitive chemical markers on the pcb to check for water damage. The issue is these will turn colour even just from general humidity, so it's a nice cop-out to deny warranty claims from 'water damage'.

IMO many manufacturers in this hobby charge top dollar for average quality gear or construction, but we're a niche hobby so they can treat the customer base as a captive audience and get away with it for the most part. A lot of these "small" companies are subsidiaries of much larger companies, so don't automatically feel bad for them being a "small niche" equipment manufacturer.

 

[TheHarold]

Some manufacturers use moisture sensitive chemical markers on the pcb to check for water damage. The issue is these will turn colour even just from general humidity, so it's a nice cop-out to deny warranty claims from 'water damage'.

IMO many manufacturers in this hobby charge top dollar for average quality gear or construction, but we're a niche hobby so they can treat the customer base as a captive audience and get away with it for the most part. A lot of these "small" companies are subsidiaries of much larger companies, so don't automatically feel bad for them being a "small niche" equipment manufacturer.

I'm not trying to defend Ecotech, and I can't speak to your individual claim. That's why I asked the question, if they provided you with the evidence of water damage?

At one point I had a warranty claim on a ReefLink denied due to water damage. I was skeptical and annoyed (given it lives next to my router) so asked them to return it and indicate where they saw water damage. They stated by the ethernet port's circuit, and were 100% correct. I am not sure how I got water there, but perhaps when setting it up I did something stupid.

 

[madweazl]

I use a metro duster

I'm not familiar with the product. I use a 26g compressor LOL. I also take them completely apart every six months. Lower pressures cant get the heatsink completely clean.

 

[TheOne]

I'm not familiar with the product. I use a 26g compressor LOL. I also take them completely apart every six months. Lower pressures cant get the heatsink completely clean.

Its twice as powerful as a can of compressed air. I also have a compressor but it's just easier using the electric duster. I take mine completely apart also and the one I had sent back to kessil has been taken apart also and they didn't even mention it when they replaced it under warranty so another point for kessils customer service.

I own three mp40w quietdrives a reeflink and a vectra m1 and when they go out it's into the garbage. Not ever dealing with ecotechs customer service again. Just for the record the person I talked with on the phone was also rude (Brandon Ahart) and acted like I was taking up his valuable time for even calling.

 

[madweazl]

Its twice as powerful as a can of compressed air. I also have a compressor but it's just easier using the electric duster. I take mine completely apart also and the one I had sent back to kessil has been taken apart also and they didn't even mention it when they replaced it under warranty so another point for kessils customer service.

I own three mp40w quietdrives a reeflink and a vectra m1 and when they go out it's into the garbage. Not ever dealing with ecotechs customer service again. Just for the record the person I talked with on the phone was also rude (Brandon Ahart) and acted like I was taking up his valuable time for even calling.

I contacted Ecotech a few weeks back regarding an MP40 and they were quite pleasant (dont remember who I talked to).

 

[Trueblue17]

My a 360s last 5-6 years this is fine with me ( Some last longer. Still have an original non WE going) compared to a halide with anual bulb replacements and and an increased energy bill the kessils are still a good deal for me. I also ask my self what $500 electronic do I expect to last more than 5-6 years. Phone, computer, tablet, tv I upgrade all of those about every 5-6 years anyway so I don’t think the lifespan is unreasonable.

I am still using an A350 I bough used 4 years ago and its still powerful and works just like day one , I think you really gotta keep Kessils clean so they don't overheat and burn up , I think that's part of the reason for some of the dead ones, the fans inside blow pretty hard and suck a lot of dust and stuff in ,so I blow mine out with an air compresser every month or two and the amount of dust that comes out is a lot , also that and being in a hood of a damp hot place adds to the problem , if cleaned regularly they seem to last longer I have 5 Kessils and only had an older A150 burn out on me in 4 years.

 

[TheOne]

I am still using an A350 I bough used 4 years ago and its still powerful and works just like day one , I think you really gotta keep Kessils clean so they don't overheat and burn up , I think that's part of the reason for some of the dead ones, the fans inside blow pretty hard and suck a lot of dust and stuff in ,so I blow mine out with an air compresser every month or two and the amount of dust that comes out is a lot , also that and being in a hood of a damp hot place adds to the problem , if cleaned regularly they seem to last longer I have 5 Kessils and only had an older A150 burn out on me in 4 years.

That is part of the problem. I've built several water cooled gaming computers and the thermal paste and amount you use makes a huge difference. I push my GPU's and cpu's to extreme temps overclocking them. I've seen the paste used on the a360we's and they could have definately done a better job. I would be glad to discuss this with Kessil if they want to PM me.

 

[ineption]

I don't have much experience with Kessil but every time I've reached out to Ecotech, I've left my number for a call back and they've gotten back to me pretty quick. I've even encouraged other to stick with Ecotech products because they do have good customer service. I'm sorry you had a negative experience with them and I hope this is not an indicator of things going downhill for Ecotech.

Please note, it has always taken a day or two for them (Ecotech) to get back to me when I email customer support. That's why I usually just call and leave my number for a call back. I hate waiting on hold and they've always called me back in a reasonable window of time.

Sounds a lot like you are associated with Ecotech! Also why would you apologise on behalf of a company that you are not related to?

 

[ineption]

It's pretty obvious. You create a light with a mount that has the light about a foot over a huge tank full of saltwater and then you add a fan pointing straight down to suck up any moisture that rises. I may not be an engineer but neither was the person that created the lights for Ecotech I can assure you of that, ha.

It's clear that Radion products are not fit for purpose!
Not sure about USA, but had ecotech refused warranty for that reason given the lights are made for marine applications (hint hunt) I would be going straight to trading standards & relevant ombudsman! If you are creating a light to be used 7" above water you should take in to provision that moisture & splashbacks occasionally will happen & that affect should be minimised. Unless op dropped it in water! Saying that I dropped my refugium light twice in water my fault, straight away flushed it with ro water throughly & dried all components with a hair drier, suffice to say it still works! True story

 

[TheOne]

Once again I am not brand loyal. I've owned and do own pretty much all of it. Ecotech, Kessil, Apex, GHL, Reef Octopus, etc. It basically all does the same thing. It's the customer service to me that is the most important. Don't offer a one or two year warranty and then not honor it. It's just not a respectable way to do business.

 

[siggy]

I have read in other threads that that CS is good, bad and ugly from all the co's.. The sheer volume of lights sold for the big names and it all boils down to percentages. 100,000 lights sold and if 1% had a bad experience , that's 1000 people ticked off. I think 1% is a good number ?.....Do we see 1000 people here complaining ?

Ecotech is a reef gear Co, Kessil is a small offshoot of a huge corp. that offers high end tech and that rivals the largest reefgear co. I would expect a higher level of professionalism from them, Good to hear that it does.

 

[Justin Cook]

Sounds a lot like you are associated with Ecotech! Also why would you apologise on behalf of a company that you are not related to?

I am not. I'm just a random dude living outside of Atlanta that has a few Ecotech products. The "I'm sorry" was just because I am sorry that anyone has issues with the equipment they purchased not working out. All of this stuff is expensive and it stinks when there's a problem. I'd also add that I've heard nothing but bad things about Reeflink and won't be buying one even though, in theory, it would be a wonderful addition to my setup. I pay particular attention to threads like this because I really do recommend (most) Ecotech products but will stop doing so if there are enough problems reported. The last thing I want to do is have a friend take my recommendation and have a bad experience.

 

[TheOne]

I have a Reeflink and for the most part it is ok. I control three mp40's and I like that it shows that my return vectra m1 is running. I had to power cycle it several times and do a factory reset on everything before I could get it all linked up but that's just a one time headache and then it works fine.

I've actually owned three of them because every time I sell one I decide I want to use it again, ha. Will probably just buy another Apex and sell the reeflink again now that I think about it.

I will give credit to the Vectra m1 as I think it is the only piece of equipment I've never maintained. Somehow it just keeps on running. So there I said something nice about Ecotech, ha.

 

[siggy]

I was thinking about getting the reeflink. I am setting up 4 lights 2mp's and a m1. I hear everyone complaining about it,
since its an Ecotec tread is it worth it? Its the cost of a frag and will most likely out live it

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I was thinking about getting the reeflink.

Wait for the Mobius to come out.




I've had nothing but good experience from ecotech customer service. I've had many issues with rusted magnets and a few occasions with the lights (that turned out to be a problem with the neptune wxm). But everytime I called or [lately] created a ticket, I was met with great customer service.

One thing that we need to discern is the difference between customer service and the company deciding not to warranty a product due to negligence. Whether or not you agree with their decision doesnt make their customer service horrible. I'm sure many have dropped their $700 light in the water and hoped that ecotech wouldn't see the damage and simply send them a new light. The fact that they offer to replace the damaged light (at no fault to them or their product) and sell them another one at half price is commendable to say the least.

I had a brand new MP60 that i was putting onto the tank and the dryside fell 5 feet cracking the case, I never called them because it was my fault. I was out that $700. If I knew that I could call CS would've replaced it for half the cost because of my negligence I probably would've called them. To me that constitutes great customer service!.

 

[TheOne]

Just so we are clear the light did not fall into the water. It was mounted on an rms arm above my tank and the buttons on top started blinking red and it stopped coming on. I had three mounted on my tank and decided to try a kessil a360we in its place when I sent it in to ecotech to be covered under warranty.

My wife never notices my tank even though its 6 foot long, ha and actually saw the kessil shimmer and started telling me how much she liked it so after ecotech telling me they would not cover it I sold the other two and changed my lighting over to kessils.

I bought the kessils new for $300 each from an ebay seller, aka probably business owner getting around kessils MAP so when the led strip on one stopped coming on after a week I was fully expecting kessil to deny my warranty. I was even up front and told them I bought it off of ebay under MAP pricing and they still replaced it free of charge.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I hear ya, I wish they told you what evidence they had to say, "water damage"

 

[MnFish1]

Good service is great. But what’s with all the failures of these 500-900 dollar lights?

Right - I'm wondering why one person has so much trouble - No offense to @TheOne - I've had good and bad experience with both

 

[TheOne]

Its twice as powerful as a can of compressed air. I also have a compressor but it's just easier using the electric duster. I take mine completely apart also and the one I had sent back to kessil has been taken apart also and they didn't even mention it when they replaced it under warranty so another point for kessils customer service.

I own three mp40w quietdrives a reeflink and a vectra m1 and when they go out it's into the garbage. Not ever dealing with ecotechs customer service again. Just for the record the person I talked with on the phone was also rude (Brandon Ahart) and acted like I was taking up his valuable time for even calling.

Juat an update but the vectra M1 also failed at less than two years old. I guess I dropped it into my tank too or maybe it just wasn't meant for saltwater. Luckily I had a spare return pump to get me by until I could replace it with a neptune Cor15. Couldn't be happier with the cor15 and being able to monitor it with my apex.