Radion Longevity

[mstgkillr]

Any idea of the life expectancy of a Radion G6?

 

[Montiman]

As this is brand new I don't think anyone will know for sure. What I can give you is my experience with other LED lights over the years. Granted these are all older generations of lights and the new ones are supposed to be better so we really won't know for sure for years to come.

Using Radion G2s at the LFS I used to work at We got 6 years out of them before they failed. Some internal component went bad that was not the power supply or LEDS or Fan. At that point we replaced them. I have had mostly kessil LEDs and some have only lasted 3 years but I also have an original A360 from 2012 that is still running 10 years later.

If you are interested in keeping you LEDs long term do your best to keep them in a cool dry place. Heat and moisture do not treat electronics well. The A360s that lasted only 3 years were 6in from the water's surface and the one that is 10 years old is currently 14 in from the water's surface. I strongly believe this contributes to the longer lifespan. Dusting off and cleaning your LEDs will help them to cool properly and not overheat. The better you are at maintaining the lights the longer they will last.

In general when I am doing calculations about how long equipment will last I find that if I get twice the warranty period out of the product that is really good. once a product is out of warranty that means that the manufacture now thinks they will lose money replacing all of the products that fail at that age. This is an indication that you are nearing the end of the product's lifespan. Radion G5 has a 1 year warranty Kessil has a 1 year as well this is a real disappointment if you ask me.

I personally do not plan on lights lasting more than 5 years when I calculate the cost of ownership.

 

[mstgkillr]

Makes me want to go back to metal halide!

 

[Montiman]

I switched from halides when I went to replace the lamps in my combo fixture. I wanted something a bit bluer than my 14k Phoenix lamps so I went with some 20k Gieseman lamps they were $99 each and I needed 2. I hated the look and then thought I would just buy the phoenix again. I realized that that years bulb replacement/ experiment was going to cost me over $400. This was the cost of 1 A 360. I decided that if the lights lasted 4 years I would break even on lamps and electricity. 2 $99 halide lamps plus 4 $25 T5s every year was ridiculous. I wasn't even factoring in the cost of replacement halide ballasts and the cost of the halide fixture. I don't normally get more than 5-7 years out of a ballast unless it is the old school buzzy magnetic ballasts.

My biggest complaint about LEDs is that they are like your cell phone. I am a reasonably handy guy and I could happily replace ballasts, wires, and end caps for my halide and T5 fixtures but when my LEDs break it is like when my cell phone breaks it will cost hundreds of dollars to fix and most likely you will just have to through it away. I also don't plan on my cell phone lasting longer than 4 years as by then normally the phone is lagging and the battery is dying. The more reef lights become like consumer electronics the more we can expect a life span that is similar.

 

[jda]

The big issue is that you are buying tech first and a light second.

There is a video out there of whole Gen 5 shutting down when one diode goes bad. It is starting to get somewhat common just from a few people that I know who bought them - all out of warranty. Super bad design since nobody can expect 100% of anything with that quantity to be great for a long time - the rest need to work if one goes out. I would find out if the G6 has the same issue, or if the quick turn around from the G5 fixed some of this. If it did not, then I would pass on these since you don't know. ...so not only do you fight computers over water, but also bad design in some cases.

Be a little cautious about how fast the G6 came after the G5. I don't know that anybody knows if this is commentary about the G5 or the G6, but it says something. Time will tell, but leaning towards poor G5. Until then, the G4 looks like the safer choice - I have been running a single G4 for almost 3 years at 100% on all channels and everything is still fine, but this is a small sample size.

 

[blaxsun]

I think this is inversely proportional to how long until your warranty expires and/or the release of a new generation of Radions. My G5s are going on 2+ years, and it sounds like 4-5 years is a reasonable expectation (I'm running diffusers as "splash guards", so hopefully I'll get a bit more out of mine). Fingers crossed...

 

[The Farmer]

I believe these new leds have been designed to run at a100% efficiently, once we start to adjust the output percentage that’s when it starts to add strain to the unit. When adjusting the output intensity to lower values it adds more strain to the voltage regulator in turn adds more heat to the unit causing it to burn out faster

 

[Malcontent]

I suspect most of the designs overdrive the LEDs which can greatly reduce lifespan.

 

[nornicle]

That’s why you should go ati per your other post they under drive passively cool their light and the meanwell power unit is amazing.

 

[mstgkillr]

That’s why you should go ati per your other post they under drive passively cool their light and the meanwell power unit is amazing.

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been almost obsessively researching my lighting for my S-1000 for the last several weeks. I've spent countless hours (daily) and still can't decide. Although, I'm leaning towards (3) 204 Straton Pros, with (5) Radion G6 XR30 Blue/Pro, and the 72" Giesemann Spectra coming in a close second and third.

 

[firefighter-rn1]

I have 2 first generation Radions, one went out yesterday after 10 years of use. Don't know where I go next.

 

[Homey D. Clownfish]

Just got the G6 XR30 Pro for a new tank build (IM 50 lagoon AIO). Will post a build thread once tank is up and running and let fellow hobbyists know how they are.

 

[MartinM]

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been almost obsessively researching my lighting for my S-1000 for the last several weeks. I've spent countless hours (daily) and still can't decide. Although, I'm leaning towards (3) 204 Straton Pros, with (5) Radion G6 XR30 Blue/Pro, and the 72" Giesemann Spectra coming in a close second and third.

Those are very different lights. If you want the MH look, you have to go MH (nothing else replicates this). But even the Straton and the Radeon are very different lights, with a different formfactor, look (both external and the light emitted) spread, coverage, etc.

FWIW, I use the Spectra on my 200cm Elos 200XL and Straton on my RS XL200 cube. I love the way halides look!