AHSupply PC's

[Avalon]

Their cheap PC bulbs are starting to piss me off. As of today, I've had 2 burn out on me in roughly 6 months. I've another one with the bulb about to separate from the base (it amazes me it's still working), and I had a brand new bulb separate from the base before I even got it plugged in. That's a total of 4 bulbs in roughly 6 months. What the hell? Anyone else having problems?

It's not heat--my Coralife's see far greater heat levels and have never failed, ever; besides, it's barely warm in my canopy. It's not from mishandling--once they are installed they don't move. I've got splash guards in place. I don't know what else to think, other than they are just cheap POS's. You get what you pay for I guess.

 

[dss2004]

Yeah I have the coralife and it gets real hot (I don't even have a hood.) I have had zero problems thus far. Have you tried writing or getting in touch to tell them about you difficulties?

 

[Avalon]

No, but I think that's a good idea. I should probably wait and calm down first.

 

[chrysler_12]

wohoh... i don't want to hear such kind of negative feedbacks from ahsupply coz i just recently bought my lighting from there...

 

[dss2004]

I hope you do call them avalon. I often dream of calling people and telling them what I think of their crappy product but I find that I am too much of a pansy to do it. I get all wimpy when I deal with customer service people. I would end up buying more crap!!!

 

[depthC]

I havent had any problems with my ah supply kits. I also suggest you call them up and maybe they will give you a deal and or know what the problem seems to be. Let us know if you follow through on the call.

Andrew

 

[Orion]

Yes do let us know what happens Avalon. I finaly have worked out what I would like to do with my lighting and it would require ordering from them.

Would be interesting to see how they handle a pissed off Avalon.

 

[Avalon]

I just sent them an email. If that doesn't work, I'll give them a call. I save the phone calls for last, as I lose patience very quickly in matters of money. I'm looking at over $100 to replace LIGHT BULBS of all things I have to spend money on!

I was doing maintenance on my 100g last night, where I have all the bulbs securely mounted, and there are 2 more bulbs, including my brand new one (about 2 weeks old), that are separating from the base. Grrrrr....make that $150 or so in new Coralife bulbs.

 

[Leopardess]

I've never had any problems either. There was a discussion regarding AH at APC recently, iirc, and not a soul had anything bad to say about them. Depth is more likely to remember where that article was than me, however.

AH is constantly recommended among the "crazy plant people"....I suspect something is happening or you've got bad luck Avalon.


My bulbs are going on 2 years now and they're still right as rain. Their reflectors are first class and can't really be beat for a comparable price as far as I know. I also recieved them in a very short amount of time after ordering (it was only like three days). They're easy enough to assemble and retrofit right into an existing fixture. I personally can't complain.

I would order from them again in a heartbeat and I'm going to when I upgrade the 125g's lighting.

 

[Orion]

Whats the word Avalon?

 

[Avalon]

Sorry! I forgot to follow up! They emailed me 3 days later and replaced one bulb free of charge. They claimed to have not heard of this happening.

I took a better look at the bulb that most recently burnt out. It was charred around the base, indicating a burning issue at the base. I suspect the bases come loose due to heat melting the glue, and then the bulb shorts out or something. I reinspected my installation to make sure there was proper support at the base to keep it level with the bulb itself (ie., to make sure there was nothing pulling at the base). It was evident I saw this as a problem when I installed the kits, and they were all properly supported. I also compared my Coralife bulbs with the AHS's, and the base on the Coralife's are much larger. You can draw your own conclusions...