odyssea Power Compact lightings

[chucky2g]

Has anybody had any experience with Odyssea light products? Are they worth the money? Are they a quality product ? I'm looking at purchasing a 322W PC system.

thanks
Chuck

 

[cameron]

ReefCentral has a lot of people who hate the product and some that like it for the price. They have been known to catch fire which would steer me well clear.

 

[glxtrix]

my 65W PC one burnt up. Quite ashame cuz it was a nice lookin light. Oh well.

 

[cameron]

The new MH fixture is supposed to be pretty good. Someone at ReefCentral took one appart and it seemed well built. I would still be cautious as there are several pictures showing fixtures burnt to a crisp as well.

 

[mufret]

I've been using one of their MH/PC units for some time and they are decently built. I think their problems come more from a quality control standpoint than from using substandard components. They have a very nice pricepoint and, if you get one, my suggestion would be to open it up and check all the connections prior to using it. Just make sure they are tightened down properly! The fires and the burned up ballasts that have been reported are more than likely the result of the connections not being secure and being allowed to arc. As David mentioned, the fans are really the only component that I would switch out although I've heard they have improved that in their newer fixtures. They are also now using electronic ballasts in their MH fixtures.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

The MH/PC that I have has a burnt out PC ballast. It was this way when I got it but I have not replaced it yet. The fan is noisy sometimes at start up... The 175W DE bulbs can only be ordered off E-Bay from China... Other then that I love the fixture... I have heard bad things about the PC units though.

 

[mufret]

Brandon, you can actually fire 150w DE bulbs with that unit so don't limit yourself to the 175w bulbs that Odyssea sells.

 

[FutureInterest]

I'm glad to hear that their horrid rep for customer service appears to have improved. This is pure hearsay so take it with a grain of salt, but from my understanding the fires were caused by non-ULE components being used in these fixtures whatever that means .

 

[cameron]

UL ratings are misleading. Just because it is UL cert'd doesn't mean it won't burn your house down. It does decrease the risk slightly, but a poorly built unit can easily be listed as UL. I believe Mike is correct. The problem is ballasts can easily overdrive the circuit on a bad connection or arc to another so the unit can burn up fast. At these wattages, any device is a fire hazard IMO and I wouldn't recommend a product that has a history of poor construction. Design wise, I am sure they are fine but quality of construction is important to me when it comes to losing everything in my house. Is a couple hundred bucks worth the risk? Maybe, but not to me.

 

[chucky2g]

Thanks for all the input it was a big help.

-Chuck

 

[stroid]

I have a 192w PC lighting and I have not had any complaints with the exception of it being a bit loud when i turn it on. The fans on that thing are crap but my corals seem to be happy and the light looks nice. Not a bad deal for the price I think.

 

[gclackum]

I just lost the ballast on mine. A little over a year old. Does anyone know where I can find a 192 watt ballast to replace or should I just buy a new fixture.