Maxspect LED owners!!!

Just gut the fixtures and swap out the lot. If the current configuration is frying the 700mA blues then swapping them out will not solve the issue long term.
 
hhaase said:
I actually just had a pretty extensive back and forth with MaxSpect regarding the blue LED's in the G2's. Some of which I can talk about, some of which I can't, but I'll lead with saying that I was very happy with the conversation as a whole..... even if I am also in the group with problematic lights.

First off, regarding the burnt connectors on the 30w LED's. I had that problem too. Those connectors just aren't rated for that much power. Once I directly soldered everything down instead of using crimp connectors, they've been fine ever since. Just make sure to use some heatshrink tubing or something, as it's easy to short out those tabs. They did replace one faulty 30w unit for me about 6 months ago while still under warranty.

The blue SemiLED issue is something they are well aware of. I am also outside of warranty, so I didn't even ask for replacements. Usually, if your LED has failed, you will notice it DOES work for a few seconds when you power up. The problem apparently isn't the LED itself, it's the transistor on the LED chip. That transistor is designed to maintain the series circuit in case the LED fails. Ironically, it's the transistor that's failing, and cutting power to the LED. They did suggest a fix for it, which should restore the failed blue chips. I am going to try it and report back in the next few days. I don't want to give the details yet, just in case it doesn't work.

The blue LED's are also going brown on the chip because they are essentially at their rated limit. The 3w blue LED's are rated at 700ma, and they are being driven at 700ma, and they are getting hot as a result. I deal with this type of overheating all the time with other circuit board repairs I do. It's annoying, yes, but not unusual or anything to be terribly worried about. If it was getting hot enough to desolder the LED, then you should worry.

They also said the problem with the failing LED's is essentially limited to units with the SemiLED's. Folks who opted for the Cree units..... yeah, you spent your money well. Apparently those are not failing due to the different design.

We also discussed the design changes in future models as a result of all these problems with the G2's, these updates kick in with the Mazarra's and anything after that. First big change is that they went to all Cree LED units (which may be why the replacements are pricier?). The Cree's have the series protection circuit already built into the LED itself, and they have seen little to no failures of Cree LED chips. They are changing the cable connectors between drivers and led modules, so you won't see the corrosion problem anymore. They went with meanwell drivers in the power supply, which eliminates the problem with the failing driver modules from the previous supplier.

So, yeah, the G2's have been dissapointing for sure. But at the same time they spent a good amount of time communicating with a nobody like me, and I appreciated that. They also admitted the issues, and have what looks like a solid plan that should make anything after the G2's into rock-solid units. So I've got no problem buying from MaxSpect again in the future.

Now I just need time to crack my lights open again and test the suggested fix on the blue LED chips. I've got 10 of them that are bad right now..... didn't realize it until I did my last water change.

-Hans

(Oh, anybody NOT using their blue chips anymore? I'd love to snag a few spares to do some testing with if you can part with them.)
Click to expand...

I've recently lost a couple of my leds, and after reading this rather than replacing them with Semi leds I'm going to gradually swap them to CREE's. Can I just get any XP-G's and swap them one by one as they fail? And is it safe to do this, I dont want to knacker the driver units?
 
Hi Mikey,
That would all depend on the type of driver and the forward voltage of the cree leds. Lets say that the driver is set for 3.6v @ 700mA leds. Adding a 3.6v cree led with a higher mA rating should just underdrive the led which is safe.
I'm not too sure exactly how the drivers are designed so there could be other factors to take into account. Maybe someone else has done some testing on the drivers?
 
Rosscopeco said:
Just gut the fixtures and swap out the lot. If the current configuration is frying the 700mA blues then swapping them out will not solve the issue long term.
Click to expand...

According to MaxSpect, the issue is with the SemiLED chips themselves. They suggested bypassing the series protection transistor on the LED chips by running the power leads straight to the LED itself. Didn't work on any of the LED's I tried it on, but the series circuit is still intact. My guess is that the power is just shunting through the transistor, if it's shorted internally.

Eventually I'll probably just do exactly what you suggest, and replace all the blues in the unit. The only real issue I can see with swapping to a different LED of the same rating is that I may have to drill and tap new holes in the heatsink for mounting. Or just go with a two-part thermal epoxy maybe? Never tried it for an application like this. Would make life much easier for sure.

-Hans
 
"It's Semi Leds fault" sounds like they are really passing the buck on this one. After a lot of reading prior to refurbishing my dud unit I have learned that it's more likely caused by trying to drive the Leds to the upper ends of their limits. This maximum is just that and unless you have some fancy circuitry in place it's easy for things to vary slightly + or - throughout normal use.
When it comes time to pull apart the second unit that still functions I'll be testing the maxspect rig to see just what sort of numbers the drivers are supplying to the LEDs.
Either way it's still Maxspects responsibility to rectify the problem. Imagine if every product sold that used components supplied by a third party tried that on.
"Oh we're sorry to hear about the tragic loss of life from our plane crashing but you see it was the Rolls Royce engine that failed. We had a failsafe installed that failed but the engine was the real issue".
"It's come to our attention that less people with business class tickets died in the crash. That may have something to do with the fact that there are far fewer business class passengers but this way we hope to upsell to a few more customers in the future".
"We would love to help out but technically the boarding passes had been used and it was Rolls Royce's fault. Blame them".:hmm2:
I wonder if Maxspect would pass the buck to Cree so freely.

When swapping out the LEDs you just need to use the adhesive paste. It sticks pretty tight and can be removed with a razor if needed. The stuff I used is similar to sticking something down with silicone, only a little easier to remove once cured.
 
Rosscopeco said:
"It's Semi Leds fault" sounds like they are really passing the buck on this one. After a lot of reading prior to refurbishing my dud unit I have learned that it's more likely caused by trying to drive the Leds to the upper ends of their limits. This maximum is just that and unless you have some fancy circuitry in place it's easy for things to vary slightly + or - throughout normal use.
When it comes time to pull apart the second unit that still functions I'll be testing the maxspect rig to see just what sort of numbers the drivers are supplying to the LEDs.
Either way it's still Maxspects responsibility to rectify the problem. Imagine if every product sold that used components supplied by a third party tried that on.
"Oh we're sorry to hear about the tragic loss of life from our plane crashing but you see it was the Rolls Royce engine that failed. We had a failsafe installed that failed but the engine was the real issue".
"It's come to our attention that less people with business class tickets died in the crash. That may have something to do with the fact that there are far fewer business class passengers but this way we hope to upsell to a few more customers in the future".
"We would love to help out but technically the boarding passes had been used and it was Rolls Royce's fault. Blame them".:hmm2:
I wonder if Maxspect would pass the buck to Cree so freely.

When swapping out the LEDs you just need to use the adhesive paste. It sticks pretty tight and can be removed with a razor if needed. The stuff I used is similar to sticking something down with silicone, only a little easier to remove once cured.
Click to expand...

That is another thing they said, that they were driving them right at the 700ma limit. Since the driver units are the same between the blue and white LED sets, it makes me wonder if the whites were rated for a higher amperage? They aren't browning out at all on mine, nor has a single one of the whites failed.

Just to toss a guess.... you work for Qantas?

-Hans
 
hhaase said:
That is another thing they said, that they were driving them right at the 700ma limit. Since the driver units are the same between the blue and white LED sets, it makes me wonder if the whites were rated for a higher amperage? They aren't browning out at all on mine, nor has a single one of the whites failed.

Just to toss a guess.... you work for Qantas?

-Hans
Click to expand...


Nah mate. Just thought I'd use something different to the usual car analogies.
My guess is the drivers are over driving the LEDs.
 
Rosscopeco said:
Hi Mikey,
That would all depend on the type of driver and the forward voltage of the cree leds. Lets say that the driver is set for 3.6v @ 700mA leds. Adding a 3.6v cree led with a higher mA rating should just underdrive the led which is safe.
I'm not too sure exactly how the drivers are designed so there could be other factors to take into account. Maybe someone else has done some testing on the drivers?
Click to expand...

Coolio does anyone know anything more about the drivers? Is it safe to retrofit Crees?
 
You could probably test your own with a multimeter.
You'll need to test for current in mA and the forward voltage divided by the number of LEDs in a string. If the current is below the maximum and the forward voltage is enough you should be fine.
There might be adjustment in the drivers themselves also. Take a look at some of the meanwell driver vids on youtube to see what I mean.
 
chris@CoralVue said:
Vue Technology and Maxspect International would like to announce that Vue Technology (CoralVue) will be taking over U.S distribution of their complete line of LED products. Maxspect has decided that in best interest in their business and current U.S. customers, they have selected CoralVue to provide the quality customer service and skilled support the Maxspect product deserves. With our eagerness to support this product you can expect customer satisfaction throughout the lifespan of the LED fixture. We would like to ask that if any customers are having issues with any Maxspect product to contact us directly and we will provide the necessary support.

Thanks,

Chris Conti
VP of Sales
Vue Technologies
985-607-8655 Mobile
985-781-9081 Fax
Chris@coralvue.com
Click to expand...


Well, it has been 3 weeks since I sent Chris at Coralvue an email requesting support and a quote for a control box replacement for a Maxspect 110 G2. I have gotten absolutely no response. Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed. Maxspect in Hong Kong wanted $150 US just for shipping the controller back to them for inspection, and the Maxspect distributor in the U.S., Coralvue, could care less about customer support. Let this be a warning to potential Maxspect buyers for the lack of support you will encounter if you have any issues with your Maxspect light fixture.
 
I'm not saying you're comment is unjustified but it could just be that your email went in with the spam.It's happened to me a few times in the past.
 
Animadverto said:
Well, it has been 3 weeks since I sent Chris at Coralvue an email requesting support and a quote for a control box replacement for a Maxspect 110 G2. I have gotten absolutely no response. Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed. Maxspect in Hong Kong wanted $150 US just for shipping the controller back to them for inspection, and the Maxspect distributor in the U.S., Coralvue, could care less about customer support. Let this be a warning to potential Maxspect buyers for the lack of support you will encounter if you have any issues with your Maxspect light fixture.
Click to expand...

Dear Animadverto,

Please let me know what your name is and I'll look for your email. I'm very thorough with keeping on top of my messages, but as we all know, stuff happens. I'm kind of disappointed in your comments, nonetheless I believe we can get this resolved for you.

Chris
CoralVue
 
Hi Chris,

I do apologize for the comment above if my initial email to you requesting support ended up in the spam folder as pointed out by Rossco. I should have been more careful about making inflammatory comments when feeling all frustrated as I've only had this unit for less than 2 years.

Nevertheless, here is my situation. I have some pretty large colorful sps colonies in my tank that I don't want to risk not having light over them while shipping the faulty controller unit back and forth for inspection and remediation. I can still turn the lights on and off for now. I just can't program different groups to come on and go off at different times. I am more interested in finding out from you what a replacement controller unit would cost including shipping. I would be interested in getting it replaced if it's reasonable. Otherwise, I would just apply the replacement expense toward a new led light fixture.

Thank you for your help.

David
 
David,

I will check with the factory to see what they suggest will correct your faulty controller. I will let you know tomorrow what they reply back to me with.

Chris
 
David,

Maxspect believes you have a problem with the timer panel or the buttons. They are going to send me a replacement panel with the next shipment that leaves tomorrow. Please email me your shipping address and I will have it sent when the shipment arrives.

Chris
chris@coralvue.com
 
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