Solaris Led lighting systems - Page 8

jacmyoung · #**176** 05/27/2007, 01:27 PM

From the pictures and the fact the fixture is light weight, I think the packaging is adequate.

I will however agree with Bean Animal on two things:

For the money people spend on it, the packaging can definitely be nicer. A high end product deserves a high end appearance.

And you definitely need a full time QC person trained in the US to have full control of QC issues at the Chinese manufacture. It can be done just not cheap. A good US trained professional in China earns as much as a US worker here.

Mark426 · #**177** 05/27/2007, 03:21 PM

Patrick,

My problem with the PFO light I received was that you knew it was sub-standard many months ago, as evidenced by a couple of YOUR earlier posts and you sold it anyway. As for your customer service, as pleasant as everyone was I spoke with, no effort was ever made to replace my light. I also never heard a single word from you or your company regarding my problem. (your company has my number). If you would have made even the smallest effort (also as as promised in YOUR posts) I would be one of your greatest allies and my problem would have gone un-noticed, unfortunately you have accomplished the exact opposite.

BeanAnimal · #**178** 05/27/2007, 05:14 PM

Patrick, UPS approved or not... the packaging looks like the bare minimum to meet the approval. From the numerous posts it would appear that a significant amount of nuisance damage has occurred during shipment. As I said, for the price, it would appear that there is plenty of room for improvement in many areas.

I can only go by the public posts on this subject.

Thank you for the kind response to my posts.

PFO Lighting · #**179** 05/27/2007, 07:58 PM

Jacmyoung
"the packaging can definitely be nicer. A high end product deserves a high end appearance."

I am very open to suggestions on the outer box. The problem is that currently 95% of the Solaris are being shipped via UPS. UPS beats the crap out of the box. So whether the box looks nice to begin with or not, by the time the box ends up at the end customer it looks bad. Because the boxes can be up to 80" long a full color box becomes extremely expensive. If we put the Solaris in a full color box and then over wrap it with a bigger box than the UPS shipping costs get out of hand. I am definately open for suggestions.

"And you definitely need a full time QC person trained in the US to have full control of QC issues at the Chinese manufacture. It can be done just not cheap. A good US trained professional in China earns as much as a US worker here."

I have been looking for one for awhile. My wife would jump for joy because I wouldn't be making so many trips to china. (I leave again in two weeks.) The quality control is improving dramatically. We are starting the process of getting the factory to be ISO9000 certified. On our last shipment that we started shipping last week, so far all we have heard is that some people are not ventilating the H4 power supplies enough. All the loose screws, scratched lens, ect appear to have been solved.

Mark426, I have responded to your PM.

BeanAnimal, When I post on the newsgroups I try very hard to keep my responses to facts, preferably by an outside unbiased authority. However, I read the newsgroups consistantly. The newsgroup people tell me what I need to know about how to improve the product, what I am doing right, and what needs to change. Almost all of our products have been improved by comments from the newsgroups and/or our customers.

Thank you for your continued support on the Solaris LED light fixture.

Patrick Ormiston
PFO Lighting Inc.
sales@pfolighting.com

spleen93 · #**180** 05/27/2007, 08:47 PM

Pat - I'm one of your customers having bought the H4 and just having received it (like it very much, BTW). I would agree that the packaging could have been improved. I don't think that anybody here is requesting a full color box - but a thicker sturdier grade of cardboard would have been nice. I would disagree that boxing the fixture in an interior box, padding the outside of this and then placing within a shipping box would be cost prohibitive. Most people that are purchasing this fixture would probably prefer to get their fixture in a sturdy container that is better able to handle the rigors of shipment and wouldn't mind paying extra to ensure this (I was shocked as to how cheap the shipping estimate was when I ordered it - I would have paid double for the S&H if it meant that it was packed more securely).

Again, this is meant to be constructive criticism and be assured that I do like my fixture a lot! Best wishes in continued efforts to improve the product.

Spleen

Amphibious · #**181** 05/27/2007, 10:06 PM

Hey Pat,

Received my H4 on Friday, thank you. I'm very impressed with the new unit. It is very evident, to me, that improvements in fit and finish have been made, plus a new computer face. So far no issues with performance.

About the packaging. I was happy to see the 72" is now shipped in two boxes. The power sources in one and the fixture in another. My fixture box was literally falling apart. The bottom taped seam was ripped from one end to the other with the power cords exposed. The top of the box had foot prints toward one end and an obvious hole where the perpetrator's heel went through the cardboard. Fortunately the unit came through UPS's rough handling in fine shape. The driver stayed around to see if there was any damage. He admitted, in a joking manner, that another package survived their rough treatment.

I would make a couple of suggestions toward improved packaging that shouldn't be too cost prohibitive. First, use more of the foam blocking that supports the fixture in the box. Perhaps encapsulating the entire fixture. Second, more or stronger tape to seal the cardboard box. I was surprised to see that the tape, top and bottom, was split open nearly the complete length of the box.

The H4 operates flawlessly, is considerably brighter than the 250W (YES, I know we were expecting it to be) and it too operates without directing heat to the aquarium.

Thanks for all your effort Pat in bring out another great product.

Dick

PFO Lighting · #**182** 05/27/2007, 10:34 PM

What if we took the current box and slid that into another box. The outer box would open on the small end panels. This would cause the weak long top opening portion of the box to have strength by the outer box which would be solid around the body of the fixture? We would then make the inner box white with the PFO Aquatics logo on the sides?

Amphibious · #**183** 05/27/2007, 10:45 PM

That would be a big improvement and probably end the shipping damage.

palawan · #**184** 05/27/2007, 11:08 PM

Do you get the same Metal Halide "shimmering effect" with the SOLARIS units?

Amphibious · #**185** 05/27/2007, 11:17 PM

Yes, you get shimmer effect with the Solaris. It is somewhat reduced from MHs but you can increase it by agitating the surface water. By directing water flow across and just under the surface, shimmer will be increased.

Gem Tang Rider · #**186** 05/28/2007, 12:02 AM

I would like to know how many watts a 6' H4 Solaris fixture draws. The Solaris website says 600watts of LED wattage. But how much extra do the rest of the controls use.

Does anyone have a $25 kill-a-watt meter, that they could give me a max wattage draw?

BFG · #**187** 05/28/2007, 02:25 AM

Been looking at this thread on some occasion. Here's my 2cts.

Patrick, from looking at the pics of LarryW posted on the condition of the box, I would suggest adding more of the foam block on the lightset. You may need a larger block supporting both end of the light set and a few more supporting the space between the 2 edge. Wider thicker block is better than a thin strip of foam. It will give support to the lightset as opposed to have hoping the box would.

Handling cargo is my job scope. Sometimes, the handler might placed the boxes on top of the other cargo but other times the boxes might be located at the bottom of the pile. When that happen, the more support the package has, the lesser chance it will be damaged in transit. I do occasionally come across packages that I considered flimsy packed and sometimes wondered why the person/company packaged their product in that kind of material. Usually when it arrived in my hand, I sometimes have to tape up certain area of the box as it will have already have damaged because of the item inside it. Either it is too heavy for the box or that it is even too full to be packed in. So in any case, a well supported item in a box will make a difference.

In this case, the lightset should have a soft plastic covering it to prevent water from touching the set. The plastic could be tied at the opening to enclose the lightset. You'll never know in what condition the box have to go through to get to the new owner. The foam block should be added after the lightset is enclosed in the plastic cover. As for the box, you do not need a full box of colour, just add your company logo should be enough. But for transportation wise, it is better to paste a couple of 'FRAGILE' sticker of both side of the box. Also a couple of orientation sticker eg 'THIS WAY UP' sticker or the double arrow pointing up sticker should be included and pasted on the box. It could be printed on the box in the 1st place to save some labour cost to apply the sticker onto the box. There are other handling sticker such as the 'HANDLE AS GLASS' too. You might want to get those too if you really need it.

I have seen your product for the 1st time a couple of days ago. It's great that your company comes up with these alternative lighting equipment. I would get it if I can afford one. Hope you'll find my contribution in this thread helpful in the course to provide excellent customer support.

spleen93 · #**188** 05/28/2007, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Amphibious
That would be a big improvement and probably end the shipping damage.

I would agree. But suggestions to increase the foam blocks inside the inner box to better support the fixture are also good.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how much shimmer I'm getting. Very similar to my old MHs.

Spleen

Gobie74 · #**189** 05/28/2007, 02:39 PM

Could someone tell me how tall the Solaris units are including the mounting legs? I have 7 1/4" inside my canopy at the moment. Would I have to modify the canopy to fit a Solaris inside?

spleen93 · #**190** 05/28/2007, 03:08 PM

7 inches from the rim of the tank to the top of the fixture using the mounting legs. I'd be worried about overheating with such limited airspace in your canopy. My fixture runs consistently between 90 - 95 degrees when all the lights are on with an open top tank.

Spleen

Gobie74 · #**191** 05/28/2007, 04:05 PM

Aren't the fan inlets / outlets located on the sides? I don't mind cutting holes on the sides for airflow.

spleen93 · #**192** 05/28/2007, 04:12 PM

Yes, they are. If you position the holes correctly, it'll probably work.

Spleen

Amphibious · #**193** 05/28/2007, 04:18 PM

Yes, you can cut vent holes in the ends of your canopy to accomodate the Solaris venting feature. It's important to size your holes as large or larger than the Solaris fans and be sure they line up together.

Joe · #**194** 05/28/2007, 06:39 PM

The packaging shpuld be MINIMUM 44 ECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joe · #**195** 05/28/2007, 06:40 PM

The packaging should be MINIMUM 44 ECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joe

LarryW · #**196** 05/29/2007, 11:15 AM

ok, I am going to chime in here on the packaging.....

I was concerned about the hole in the side at first, but the ends of the unit were encased in those foam blocks, and it didn't really have a chance to move around. The unit was about 5" into each block, and I had to pull everything out to remove the foam. Yes a thicker box might have been better, but as long as the unit wasn't damaged, then I could care less. It's a freaking box for god sakes. Let's not get away from the fact that the 400w unit is now shipping, and looks freaking awesome.

Zoom · #**197** 05/29/2007, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LarryW
ok, I am going to chime in here on the packaging.....

I was concerned about the hole in the side at first, but the ends of the unit were encased in those foam blocks, and it didn't really have a chance to move around. The unit was about 5" into each block, and I had to pull everything out to remove the foam. Yes a thicker box might have been better, but as long as the unit wasn't damaged, then I could care less. It's a freaking box for god sakes. Let's not get away from the fact that the 400w unit is now shipping, and looks freaking awesome.

Good thing the unit was not damaged you will not be so happy today

They need to use a better box ( stronger ) it may cost more for a shipping but if i pay two or three grand for a light what is $200 for shipping ? nothing if i get the light in one piece.

LarryW · #**198** 05/29/2007, 11:40 AM

I agree, that a thicker box or a double box would be better, and it appears PFO will resolve the issue on future shipments.

Zoom · #**199** 05/29/2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LarryW
I agree, that a thicker box or a double box would be better, and it appears PFO will resolve the issue on future shipments.

I'm sure of that .
Hey..... you need to get your tank going

what is the hold up?

LarryW · #**200** 05/29/2007, 11:53 AM

lot's of stuff....

well I am actually pretty close, I just need to get my powerheads, and return pump, and plumb the system. Then I need some base rock, and I can setup my structures, and then add sand, fill and order LR. I am actually looking at around september when it will be up.