J Pearce Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 All,I'm currently writing a spec for a low budget install where heavy power is neither abundant nor easily accessible.As such LED kit is forming the colour wash aspect of the install. With the budget in mind I am intending to spec LED Par cans. I have used hired units of the same spec I intend to spec to do the intended task in the intended location and I am happy with the performance. My question therefore is, how long can I expect them to last.The venue in question has raised budget via charitable donation and as such I want to ensure a low maintenance cost and long lasting system. I don't want to spec cheap LED pars if they are going to fail in 3 years time. Realistically I'm looking for at least 5 year life without maintenance (except lamps in lamped units) and 10+ years with maintenance. So, does anyone have any experience with how long the cheap LED par cans last in an install, with light weekly use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I would have thought the things to go on a cheap par would be the LEDs themselves, the Fuses and maybe a dry joint here or there. I have had 2 out of the above 2 on a couple of my showtec LED pars dry joints and fuses. Both are easy enough to reapir with a bit of time. Even though the LEDs and the Fuses might still go, the dry joints might be reduced by the fact they are in an install. Perhaps if there is budget, you could buy 1 extra and use it as a direct swap spare. Once that has been swapped in, you could cannibalise the broken one for parts to keep the others going. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkiDonki Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 It's a bit dificult at the moment to really say what the working lifetime of an LED fixture is, I would take the manufacturers claims lightly. The life expectency and performance of LED's is affected by heat though, so take a good look at any units you consider to see if they seem to have been engineered with this in mind. On top of that, you may find the output of the LED's drops with age/use, so the amount of time they are on will be a factor. Beyond the life of the LED's themselves, you have the mechanical reliability of the fixtures; as mentioned by Josh. Clearly the cheaper units are likely to have a lower build quality and higher failure rate from the likes of dry joints, etc. However there is a balance to be struck between performance/reliability and cost. Again as Josh suggested, make sure you buy spare units when you pick your fixtures. The cheaper the fixture, the more spares you would be wise to get.At least if any fail while under warranty you can swap them out and have the dud replaced or repaired. There are quite a few threads here to help choose particular models of LED fixture on a price/performance basis, I don't believe I've seen much said about the long-term performance yet though.From my own experience, I have found the James Thomas range of fixtures to be reliable (heavy touring over 2-3 years with few failures and output still looking good), however these are at the higher end of the price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Out of 40 I installed 3yrs ago I've only had one failure and otherwise no signs of trouble so far. Zero maintenance. Some are quite heavy drinkers too - doesn't seem to be a problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Thats good to hear Nic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruff Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Possibly not helpful, but I recently bought ten budget LED Pars from Thomann (36 x 1W), and none of them lasted more than 24hours. They were quick to give me a refund though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhhehhahh Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Possibly not helpful, but I recently bought ten budget LED Pars from Thomann (36 x 1W), and none of them lasted more than 24hours. They were quick to give me a refund though. All ten worked when you just took them right up from the package, and none of them lasted more than 24 hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slarty Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Possibly not helpful, but I recently bought ten budget LED Pars from Thomann (36 x 1W), and none of them lasted more than 24hours. They were quick to give me a refund though.Interestingly, I also just bought 8 LED PAR64s from Thomann (36x1w) - all worked out of the box - but all failed within 30 minutes. I called Thomann after the first two failures - just to double check I wasn't doing anything stupid - and was told to work through testing all the others and they would refund/replace any that failed. They didn't seem surprised. All were powered up and tested separately - with different power sources/cables and with/without DMX controller to eliminate any common fault outside the units. Methinks they have a bad batch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Cheers for the heads up on the 36x1W. We've played it safe by ordering from a UK supplier (cheaper to do returns if nothing else), and buying models that have been out for some time. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I suspect that cheap LED PARs will last many years in the intended application. The soldered joints and general mechanical assembly of the cheap units leaves a lot to be desired, but this is more likely to be a concern for hired, toured or mobile equipment than semi permanent install. Cheap LED PARs often have poor thermal management which results in the LEDs becoming dimmer through life, this will be of less concern if the operating hours are low. There is allways the risk of receiving units from a defective batch, be sure to use a reputable supplier who will replace them readily. I would agree that keeping a spare might be prudent in case of failure. Finally, remember that LED technology is still getting cheaper and better, therefore if replacements are required in perhaps 5 years rather than your hoped for 10 years, this should be cheaper (in real terms) than todays price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collism Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 We purchased 4 cheap Stairville LED PAR 64s from Thomann - one arrived broken and had to be returned and another has lost a colour after about 1 years light use in an install. Get the impression for my experience and the comments of others here that these units are not the most reliable. Buy cheap - buy twice I guess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I dont want to add to the melee against the aforementioned brand but I have 8 of the same booked in for repair this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slim_mcslim Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 we have 60 of the eurolite branded led par 64's as sold by thomman, and we have had no failiures and these are cased and used in a touring environment. the only problem we have had is the poor quality of plastic knob to adjust the yoke. we have a large number of showtec led products that have all been flawless, however we have had a batch of faulty UV led panels, with 70% failing in the first week, but other than that the cheap LED stuff all seems to have held up. just waiting for the ledj tricolour products to be available and also their version of the 72x 1w moving head LED. We have some of the 36x1w movers and the are fantastic, for a moving LED. The dimmer is dead, long live the LED...!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killyp Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I'm by no means a lampie, so here goes a relevant question. Even if the LED pars had to go in for service every year/two years, would this still be cheaper than replacing all the lightbulbs in 'conventional' lamps + the extra cost of feeding them juice whilst still bearing in mind the cost difference between said lamp types? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 ...if the LED pars had to go in for service every year/two years, ...There is nothing to service. They either work or they are broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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