soggybongo
Member
alarm bells would have started ringing from the get-go if i opened an exspensive bit of kit that is wrapped in bog roll (pic 5).
send it back!!!
send it back!!!
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Twinstar light issue
- Thread starter H.Alves
- Start date
Alarms bells started as soon as I opened the package and then never stopped. I was shocked at first. Shop said all their items came like that 
... then the cosmetic fault, gap, etc...
I am in contact with customer service and developments so far, is I get to keep this fixture till stock is back up and then get it replaced for a new one.
Let hope that's indeed the case. Will keep updating as developments evolve.
Now leaving it on for 8h straight to make sure the heat accumulation (during functioning) is just on the frame and not the acrylic diffuser, justo to test Zozo expansion theory.
... then the cosmetic fault, gap, etc...I am in contact with customer service and developments so far, is I get to keep this fixture till stock is back up and then get it replaced for a new one.
Let hope that's indeed the case. Will keep updating as developments evolve.
Now leaving it on for 8h straight to make sure the heat accumulation (during functioning) is just on the frame and not the acrylic diffuser, justo to test Zozo expansion theory.
zozo
Member
It can't be for cooling purpose because it doesn't realy cool verry much.. On the contrary i've experience it myself with a DIY hood without cover and rather high power led on a heatsink in this hood. If switched on it could not dissipate it's heat, because hot air rises and accumulates as a hot air pocket in the hood and can not get out even tho it was completely open at the underside. The leds overheated and started to flicker.. Had to build in a fan to force the hot air out and the flickering stoped.. Without out hood in the open air the heatsink only is sufficient. So it was either drill holes in the top to vent out hot rising air or a fan at the side blowing it out. I choose the fan, the more it cools the longer the leds will live.. 
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What I meant was the expansion theory.
Anyway I left the fixture on overnight (9-10h) and can say that only the metal frame gets warm to touch but not really hot. After 9h or so it doesn´t seem to get hotter than after 1 hour of use. Diffuser remains basically at room temperature, not even warm. The gap is exactly the same before or after use. So there goes the expansion theory. It simply does not get hot enough to expand.
Maybe in really hot summer it might differ, but today experiment has shown no difference at all.
Good news is i have found a shop that still has them on stock so hopefully I will be able to replace it much sooner than expected. Fingers crossed.
Anyway I left the fixture on overnight (9-10h) and can say that only the metal frame gets warm to touch but not really hot. After 9h or so it doesn´t seem to get hotter than after 1 hour of use. Diffuser remains basically at room temperature, not even warm. The gap is exactly the same before or after use. So there goes the expansion theory. It simply does not get hot enough to expand.
Maybe in really hot summer it might differ, but today experiment has shown no difference at all.
Good news is i have found a shop that still has them on stock so hopefully I will be able to replace it much sooner than expected. Fingers crossed.
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zozo
Member
It's not a theory in general expansion is a fact and a propperty to recon with when constructing designs with different materials such as metal and plastic together. Especialy if warmth is involved. How longer the lenght the more this needs to reconned with.. Tho you are correct, in any given reasonable/possible scenario the gap should be hidden in the casing construction. If that aint possible and you make it an excact tight fit it can not expand than the cover will be stressed and can bulge, since acrylic actualy gets pliable at rather low temperaturs this stress will show. Acrylic under stress slowly starts to loose shape already at 40°C, at 80°C it will be as weak as a sheet of paper.
Worked with plastics in construction for almost half my life. Seen it quite a lot DIY projects with forgotten expansion.. Proudly making something perfectly straight tight fit and after a few hot summer days sometimes a year after the job was done it was still as straight as the surface of a stormy sea.
I do not know these lights personaly.. So i can not see if it is possible to hide the play in/under/over the end caps.. But looking the video and hearing it hitting the sides without sliding in/under/over that end cap. Than i'm almost willing to bet on it.. But never say never. Hopefully i'm wrong..
Might be not the best example, going from light to floor.. But if you laminate a floor, instructions say give it 10mm play all around at the walls.. That 20mm total.. If you dont, on a warm day you risk some lamitate parts popping up hitting you suddenly in the ...
expansion is a fact and a propperty to recon with when constructing designs with different materials such as metal and plastic together. Especialy if warmth is involved. How longer the lenght the more this needs to reconned with.. Tho you are correct, in any given reasonable/possible scenario the gap should be hidden in the casing construction. If that aint possible and you make it an excact tight fit it can not expand than the cover will be stressed and can bulge, since acrylic actualy gets pliable at rather low temperaturs this stress will show. Acrylic under stress slowly starts to loose shape already at 40°C, at 80°C it will be as weak as a sheet of paper.Worked with plastics in construction for almost half my life. Seen it quite a lot DIY projects with forgotten expansion.. Proudly making something perfectly straight tight fit and after a few hot summer days sometimes a year after the job was done it was still as straight as the surface of a stormy sea.
I do not know these lights personaly.. So i can not see if it is possible to hide the play in/under/over the end caps.. But looking the video and hearing it hitting the sides without sliding in/under/over that end cap. Than i'm almost willing to bet on it.. But never say never. Hopefully i'm wrong..
Might be not the best example, going from light to floor.. But if you laminate a floor, instructions say give it 10mm play all around at the walls.. That 20mm total.. If you dont, on a warm day you risk some lamitate parts popping up hitting you suddenly in the ...
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Don’t get me wrong, I know expansion is indeed a fact, but just wanted to show that in this case, at the conditions it was running, the acrylic remained cold. As you say, this scenario might as well change in hot summer days but due to room temperature and not due to operational one. I expected it to warm a bit but happily found out the heat on the acrylic was negligible which shows that even without fan it seem to be able to properly dissipate the temperature.
zozo
Member
I'm not getting you wrong.. But it aint only build for your specific personal situation.. There are many scenarios to think off.. Thus a factury uses ISO standards that are calculated to account any possible scenario from the arctic to the tropics... They want to sell a light that can be used all over the planet. Or else the box would say "Not For Zambia! Zambia is too hot!".. Or something like that.. 
But it aint only build for your specific personal situation.. There are many scenarios to think off.. Thus a factury uses ISO standards that are calculated to account any possible scenario from the arctic to the tropics... They want to sell a light that can be used all over the planet. Or else the box would say "Not For Zambia! Zambia is too hot!".. Or something like that.. Update 2: Got a new one from another reseller.
I think I should clarify some points for others that might get this light down the road:
1) As expected, and previously explained, gap is still there. More a less the same size as the previous one, give or take.
2) Incredibly, the legs do actually come originally wrapped on that kind of kitchen paper. So it was not just that one since this one arrived exactly the same.
3) There is less wrapping paper than the 600S version. Minor negligible scratches. I was expecting perfect quality from a top brand but there seems to be some issues on the quality control.
4) Just got an S2 pro dimmer to fit it. Haven't tried it since it has not arrived yet, but I heard that it works great. It would have been nice if Twinstar offered a dimmer with the package.
5) I know that engineers at twinstar had spent quite some time "tweaking" the leds for optimum performance, but to keep up with demand and other brands offer, it was time it come with independently controllable LED colours. The default setting should be there but, at least, it would allow owners to tweak the light according to their preference.
6) Initial tests seem to show that heat is well controlled but when summer arrived we see how it stands.
7) Its not waterproofed as opposed to Eheim LK1 for example and others.
8) For my 120P, light seems to be just enough. It lights the tank beautifully. Just not sure whether I will need to add some extra light down the road, hope this is enough.
9) The acrylic diffuser seems to have a plastic sheet on it but I am not sure whether it is supposed to be removed or not, since there is no instructions what so ever.
Other than this, its the quality we are used to from twinstar, but comes with a hefty price tag, specially, for this bigger sized tanks. With the coming of chihiros vivid and other alternatives, with more tweaking options, lets see how it will hold on against the competition.
I think I should clarify some points for others that might get this light down the road:
1) As expected, and previously explained, gap is still there. More a less the same size as the previous one, give or take.
2) Incredibly, the legs do actually come originally wrapped on that kind of kitchen paper. So it was not just that one since this one arrived exactly the same.
3) There is less wrapping paper than the 600S version. Minor negligible scratches. I was expecting perfect quality from a top brand but there seems to be some issues on the quality control.
4) Just got an S2 pro dimmer to fit it. Haven't tried it since it has not arrived yet, but I heard that it works great. It would have been nice if Twinstar offered a dimmer with the package.
5) I know that engineers at twinstar had spent quite some time "tweaking" the leds for optimum performance, but to keep up with demand and other brands offer, it was time it come with independently controllable LED colours. The default setting should be there but, at least, it would allow owners to tweak the light according to their preference.
6) Initial tests seem to show that heat is well controlled but when summer arrived we see how it stands.
7) Its not waterproofed as opposed to Eheim LK1 for example and others.
8) For my 120P, light seems to be just enough. It lights the tank beautifully. Just not sure whether I will need to add some extra light down the road, hope this is enough.
9) The acrylic diffuser seems to have a plastic sheet on it but I am not sure whether it is supposed to be removed or not, since there is no instructions what so ever.
Other than this, its the quality we are used to from twinstar, but comes with a hefty price tag, specially, for this bigger sized tanks. With the coming of chihiros vivid and other alternatives, with more tweaking options, lets see how it will hold on against the competition.
I believe the gap isn't a problem .i also have a small 2-3mm gap between sides but I guess that's on purpose for airflow.
Yes , the s2 controller works fine ! It's 100% compatible and you can stimulate sunrise sunset pretty well .
It is nice that it doesn't get hot , just warm .
After 1-2 hours it is just warm so heat sink does pretty good job on that .
I v read for example that chichiros gets really hot and that reduces the lifespan of LEDs .
You can remove the plastic sheet on the acrylic diffuser if you want.
My diffuser had a crack when first came because of transport misbehavior..
Twinstar sent me a new diffuser after few days . The new one had the plastic sheet on it . The old one didn't . So i removed the plastic sheet before I replace the part .
But I believe that you can leave it on since it doesn't affect the light at all .
In conclusion , colors and intensity are very nice + the aesthetics of the body.
I believe that twinstar only lacks in a controller or an integrated dimmer .
Yes , the s2 controller works fine ! It's 100% compatible and you can stimulate sunrise sunset pretty well .
It is nice that it doesn't get hot , just warm .
After 1-2 hours it is just warm so heat sink does pretty good job on that .
I v read for example that chichiros gets really hot and that reduces the lifespan of LEDs .
You can remove the plastic sheet on the acrylic diffuser if you want.
My diffuser had a crack when first came because of transport misbehavior..
Twinstar sent me a new diffuser after few days . The new one had the plastic sheet on it . The old one didn't . So i removed the plastic sheet before I replace the part .
But I believe that you can leave it on since it doesn't affect the light at all .
In conclusion , colors and intensity are very nice + the aesthetics of the body.
I believe that twinstar only lacks in a controller or an integrated dimmer .
