While the warranty on these lights are 23 years , here is a copy of a message received from KC regaring the short life of their seald beam units. If I had known that the life was only 20 hours, I shure would have considered an alternative!

"We are currently using a Wagoner 150w sealed beam and the life expectancy is 20-25 hours. We can either replace these under warranty or convert them under warranty to a 100w or 130w halogen unit which are rated at 120-150 hours. The bulbs will have to be sent in to be covered under our warranty policy. If you send them in with a note we will replace them - a receipt will not be necessary."

 

That is a pretty short interval.... :-

At least they are standing behind their products and also have an alternative to an exact replacement. The lower wattage may not really make a significant difference in illumination.

 

I agree. They are standing behind their product. But if you look at this a little closer, some of the real costs become apparent. Here is a response I sent to their email which will show you what I mean:

I find it very odd that KC Hilites would warranty a lamp for 23 years when the expected life is 20 hours! At that rate, if I replaced them under warranty, given my experience with the longevity of these lamps, I would have to replace the lamps 184 times over the warranty period of 23 years. If I had to replace them as they went bad, and shipped them UPS to you for replacement, at $6.20 for shipping, that would come to $1,140.80 just in shipping cost. Then add in the downtime waiting for the shipping turn around process, not to mention the labor to replace the lamps. I'm not sure the product is a very good deal! If I had been given the expected life numbers of the lamps, I'm sure I wouldn't have purchased them. The warranty of 23 years is in big bold print, but the expected life of the lamps is nowhere to be found on the packaging. Are the terms of the warranty and your suggestions in the attached email I received from you the only alternative to a solution to this problem?

 

That does look like it would get very costly. Just ask them for a 23 year supply of replacement lamps in one big shipment 8)

 

[quote author=RamDan03 link=board=7;threadid=21590;start=0#msg202558 date=1067356964]
That does look like it would get very costly. Just ask them for a 23 year supply of replacement lamps in one big shipment 8)
[/quote]

 

I have used the KC HIlites before, and they were a nice lite , but I never had any issues with lamp service. When you break it down the cost become staggering, you would save money buy throwing away the ones you have and buying a different brand. It's funny, I once put in a very large light cannon for someone (this is the same one they used to light the World Trade Center memorial) They budgeted in the 45,000 for the light, but didn't budget any money for the replacement lamps. Seems these things only have a useable life span of 300-400 hours (if you let them burn as planed, 10 hours or so a night, they would need replacement about once a month), and cost almost 5,000 each. Now there 45,000 dollar light sits in darkness, cause they don't have the money to re lamp.