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Jebo = Cheapo?

8K views 34 replies 24 participants last post by  jaidexl 
#1 ·
Ok once and for all are these good lights or not?
 
#8 ·
I bought the Jebo Odyssea Metal Halide Fixture.....what a deal at $168.00:icon_frow. The ballast burned up in a week.....A WEEK! Sometimes a great deal is just too good to be true. I've had good luck using their PC's on terrariums and tanks. Since I'm a little sketchy about the PAR output of their bulbs, I replace them with something better. Just be careful.
 
#9 ·
I have a 36" PC Odyssea fixture and a 48" fixture. The 48" fixture has been running fine for probably 4 months with no problems. The 36" ballast blew out after 3 months, when it died, I noticed one of the fans was not spinning. I replaced the ballast and it's been fine ever since. I removed one of the stock fans and stuck a computer heatsink fan in its place. I also stuck a computer fan on one of the top vents above the ballast to suck heat out. I'm sure they would be fine with two reliable fans on the end of it.
 
#10 ·
Kim from A&H supply likes to put a Jebo 55 w next to his 55 watt set up.

I have a PAR light meter, anyone wanting to measure the difference between the two is welcome to ask me at the AGA convention.

I'd say they are about 1/2 or less the amount of PAR compared to the A&H lighting.

Same wattage etc, less than 1/2 the light...........

You get precisely what you pay for.

I can buy a Chinese version of the Nikon D200 for 628$, plastic body, no battery , CD etc, the USA model with Mg metal body and all the goodies: 1299$.

Choice is yours, but spending $ for a good light is well worth it, that and CO2 always are.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
#11 ·
I have 2 odyssea units one is dead after 11 months and the other dies in 1 1/2 months and has been replaced. Basically THEY SUCK!!!
 
#14 ·
on the end of the fixture, there was a fan.
i'm assuming faulty wiring or even the fan itself failed.
the whole end of the fixture caught fire. i woke up to the sound of my smoke detector going off. i was lucky because the first day i got it, i just plugged it in and left for work. but the next day, i put it on a timer and it turned itself on when i was sleeping. if i had not put it on a timer, i would've just turned it on before going to work and then come back to a burned down apartment.

lesson learned the hard way-
 
#18 ·
Wow. I did have an odyssea fixture. it worked well for just a basic light 54w 48" dual T5.
But sold it long before any problems arose. Sold it due to a need to upgrade to more wattage.
I am using a CFS 4 for my main filter on my 75Gal. Has worked flawlessly for almost a year now.
So I guess it's hit and miss with the knock off brands.
 
#19 ·
my cousin have those Lights, i dont like the reflector. he got 4x55 watts but the fixture doesn't have any fan, so heat is really a problem.
 
#21 ·
I bought only 2 products from jebo that works for me the best--the heater and the UV sterilizer. The whole UV system for Jebo was $38 comes with bulbs and everything, while buying a uv bulb alone was $45 at my lfs. Its hard to resist buying with such deals. But you get what you payed for.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Just wanted to resurrect the thread after an interesting find.

I recently acquired a 36" 2x96w Odyssea with 3 blue leds. With all the reports of catching fire, I decided to open this one up for inspection of wires and hardware. Low and behold, what do I find?? Severed wires 2 inches from the end caps, the area of the bare wiring matches up perfectly with what appears to be the origin of MiSo's fire. They have them pressed against the reflector and curling around it's sharp edge into the back portion that holds the guts. Not wise is their man in charge of quality control and safety. It's funny that they have a circle cut out of the reflector's corner with a rubber grommet but the wires are nowhere close to it. Needless to say, I'll be rewiring these end caps and flipping them so the wires aren't pressed against the reflector, and will be insulating the heck out of the area where they pass it. I'm also thinking of replacing the ballasts and fans while I have it apart, the ballasts look like they came out of a surplus pile, scratched and scuffed and the screw tabs that aren't even being used are bent all over the place waiting to eat hot wires.
 
#28 · (Edited)
That seems to be the right thing to do at this point, I don't trust a single part of it.

I should add that this one is brand new out of the box, the one listed as "New 2007 model", so if anyone is wondering whether they've tried to get their act straight, it's pretty evident that's not the case. But I'm glad it's here now, because I love electrical work.

Update: Rewiring didn't help, still filled the house with the smell of smoke, the end caps are heat cracked after three days of operation. I replaced it with a coralife.
 
#30 ·
i bought one of their oddysea 60" cf light setups off of ebay for about $100. 322 watts for that price seemed pretty good to me. got it couple days later, turned it on, the whole time it was on I smelled burning plastic or some sort of weird smell coming off of it.

after that, I just took it apart, made my own canopy and attached the lights to it. works great still after a few weeks.
 
#31 ·
I just took it apart, made my own canopy and attached the lights to it.
Probably the next best move to replacing it. Mine has also served as DIY parts, the fans are cooling tanks, the reflector has been chopped and used in a few places including a chameleon cage, and the blue LEDs are out and waiting for me to stumble on some nice little enclosures for them.
 
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