New CAST Lighting LED Bullet

[S&MLL]

Originally Posted by steveparrott

A few things to understand about warranties.

1. It is often the case that warranties do not reflect the actual quality of the product. They are often used as a marketing ploy.

2. Look at the fine print in the warranties. Restricted to original owner? Purchase cost not fully refunded (time of use is deducted)? System must be registered with mfg. within a month? System must be composed entirely of the mfg. products? Any sign of moisture damage voids the warranty? Any evidence of over-voltage operation voids the warranty?

3. If company is sold or goes out of business, all warranties are void.

4. As I said, the industry standard for LED's is 3 to 5 years - similar to all electronic products. Warranties that go far beyond that have either limited their liability through the fine print, or they add dollars to the fixture price to pay for an extended warranty.

5. If you find a homeowner objecting to a 5-year warranty, explain these points, point out the quality and features of the product. No homeowner wants their fixtures to fail during the warranty period and go through the hassle and expense of hiring you to replace the product.

6. The best warranty is one you never have to use.

There is a reason I dont buy an extended warranty at best buy.

But Im pretty Kichler has none of that in their warranty. And 15 years on a powdercoated fixture is pretty amazing .... considering they are even honoring it on the finish

As per your #6 I also agree with you. But if Cast doesn’t think anyone will have to use the warranty then why not bump it up? Knowing most of your product is pushed within your own distributor chains don’t you have faith that you will not have bogus claims on damaged goods. I know for a fact Aquarius has never said just field destroy something.

Fixture looks great and sounds amazing. Would like to see at least 10 year but hey my last name isn’t Beausoleil.

[S&MLL]

This reminds me of the scene from tommy boy with the warranty on the box.

[steveparrott]

Originally Posted by S&MLL

There is a reason I dont buy an extended warranty at best buy.

But Im pretty Kichler has none of that in their warranty. And 15 years on a powdercoated fixture is pretty amazing .... considering they are even honoring it on the finish

You might want to confirm that.

[David Gretzmier]

You guys tested the fixtures for 10,000 hours? gotta admit, that is impressive, pretty much 13 months at 24 hours a day.

a warranty makes the end user feel more comfortable about their purchase. If I offer a warranty and my competition does not, often it appears that I stand behind my work and I can ask a premium price. the same might be true of a 1 year verses a 3 year and so on. we only do a year warranty with halogen, but we cover all items. when we do yearly maintenance-rebulbs, we add another year, but we get compensated for the service. That compensation covers our costs for future warranty repairs. But if we install systems right and volt things properly, there should be minimal repair costs and we add profit over the long run.

It is easier as an installer to charge a higher price for a system or product if we feel comfortable knowing our warranty costs in the future. I have little doubt 99% of the fixtures, wire, transformers, connections will cost me very little in warranty repairs over the next 10 years. the last 10 years tells me that. I also know my bulb costs. But what nobody knows is the cost to repair or replace these LED fixtures over the next 1, 3, 7 years. nobody has had them in the field that long to know. we only know what a fixture costs to buy and how long the manufacturer is willing to replace or repair it for free.

I can understand you guys want to kind of go with what the industry standard is on warranty. But then That fixture don't exactly look like an industry standard LED fixture. It looks better and sounds like it performs better. and although I have not checked, I am not so sure it is priced like one either. If I am going to sell a premium fixture at a premium price, then a premium warranty seems reasonable. If you run the fixture 12 hours a night, for 10 years.you would still have a few years left at the 60,000 hour rating. a 10 year warranty with labor covered is what I would offer my clients if they had a simple photocell, and we were compensated to return yearly to clean lenses and trim back foliage and aim. with no maintenace, I would just give them the Cast warranty information and not provide labor.

[indylights]

Originally Posted by steveparrott

You might want to confirm that.

I would highly recommend you confirm that. Read the Kichler warranty on their website. If you buy the aluminum powder coated, which almost everyone I know who buys Kichler does, it's 5 years on the housing, plus there's a ton of other qualifiers. This has been discussed at length in a different thread, and in the end it all comes down to what you are comfortable with, but to make it sound like their warranty is 15 years on the housing of an aluminum fixture is 100% incorrect.

Scott Maloney
Sunflower Landscapes

[S&MLL]

From http://www.landscapelighting.com/portal/warranty_page

Low Voltage Outdoor Products Design Pro LED used for single family residences for fifteen(15) years or 40,000 hours, whichever comes first, on the Light Engine and all other electrical components. These same Products for commercial use for ten (10) years or 40,000 hours, whichever comes first, on the Light Engine and all other electrical components


Since the LED is not replaceable it turns the fixture into a 15 year warranty.

What more would you like me to confirm Steve?

[S&MLL]

Im still excited for the Cast fixture and cant wait to play with one. Just really wish you guys would extend that 5 year mark

[indylights]

Originally Posted by S&MLL

From http://www.landscapelighting.com/portal/warranty_page

Low Voltage Outdoor Products Design Pro LED used for single family residences for fifteen(15) years or 40,000 hours, whichever comes first, on the Light Engine and all other electrical components. These same Products for commercial use for ten (10) years or 40,000 hours, whichever comes first, on the Light Engine and all other electrical components


Since the LED is not replaceable it turns the fixture into a 15 year warranty.

What more would you like me to confirm Steve?

I don't want to hijack this thread off the original post, since the warranty issue has been discussed elsewhere. But if you read the next few lines of that warranty, it clearly states that aluminum housing is only covered five years. What if the housing fails in the sixth year, and like you said, since the LED can't be replaced, it has just turned that fixture into a five year warranty fixture. If you want to debate this, that's great, we can do that, but lets start a new thread on that and not take away from the original thought of the thread.

Scott Maloney
Sunflower Landscapes

[LLC RI]

Steve,
I just talked to my distributor to get pricing on the tree light. I've been working with a condo association and it looks like I'll finally do the job in the spring. I had been planning on using some Aurora copper/brass bullet lights outfitted with Illumicare MR16 LED's, but now that this fixture will be available, and the project is on the water, I have opted to spec the new Cast LED Tree Light. I'm anxious to give it a try!.

Thanks

George