Mega Ray - What went Wrong !

[Dazza]

You will all have seen it mentioned on the lists and forums that current mega ray bulbs are not living up to our excellent reputation. This post is to go some way to explain what happened and why we had no control.

Firstly each summer the factory in Canada shuts down, we thought we had stocked up but just in case we ordered a final order, due to the other commitments the factory has they could not complete that final order before the shutdown. We then sold out of stock before the factory re-opened. When they did re-open we already had back orders to be filled and had placed further orders. The way the scheduling works we were at the end of the production month.

In the mean time the manufacturer of the filament we use in the mega ray bulbs rationalised the range and have dropped the one we use for the 100w Bulb, they supplied an alternative which they claimed would do the same job. The factory ran up a batch and tested and they worked fine. The problem comes where the electric in Canada and the USA is at 60 Hz, over here in the UK its 50 Hz. So the bulbs were produced and shipped thinking all was well. The bulbs were sent out and my inbox filled and my phone was red hot. In proceeding batches alterations were made which improved the problem but didn’t stop it. A decision was taken to stop production until we solved the problem.

Bob MaCarger would not have just any filament in the bulb so we had to work with what we had, so the only way to be sure the bulbs worked was to have them sent here to the UK for testing so small batches were run and we set about testing them here at Kimbos Reptile World. We sent reports back to Canada and we have settled on the new bulb being 120w, the coatings have been changed so they put out the same UVB and almost the same Heat as the 100w so there will be no changes in the performance from the 100w Mega-Ray.

With the stalling in production this has meant a short term stock shortfall, the new bulb is now in production and will be shipped in the new few weeks, we hope to have stock in the UK late March/Early April.

If you have any bulbs brought since late 2008 that are flickering or cutting out we need to swap these when the new bulbs arrive.

Please contact me darren@megaray.co.uk

And we apologise sincerely to all that have experienced flickering bulbs.

Darren
Kimbos Reptile World

[ThomasClan]

I am lucky mine is fine thank you Darren, and the heat lamp and ceramic bulb is fantastic.

Must of been a nightmare to have such a glitch.

Great customer service

Anna x

[angels1531]

Thank you so much for helping to get this sorted out... there are not many people that would be willing to help even when the bulb was not bought from you. I didnt keep the box that mine came in, but i did pay for it via paypal. Needless to say the supplier I purchsed this from has not responded to any emails. Dazza is there a no on the actual bulb... if so can i confirm my batch no with you please? Thanks again.. you are a superstar.

[a_fisher]

I have one of the faulty bulbs. A big thanks to darren who has clearly been very helpful in sorting out the problem

[Dazza]

Ok Guys this is no worries please please e-mail me you names and addresses i will get the returns forms completed and this will save delays when the bulbs arrive.

darren@megaray.co.uk

Adam i have your details !

angels1531 - don't worry about the box or the batch code - e-mail me and we will cover you also, but can you please include in the e-mail your shelled warriors user id and where you got the lamp so i know i have covered you ?

These are frustrating times for all we just want the bad stock replaced as quick as we can !

Dazza

[Alan1]

Dazza I've been in email contact with you a couple of weeks back but do you need me to send my full details too?

[Joanne2407]

Hiya Dazza, I bought a 100w mega ray bulb from you a couple of weeks ago - will this one be ok? I have read through the above info but am a bit confused lol (Doesn't take much) Is this bulb likely to be a new one; without faults?? Thanks, Joanne xx

[Alan1]

Joanne I got 2, 2 days apart and one is okay and one isn't so if it isn't flickering it should be fine. I can't use my good one though because I need 2 the same

[Evie]

I think it is just worth saying that in some cases they can flicker for a few days and even go off but then right themselves - I had a few flickering days with mine then it was fine ( that was in Oct last year)

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by Evie

I think it is just worth saying that in some cases they can flicker for a few days and even go off but then right themselves - I had a few flickering days with mine then it was fine ( that was in Oct last year)

Since I'd only used my 2 new bulbs a couple of days in all, I've decided to give them another go. I've nothing to compare the flickering to as I've not used Megarays before so I'm not sure how much flicker the faulty ones actually have or what the normal ones should be like.

I got my bulbs 2 days apart and while the first one was flickering and the second one wasn't, the second one has now started to flicker slightly (I had only used it for 1 day previous to today).

The flickering on both bulbs is noticeable but slight and not continuous, they can go ten minutes or more without a flicker at all. The flicker on my first bulb is noticeable most on the light on the ground, it's like animated patterns on the slate whereas my other one isn't like that.

I will keep them going to see if the flicker does go away. It would be much less hassle if that was the case