**Mega Ray Issues** / Megaray RECALL

[Sag]

Hey all just and update on my Reptile UV fiasco!!

Just heard from Reptile UV, 2:14pm Friday Feb 11, 2011. A young adult male named Mike called, Bob had previously told me that's his son anyway, he said that I had left a "couple" of messages and he wanted to find out what they could do for me.

I told him that I was not sent what I ordered, no Rep-Cal and a 130 watt bulb not a 100 bulb. Also that the 130 watt bulb had a spray on coating that looked as though it had to be done twice and was scratched and could be seen through.

He told me that the 130 watt was the only way the manufacturer was able to make the bulb provide the UV to their specs temporarily until they could get things fixed. I advised him that I was told by both Bob and Jimmy that the new fixed bulbs were through customs and I was being sent one. I also told him the wattage of 130 was not going to work for my set up which is why I ordered 100 watt. That it was unacceptable to give me something that I did not order and to not even send my entire order. That I as a customer should not have to chase them around for over 2 mths and keep being told two different things. At one point he even tried to tell me that all of that was before his time and I quickly pointed out that no it was not, I had even spoken to him before, he then stumbled and said something along the line of "ah your right you did but that was after your order was made and you were told you were getting the new bulb".

I simple said "Listen i just want my money back, this is ridiculous, and unprofessional, no company should run like that". I added in that the product did not even look as though it was packaged as a professional product and there were no usage instructions. He stated I would have "my money refunded fully and that because they had caused me so much trouble, they would like to send me one of the new bulbs that is properly packaged and my Rep-Cal". I told him that was fine but I better get my money back and that I would test the new bulb and if everything was fine then I would not go as far as to start a thread on the BOI about them and that they are not a trustable company.

At this point I am doing just what I told Mike I would do. I am awaiting a tracking number, if and when I get one, I will track it to see if it is a valid one not just one to appease me. I am also awaiting the email money transfer of funds back to me. Provided this go well, no call to the BBB, provided it does not there will be a claim filed with them and all of the information I have been posting here will be copied to the BOI (Board of Inquiry on Fauna Classifieds) for other reptile owners to know to stay far far away!

I am also going to see if I can get it tested if it arrives so that I can know if it is safe, if I do get it and get it tested I will let you know what the results are.

 

[lauraj1055]

Let me know how it goes.. Mine is supposed to be in on 2/15. I called once, and never got a return call, and was hoping they just lost my order, but I guess not. So we will see what the bulb is like when I get it. I guess I will have to purchase my own UVB meter.

 

[isearch12]

Keep us posted on how your dragon does with this Mega Ray. I would like to know, overall, if they are a better bulb than they were in late 09 and early 10.

Well its been a week with the new Megaray and all is well. Temps seemed a little warmer so when the Mega goes on one of her other support lights goes off. Overall Lelu my dragon likes her new light so far and shows no eyestrain. The light was burnt in for 6 hours before putting it on her viv. I just wish I had a uv meter to test the output of the new bulb.

 

[isearch12]

Keep us posted on how your dragon does with this Mega Ray. I would like to know, overall, if they are a better bulb than they were in late 09 and early 10.

Well its been a week with the new Megaray and all is well. Temps seemed a little warmer so when the Mega goes on one of her other support lights goes off. Overall Lelu my dragon likes her new light so far and shows no eyestrain. The light was burnt in for 6 hours before putting it on her viv. I just wish I had a uv meter to test the output of the new bulb.

 

[boxers]

Sag, that picture looks like the one we bought in 09 that blew out after two months use. It smelled awful when we first turned it on as well, I freaked out and had to ventilate the whole room in a panic cos I thought we were all going to die from toxic fumes.

I ordered my bulb on 12/29. UPS received information on my package, but not the package itself. I opened a dispute through Paypal, stating that I was getting really fed up cos it'd been almost a month and that this had happened to me before. The last time, when I did that, they hurried up and sent my bulb.
This time, they did not. I had to turn my dispute into a claim and I was refunded my money today, 2/17. So now I can finally get a new fixture and a reptisun 10.0 for the same amount of money I would have wasted on that piece of junk. NEVER AGAIN....

As just a "normal" person with no testing supplies or extensive study, I highly advise everyone to stay away from this product. (As do the people who DO have testing supplies and are very knowledgeable in this subject!)They've officially ruined themselves in my book. Which is a shame cos they were once wonderful. I used to recommend them constantly to customers (I work at a Petsmart). I made sure to specify all this to them in my dispute/claim, I only hope they read it. How they made it all, and totally blew it.

 

[lauraj1055]

I got mine last week, and still have not used it yet, as it doesn't output the heat that my TREX Active does... I got a repti sun 10.0 and just worry because I hope my baby goes under it. It's on one end of the tank, and his basking spot is on the other end for his heat... I might just purchase another TREX Active so I get the heat and the UVB all at once... I guess I should just return the MEGA Ray? So ticked off as it was highly recommended at the time the breeder before all this started..

 

[isearch12]

I got mine last week, and still have not used it yet, as it doesn't output the heat that my TREX Active does.....

Did you get the externally ballast (eb) bulb? Because the Mega-Ray self ballasted (sb) bulb does put out heat along with the uv light. It should be similar to to heat output of the TREX as long as they are the same wattage.

 

[lauraj1055]

I got the 100watt one that is similar to the trex. i only left it on for 20 mins so maybe I need to leave it on longer to get the full heat from it? I'll try that tomorrow.

 

[beardie parents]

From all I heard, the newest T-rex's ( have one from almost 2 years ago) are about the same quality as the problem Mega Ray's from last fall (09/10). Bob Mac and company is trying to get the mega ray's back to the good quality they were before. I do understand everyone's frustration with their customer (lack of sometimes) service. The company, i believe, wants to do what's right but they've been over inundated with people wanting their bulbs and problems that crop up. We had a problem with the ballasts that go along with the 60 watt eb mega we bought last spring. This was the second time the one ballast quit. The first time it took from June 30 to after September 1st to get the ballast back. The second time it only took about one month. I don't know what caused the problem with the ballasts as one still works and the second one I had to have replaced 2 times.

Please be patient with them, I know it isn't easy, we are used to getting what we want now and when the health of our beloved little girls/boys, we need it now. I'm lucky, the original t-rex's are still putting out enough uvb and we need them for the extra heat this winter. We live in a warmer climate than most of you do and we got down to 0f, 1f a couple of weeks ago, and no snow to make the extreme cold worthwhile. I sincerely hope we don't go back to that cold again. Cold to us is 40f. Anyway, we have the opportunity to take our girls outside for real sun when it's warm enough, for the majority of the winter. We can even put them in our window with the window open so they get several hours of real sun. We couldn't use the 60 watt eb set up this winter as most of the time, it was soo cold and we couldn't get the temps correct with the bulbs we had. We will get them set up soon, we never know how cold it will get before Easter down here. We even had snow one Easter Sunday (1999).

Anyway, I'm sure that reptileuv will get things back to normal soon. I have faith in them, but just know you have to sometimes keep at them to get what you need.

 

[beardie parents]

I got the 100watt one that is similar to the trex. i only left it on for 20 mins so maybe I need to leave it on longer to get the full heat from it? I'll try that tomorrow.

I've heard the Mega ray 100 watt sb bulbs get hotter than the T-rex. That's the reason we got the 60 watt setup as the t-rex was getting to 120 in our girls' homes in the middle of the day in the summer time. I think you should leave it on longer, unless the room your kids are in is cold.

 

[lauraj1055]

It's about 70 degrees in the room he is in.. I thought it was really odd too and everyone seems to think it's weird that it's not running that hot. I had tried a Powersun and I say it runs equal to that, I could never get the basking spot hot with the Powersun, so I returned it. I thought the Mega Ray would heat up a lot more than it does, but like I said I will try it again tomorrow for an hour and see how that does.

 

[nordica]

Well it sounds as if I'm just another in a long line of upset or even angry customers.

I had ordered my original Mega Ray back in July/August. I placed an order for the 100 watt SB MVB, a heat emitter, plus some supplements. Well, the 100 watt had been on back-order, so after communicating with the company, I agreed to change my order to a 160 watt, and then place a separate order for the 100 watt which I was told would be sent to me when the new shipments came in. Shortly afterward, I realized that the 160 watt was going to be too strong for my purposes (I was building a custom enclosure) as well as the heat emitter, so I returned what I didn't need, following their return policy instructions TO THE LETTER.

This was back in August.

According to the tracking number I had (and STILL have), the return package had been received. Weeks went by, and I had not gotten my refund or heard back from them. I contacted them, but never heard back. More weeks went by, and I received an email stating that "my order was ready for shipment" and saw that my credit card had been charged. I'm assuming that this was for that separate order for the 100 watt bulb that I had placed. Well, the package was never sent, and after a few months, the tracking number I had been email was defaulted as UPS stated they had never gotten the merchandise to go with the label that had been printed out.

I contacted Mega Ray again, and once again, never received a reply.

So now they have my money for TWO bulbs (plus for the retuned the heat emitter). I just don't know what to do beyond contacting them a third time.

I don't care how fantastic a product is supposed to be... if this is how the company treats their customers, well, simply put, they can just bugger off (that's about as "clean" as I can say, considering what I WANT to say about them... ).

 

[Mrkngpen]

I have been using Megaray bulbs since I got my beardie Pheeny, over four years ago. They were terrific until these issues started in the last year or so. I really hope they can get things straightened out soon.

I ordered two bulbs in October 2010. Once was needed for a sick animal, so it was sent in November and I don't know how that bulb has fared. The other was shipped to me 12/21/10. It blew out 2/15/10 after less than two months of use. I called Jimmy's number and got in touch with Brenda, the shipping manager. She shipped me out a replacement right away. The new bulb that I was just sent came in a retail looking box, labeled "Solar Raptor" which I have never seen before. Just so everyone knows, every bulb I have received in the last four years (4-5 bulbs) has come in the plain cardboard box with just a sticker label, as shown in Sag's pics a page back. Anyway, I just started using this new "Solar Raptor" SB 100w bulb today and it has only burned in for a few hours but it's only getting up to 90* at a 12" distance. All my previous megarays have reached around 100* at the same distance. I am really hoping it burns in and warms up or else I'm going to need a different bulb.

I'm also concerned about what Drache stated about not using the recently shipped bulbs because they are from China and could be dangerous.

 

[lilacdragon]

Hello, I'm Frances, the author of UV Guide UK.
Tracie sent me an email alerting me to this thread about a week ago, so I've been following it since then.

I haven't written before, because I didn't want to post until I had some first hand knowledge....I'm waiting for a sample of the new "Solar Raptor MegaRay". I've been promised one by ReptileUV but I've not seen one at all, not even a prototype, so I don't even know the proper name yet.

What I do know is that these are the result of some sort of merger or partnership or trade agreement (I'm afraid I don't know which) between ReptileUV and Econlux Solar Raptor, a small reptile lighting subsidiary of a German lamp distributing company.
It is true that Solar Raptor lamps are imported from China, but it is also true that they use a glass which filters out harmful short-wavelength UVB and UVC (I have personally tested 2010 versions of most of the German Solar Raptor products) and they are all very well aware of the risk those wavelengths pose (ReptileUV, as we know, nearly went to the wall because of it, last year) so I am certain these lamps will not be hazardous in that way.

As regards the temperature drop... I am only guessing, here, but the Solar Raptor SB mercury vapour lamp I tested last summer - although labelled as a "flood" - actually had a narrow beam, creating a small but hot "hotspot" right underneath it, (with heat, light and UV) and outside of that small area, it remained relatively cool. As you know, that is not ideal for a basking lamp; the warm basking zone and UV zone should include the whole body of the reptile.
In several of his posts on various forums, Bob MacCargar of ReptileUV has claimed that they have "redesigned" the Raptor lamp with a much wider beam. This should make a far better UVB lamp - I hope it is true, and I'm looking forward to testing it, to see....

But the down side to widening the beam is that, inevitably, you spread out, and dilute, the UVB, light ...and heat.
I'm not that much surprised that it's impossible to get 100F with only a 100 watt flood mercury vapour lamp at 14 - 15" distance.
When testing prototypes for another company, here in the UK, I actually suggested that they include in their Instruction Leaflet full details of how to set up a twin-lamp system for low-wattage mercury vapour lamps (100W is the lowest you can make an SB merc vapour). You need to hang a medium-wattage halogen or ordinary tungsten household or basking lamp alongside the mercury vapour lamp, so its light and heat overlaps the mercury vapour beam, creating one huge basking zone like a patch of golden sunlight. This ordinary lamp should be on a dimming thermostat or rheostat, and the joy of this is that you now have complete control of the temperature of your basking zone; in cold weather you can turn up the lamp; in hot weather it can go off altogether, as a 10F rise in room temperature will bring your 90F to 100F easily.
This is how I use mercury vapour lamps in my set-ups... I can definitely recommend it.

Please try out your new "Raptor" lamps and tell us what you find, post photos and (if you have a UVB meter) post up the readings you see.
I am hoping my samples will arrive soon, and I'll be able to start testing them right away.

Best wishes
Frances

 

[Mrkngpen]

Thank you very much for the info and the suggestion of adding a household bulb to up the heat.

Can you recommend a brand of UV meter that is reliable and affordable? Or an online place to buy? I have a temp gun but I'm thinking of investing in a UV meter. Thanks again.