Atreum Lights - Meanwell Drivers; how long do they last?

SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
Years ago I bought 6 boards from Atreum + 300w meanwell driver. Used this setup for veg, lasted almost 3 years before it started having issues w/ the ballast. Then I bought the ARA-41 light bar kit w/ the XLG 240 back in 2021 and now im having issues with this driver about 3 years later again...

Is it normal for these drivers to fail in such a short period of time?
 
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J

Jonesfamily7715

Well-Known Member
I have atrium boards 144 diode 4000k that have lm301b printed on them. Lies they are not lm301b and I know for sure because the voltages dont match.
 
F

Frankindank

Member
Jonesfamily7715 said:
I have atrium boards 144 diode 4000k that have lm301b printed on them. Lies they are not lm301b and I know for sure because the voltages dont match.
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When someone makes a claim like such, and claims some form of data...you should show the data that supports said claim.
it's just a standard practice one makign claims should do.
Not saying what your attempting to say is true or false...Just that you made a claim about a data discrepancy and haven't shown any.
 
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coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Never used the atriums , but used lots of meanwells.
Only had one die and that was about two years in.
I'd say the rest are close to warranty age or past it.

So I'd say it's not normal for genuine meanwell drivers to die so soon.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the replies. Both drivers were used for veg, and usually ran at 50% power, so i expected a lot longer life out of both. I emailed Atreum, doubt they will be of any help but we will see.
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
SleepyHead336 said:
Thanks for the replies. Both drivers were used for veg, and usually ran at 50% power, so i expected a lot longer life out of both. I emailed Atreum, doubt they will be of any help but we will see.
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That is unusual, what issues are you seeing? Atrium has 3 year warranty, you might still be covered.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
1212ham said:
That is unusual, what issues are you seeing? Atrium has 3 year warranty, you might still be covered.
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Problems are lights flickering constantly, dimmer and voltage/current switch not working and drivers running extremely hot even at the lowest power settings. Both were used indoor with avg temps in room at 70-80F. And both were never ran at full power.

First time i contacted Atreum about the HLG320 was only about 2-3years after purchase, Atremum kept insisting its something else wrong and not the driver and I sort of gave up on help and ended up ordering the ARA41 kit(which is a great kit) But now looking back, i was definitly within warranty and they should of just swapped the HLG320 driver. Im guessing they gave me the run around because they had no more stock of the HLG320.

The XLG240 is definitly still within the warranty period. Ive contacted both Atreum and Meanwell direct so its just a waiting game now. Reguardless of what the outcome is, I think im going to stick with HLG lights for the future. I have another setup running 2 of their diablo boards that have been working without issues.
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
SleepyHead336 said:
Problems are lights flickering constantly, dimmer and voltage/current switch not working and drivers running extremely hot even at the lowest power settings. Both were used indoor with avg temps in room at 70-80F. And both were never ran at full power.

First time i contacted Atreum about the HLG320 was only about 2-3years after purchase, Atremum kept insisting its something else wrong and not the driver and I sort of gave up on help and ended up ordering the ARA41 kit(which is a great kit) But now looking back, i was definitly within warranty and they should of just swapped the HLG320 driver. Im guessing they gave me the run around because they had no more stock of the HLG320.

The XLG240 is definitly still within the warranty period. Ive contacted both Atreum and Meanwell direct so its just a waiting game now. Reguardless of what the outcome is, I think im going to stick with HLG lights for the future. I have another setup running 2 of their diablo boards that have been working without issues.
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The flickering is likely a failing dimmer. You can test by disconnecting one (or both) of the dimmer leads from the driver, that should give full power with no flicker. Please let us know how things work out.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
1212ham said:
The flickering is likely a failing dimmer. You can test by disconnecting one of the dimmer leads from the driver, that should give full power with no flicker. Please let us know how things work out.
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Thats actually the first thing I did for the XLG240; disconnected dimmer and ran full power. output was still the same, and still had flickering. First time i had issues with the HLG320 i tested the output with a DMM and voltage was jumping all over the place reguardless of the Voltage or current setting, even recorded this and sent Atreum a video. At the time it was my main veg light so i kinda rushed bought the ARA41 kit. Which i guess was stupid on my part.

Didnt bother checking the XLG with a meter because its having the same exact issues as the HLG320.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
Jonesfamily7715 said:
Xlg drivers are a grade lower than the hlg series, they are less efficient, run hotter, and come with a 5 year warranty vs a 7 year on the HLG. But they are cheaper, I think the biggest xlg model is a 320 watt
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Thought i responded to this, but thanks thats good to know. Im within the warranty period for both drivers, hopefully i can get them swapped/fixed soon.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
cdgmoney250 said:
I’ve had a few meanwell drivers quit on me within 3-5 years. HLG-120H-C1400B & HLG-320H-C1050B. About a 20% failure rate with those drivers in that timespan from my personal experience with them.
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Intresting, ive always read they were so reliable. I guess running them 18/6 for years is bound to give em issues. The thing that bugs me is that these drivers were never pushed hard and never at full output. Figure it was suppose to last a lot longer when used like this.
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
HLG > XLG, digikey > alibaba sourced.

Sometimes theres been indications that a specific batch of drivers been more prone to fail, i believe to remember a bunch of 600w 48V drivers being fail prone.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
Rocket Soul said:
HLG > XLG, digikey > alibaba sourced.

Sometimes theres been indications that a specific batch of drivers been more prone to fail, i believe to remember a bunch of 600w 48V drivers being fail prone.
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Thanks, ill keep that in mind for future purchases. Wish their was some kind of list on which batches are problematic.
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
So it's been about 5 days, since i contacted Atreum and the only email they sent was a request to see a video. I replied that i already did that for the HLG320 and now im having the same issues with the 2nd purchase from them. Zero reply...yet...
 
SleepyHead336

SleepyHead336

Well-Known Member
Got a chance to talk to Meanwell direct, and they believe it's a problem with the lights causing issues with the drivers. They said both drivers should not have issues in such short period of time esp the HLG series. However they cant help with any warranty claims because it has to be done through the company it was bought from. So if anyone from Atreum is reading this, please hit me up.
 
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