Jbj K2 Caught Fire!!!!!

[errattiq]

As the title states. I've had the light for about a year (70 watt HQI). I had my weekend drill this weekend with the Army, and I get a frantic call from my fiancee back home. There was a strong smell of plastic burning in the house. We couldn't figure it out at first but then I heard her scream and I heard a zapping sound coming from over the phone!!! She yells and tells me its the plug coming out of the ballast into the light fixture itself. It was literally frying. She saw it spark up and quickly went to remove the plug from the ballast. She ended up burning one of her fingers pretty good. The unit got so hot one of the metal prongs from the plug melted into the ballast believe it or not!!... The thick black wire insulation is all melted and the plug itself is badly burned. I've never had a problem with the light, came on and off everyday on a timer, ballast was remote mounted off the floor (also on a surge protector). I'm pissed because the internal fuse never blew!!! What the hell, thank God she was home because I would literally have no home right now. I'm calling JBJ tommorow, that wasn't my fault, that was definitely a manufacturer's defect. I'm still soooo aggravated abouth this whole situation, has anyone experienced something similar? If so any tips as to what i should do next? I was even thinking along the lines of a lawsuit... but i don't know if I have a case.... any thoughts??
-Josh

 

[premilove]

k-2's are horrible. i went thru 3 in a matter of a month. its not worth it. def file a lawsuit if you can man. glad to here no one is seriously hurt. one day i came home and saw my k-2 floating in my tank. i was so lucky it wasnt on..good luck with everything

 

[stanlalee]

I dont see the point in a law suite because you can only recover your losses and your fiance perhaps could get medical bills and a little bit for pain and suffering but your lawyer fee's are going to be more than she'll get for some finger burns. I've only had two JBJ products (formosa pc fixture and auto top off) and they've worked flawlessly but it does sound like a manufacturers defect, perhaps you can get SOMETHING besides a replacement for your troubles.

 

[fatcat]

I had a JBJ nano cube i hated it, Both the cooling fans burnt out the stock pump burnt out and the back chambers are so small the when i stuck my had in the back to grab somthing at the bottem it broke so i had to re-silicon it.

 

[stdreb27]

I googled it there is all kinds of problems hits to failures...

 

[socal57che]

Your GFCI didn't trip?
Glad someone was home to catch it before it got out of hand.

 

[lion_crazz]

Glad to hear everyone is okay and you did not lose your home.
I have not heard of problems with the K-2. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[zanoshanox]

oh man...mine just randomly stopped working about a week ago.
I must saY, this is THE WORST metal halide fixture available today. (even odyssey is better product IMo)
JBJ has really let me down.
glad no one was hurt though

 

[nwdyr]

Here is my JBJ 24gal nano cube fire hazard

I live alone , thank God I was home the night it happened!!!! Same thing , smelled something burning and

Would Love to get involved in a class action lawsuit! My e-mail is nwdyr@aol.com Mine was only 9mo's old

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by zanoshanox
http:///forum/post/2867756
oh man...mine just randomly stopped working about a week ago.
I must saY, this is THE WORST metal halide fixture available today. (even odyssey is better product IMo)
JBJ has really let me down.
glad no one was hurt though
I had an odysea fixture that did the same thing, but I caught it before any damage ensued.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by nwdyr
http:///forum/post/2867873
Would Love to get involved in a class action lawsuit! My e-mail is nwdyr@aol.com Mine was only 9mo's old
you arent going to get anything for "potential" hazzards. you have to suffer a loss. you arent getting any money for a burnt cord. without suffering any real financial loss, major or significant future debilitating injury or pain and suffering you have nothing to sue for besides a refund. there's no profit in that for a law firm. Besides class action lawsuits dont do anything but make lawfirms rich while you get chump change among yourselfs after splitting your 60% 50 ways.

 

[scrombus2]

First, I'm glad there was someone home to catch this issue before it got worse. That said, it looks like the problem was caused by an arcing issue in the connector...like it wasn't plugged together all the way.This could be user-related, or a faulty connector, one that wasn't molded correctly. Either way, I personally don't think a lawsuit will get you anywhere. Definitely contact JBJ and demand a replacement, as that's all you're likely entitled to under their warranty. Save the money you would have spent filing a lawsuit and buy a better quality lighting system.

 

[errattiq]

thanks for the replies everyone! Looks like the lawsuit is out of the question. It just pisses me off that they'll get away with this garbage merely because we were able to catch it, like it takes them off the hook for something. I'm calling them today, and nwdyr i'm going to mention your case too, and ask if all their equipment is a fire hazard waiting to happen. I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by errattiq
http:///forum/post/2869702
thanks for the replies everyone! Looks like the lawsuit is out of the question. It just pisses me off that they'll get away with this garbage merely because we were able to catch it, like it takes them off the hook for something. I'm calling them today, and nwdyr i'm going to mention your case too, and ask if all their equipment is a fire hazard waiting to happen. I'll let you all know how it goes.
please do. if they are having cord issues there are alot of JBJ products out there. Like stated I have two myself. fingers cross they never catch a fire. I wonder if any of these products are UL listed?

 

[scsinet]

Wow... the connectors on those K2 fixtures are IEC 320 C13/14. They are rated for 10 amps minimum and usually carry UL/CSA certifications. A 150w halide lamp uses less than 2 amps of current to the lamp.
In other words... it shouldn't have burned up like that. I can tell you that if an IEC connector is not fully seated, they can arc internally like crazy which will burn them up. I wonder if yours was not fully seated.