drwayne
07-25-2011, 05:14 PM
For those not on Castle's email lists .... this arrived todays mail.
c+p below
Global product recall notice
ICE HV 120
July 25, 2011
Hello all,
While Castle takes all controller failures seriously, many have felt that our response to the incidences of failures in our Phoenix Ice 120HV was taking too long. We didn't make any official statements as we couldn't identify any particular pattern or cause for the failures. Our Repair Dept. keeps track of our returns - for any reason -- and the returns of the 120HV were actually very low; less than 3%. We generally see more than that rate of return just from crash damage unrelated to the controllers. Given that we've produced more than 10,000 of these controllers, a low percentage of failure still results in a lot of upset customers.
We've recently determined that some, again some, setups stress particular components in a way that causes the controllers to fail instantly. The failure mode allows a complete short circuit to occur. Our controllers are designed to carry high currents with as little resistance as possible. This is advantageous when the controllers are operating properly, but this leads to extreme currents and heat when the controllers fail. As the ICE controllers are encapsulated in metal heatsinks, this heat is further concentrated such that physical injuries or property damage may occur.
Our engineers have tested a hardware modification that greatly reduces the risk of this particular failure. We do not recommend using Phoenix Ice 12HV controllers until they have been modified to this new standard.
Please return any 120HV controllers that you may have for one that has this modification. There will be no charge for this exchange.
Please advise anyone using a 120HV controller of this notice.
REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE
Click this link (http://www.mmsend3.com/link.cfm?r=195595172&sid=14754823&m=1471388&u=CASTLE&j=6513366&s=http://www.castlecreations.com/support/service_advisory/sa1102-phoenixicehv120.html) and follow the directions to process your return.
North American customers please ship to Castle in Kansas via a traceable delivery service:
CASTLE CREATIONS, INC
120HV SERVICE / Service Department
540 N.ROGERS RD.
OLATHE, KS 66062
European customers may return their controllers via a traceable delivery service to our new European repair center:
CASTLE CREATIONS EUROPE BVBA
120HV SERVICE
GEELSEWEG 80
2250 OLEN
BELGIUM
Please be sure to include a copy of the order confirmation in your package.
NOTE: For purposes of fast turnaround, you will be sent another Phoenix Ice HV 120 controller. Remove all connectors, etc. from your ESC before shipping as they will not be returned with your replacement controller.
Our Technical Support and Repair staff do not have any additional information, calling them will only lead to additional frustration for all involved. We will advise you via email of the expected shipment date for your return.
We apologize for any problems this matter may have caused, and we hope that our candor and willingness to repair these controllers will help maintain your trust in our products and service.
Thanks,
Team Castle
c+p below
Global product recall notice
ICE HV 120
July 25, 2011
Hello all,
While Castle takes all controller failures seriously, many have felt that our response to the incidences of failures in our Phoenix Ice 120HV was taking too long. We didn't make any official statements as we couldn't identify any particular pattern or cause for the failures. Our Repair Dept. keeps track of our returns - for any reason -- and the returns of the 120HV were actually very low; less than 3%. We generally see more than that rate of return just from crash damage unrelated to the controllers. Given that we've produced more than 10,000 of these controllers, a low percentage of failure still results in a lot of upset customers.
We've recently determined that some, again some, setups stress particular components in a way that causes the controllers to fail instantly. The failure mode allows a complete short circuit to occur. Our controllers are designed to carry high currents with as little resistance as possible. This is advantageous when the controllers are operating properly, but this leads to extreme currents and heat when the controllers fail. As the ICE controllers are encapsulated in metal heatsinks, this heat is further concentrated such that physical injuries or property damage may occur.
Our engineers have tested a hardware modification that greatly reduces the risk of this particular failure. We do not recommend using Phoenix Ice 12HV controllers until they have been modified to this new standard.
Please return any 120HV controllers that you may have for one that has this modification. There will be no charge for this exchange.
Please advise anyone using a 120HV controller of this notice.
REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE
Click this link (http://www.mmsend3.com/link.cfm?r=195595172&sid=14754823&m=1471388&u=CASTLE&j=6513366&s=http://www.castlecreations.com/support/service_advisory/sa1102-phoenixicehv120.html) and follow the directions to process your return.
North American customers please ship to Castle in Kansas via a traceable delivery service:
CASTLE CREATIONS, INC
120HV SERVICE / Service Department
540 N.ROGERS RD.
OLATHE, KS 66062
European customers may return their controllers via a traceable delivery service to our new European repair center:
CASTLE CREATIONS EUROPE BVBA
120HV SERVICE
GEELSEWEG 80
2250 OLEN
BELGIUM
Please be sure to include a copy of the order confirmation in your package.
NOTE: For purposes of fast turnaround, you will be sent another Phoenix Ice HV 120 controller. Remove all connectors, etc. from your ESC before shipping as they will not be returned with your replacement controller.
Our Technical Support and Repair staff do not have any additional information, calling them will only lead to additional frustration for all involved. We will advise you via email of the expected shipment date for your return.
We apologize for any problems this matter may have caused, and we hope that our candor and willingness to repair these controllers will help maintain your trust in our products and service.
Thanks,
Team Castle