Issues with Edison Price track fixtures?

Hi All,

Not a new member here, but this is my first post! I am an exhibition coordinator for the School of Visual Arts, where we install and remove 50 exhibitions, both student and professional, across 3 locations each year. At one of our locations we have an Edison Price lighting system which we have been having some issues with.
I was wondering if anyone else has experience with Edison Price's Artima 38 0 fixtures (here is a link: http://www.epl.com/guide_page.cfm?id...5B889633A85146 )
We have been having 2 major issues and a host of minor issues with these fixtures. I am going to try to describe the operation of these fixtures, forgive my description, it is not easy to put into words. I will try to post some illustrative pictures when I can, but we don't use them at this location so I don't have any handy right now.

#1 is that after repeated uses the tension clips that hold the fixtures into the tracks have been wearing out after repeated use (these fixtures are about 2 years old). If you are not familiar with the way these work, to install or remove the fixture from the track you manually squeeze these two clips, which pulls a small tab out of the track which releases the fixture.You then pull (or push) the track adapter out of the track. There are two clips on each end of the track adapter, on one end the clip surrounds the contacts for the track, on the other there is nothing between them. The side without the contacts is where we are seeing problems, since there is nothing in-between either side of the tension clips to keep them spread apart, after repeated uses they lose their memory and become pinched together. We've tried bending them back, but once they've been squeezed together they don't hold their shape anymore, allowing for the possibility for the fixture to actually fall out of the track (which has happened once while my predecessor was performing an install).

#2 is that the attachment between the yoke and the light shield (allowing for vertical rotation of the lamp) has been failing. The yoke attaches to a knuckle and there is a small hex screw that keeps the yoke on the knuckle through tension. The hex screw can be loosened to allow for rotation of the lamp. The problem we have is that on some of the fixtures the yoke slips off the knuckle no matter how much the hex screw is tightened. If there was a lip of a groove in the knuckle this wouldn't be a problem but since the knuckle is just a straight aluminum post the yoke can slip off of the knuckle. This isn't a big safety issue as the light shield is riveted on the other side, but obviously not how the fixtures are meant to function.

I came into this situation after these fixtures had been installed for a year and already had these problems. I don't know the exact circumstances under which they first started to appear, but I've been having problems with them from day 1. I am currently in discussion with our local rep for E.P. and he is saying that these are not problems he has heard about from any of his other clients. It could simply be that our situation exposes these fixtures to a higher amount of "abuse" (although I hate to use that word since I always do my best to handle them carefully) than normal.

Has anyone else experienced any of these issues?

Hi,
I noticed that you weren't deluged in responses so I put the question on the PACCIN listserve (to join - go to the front page and click on the "ListServe" tab at the top). Right of the bat the following was sent.

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Ashley,
I use the same EPL fixtures my issue with them is just the opposite. The track spacing is so tight that I have an oval dowel that I put in the track and twist to pry open as to release the fixtures.
The yokes tension do sometimes get loose which is a drag not easy to tighten (sometimes we just give up). Not a satisfactory solution but sometimes I resort to a wedge / shim to keep the fixture head into position.
The gallery that these fixtures are used in is a rotating exhibition space four exhibits a year so for almost nine years without much failure or wearing out.
My experience is that light fixture manufactures are always trying to find ways to cut their cost. Which results in plastic parts that were once metal or thinner gauge, I am not aware of Edison Price doing this but it would be interesting to compare older fixtures with the new ones.
Mark Rohling
Exhibition Designer / Chief Preparator

Ashley, Thanks for posting this to the listserve.
I've also used the shim solution on the track heads in situations where we have to use all of our fixtures for an exhibition. I'm curious if there are any other responses.

BTW I am on the listserve, but for some reason my webmail client at work won't display all of the topics posted to it, even when I try downloading the full message I can't see them (although at home when I view the emails through mac mail I can read the listserve with no problems) so its easier for me to use the forums, unfortunately it seems all the action is on the listserve!