Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions algonquins turned yellow

i am in my second year with a pair of algonquins and i have always been impressed with the sound of them for outdoor speakers but within months of getting them they started turning yellow. at first it was uneven so it was really noticable but over time they got evenly yellow. is there anything i can do about this? Can these be painted? is this typical?

greg

1-866-244-8796


It's a toll free number with help standing by 7 days a week, they'll be happy to remedy the issue.

I'd call Axiom and see what they say, I'm sure they would like this type of feedback and possibly relook at mfg process.

Probably need to go a little easy on the Lowry's.

i figured it was out of warrantee so i didn't call. you are probably right though. they seem like a really good company so maybe they would do something. i will call them. it can't hurt.

greg

It's a 5-year warranty (at least according to the algonquins webpage).

Axiom has a 5 year warranty on the speakers, you'll be taken care of.

Welcome!

wow. i figured it was a year. thanks.

greg

i just talked to them and they are going to look at this thread and call back. 7pm on saturday and they are looking at my pictures online while i am talking to them. that is pretty impressive. the only other company i know that is that customer focused is weber grill.

greg

Greg, I just noticed the rust on the hex head screws that hold the drivers in place ... what is your environment like? Are you around salt water?

Good catch Rick, that is interesting. I would assume the outdoor speakers would be using some type of non-rust metal.

Good eye Rick. They would work on my wheelchair, but not so much if attached to scuba gear

Those are going to be my next speakers from Axiom. One of the guys I work with lives in a fly-in community and has a pair of the Algonquins on his back patio which opens up to a rather large area for his huge hanger and paved taxi way out to the airstrip, he says he'll be down in the hanger and the speakers are unbelievably clear and carries a lot of bass ... "Amazing!" he states.

That contrast in colours reminds me of nicotine stains on a white wall. I wonder if a diluted mixture of bleach (with water) applied to the cabinet with a towel would get rid of the discolouration? That might be harmful to the speaker though.


I am curious to what type of weather/outdoor environment is causing this.

Harsh I would think, but then again his user name is indygreg.

My guess is the exposure of UV rays from direct sunlight over time turned the white cabinet yellow.

This indeed looks like sun exposure (note the still white outline as light would have been blocked by the grille plastic).

UV energy is very high intensity. Short of a metal surface (and even that is susceptible in a different way), every material will exhibit some type of change being exposed to UV light on a daily basis.
Such is the function of energy.

Yes indeed it does. I just noticed that all of the pictures on the Algonquin's page show them being used in a shaded environment and I'm betting it's for this reason.

Although it does state on the page that they are "Painted with automotive-tough paint and topped with an extremely resilient clear coating of ultraviolet ray inhibitor that prevents sun damage to the speaker"

You can tell those of us that live in moist salty environments. I noticed that as well and was pretty shocked. Perhaps it is a downside to designing outdoor speakers in Canada, but in coastal regions rust like that is a big red flag.

I use Niles outdoor speakers right now, but need an additional pair and was thinking about the Axioms. But my Niles have been hanging outside now for over 8 years, and there is no rust to be found. Exterior finish is more roughed up than when new (Sun etc), but sound is consistent and no rust to be found. Axiom needs to get this squared away. I don't doubt the sound is up to par.

Stainless machine screws should probably be used in an outdoor environment, due to salt/humidity conditions.

I don't remember the number any more, but there is a stainless spec'ed for corosive environments.

Stainless does not "rust" as you think of regular steel rusting with a red oxide on the surface that flakes off. If you see red rust it is probably due to some iron particles that have contaminated the surface of the stainless steel and it is these iron particles that are rusting. 304 and 316 are spec'ed for corosive environments.

Stainless actually forms a very thin layer of chromium oxide on the surface. This layer can still be polished, but prevents further oxidation.

Though this layer will not form a protective barrier if chromium/iron steel is submerged in water, and it will rust in this state.

Being in the plastics industry, this is usually caused by not enough UV inhibitor in the formulation. Accelerated environmental aging studies usually bring this to light fairly quickly. The other thing that happens with most organic things (plastics included) is oxidation. If the plastic used here was compounded without it's UV and anti-oxidation package, or not enough of it, that could explain the results seen. Unfortunately this process (compounding) happens well before the plastic pellets get to the injection molder Axiom uses for their speaker housings.


Krylon makes a line of paint for plastics, but this is probably where the warranty would come in to play first.

Scott

no salt water. we are landlocked in indiana and the speakers are under a retractable awning much of the time.

greg

my environment is fairly protected. you can see the two speakers under my pergola in the first pic. for a few months they were in the sun full time and turned very quickly yellow and you could tell from the pattern that it was from the sun. after a few months we put a retractable awning system into the pergola and they are under cover much of the time as seen in the second picture. the pool has an automated cover which is closed 95% of the time and the pool equipment is > 100 ft away.

greg

Great setup Greg, you and Steve must live in the same neighborhood. I'm anxious to hear what Axiom says about the discoloring..

Beautiful home. Have you had any further communication with Axiom?

Looks great Greg! Where do you live (I live in Fishers). Not to thread crap, but I was considering getting a retractable awning. Do you have any web links for what you have?

Regards,
Steve

Me too. After all those years living in Florida, I experienced all too much corrosion. I have to say, that type of "black" hardware will rust anywhere there's moisture. I had assumed when Axiom released the Algonquins......they had stainless hardware.

I generously offered to test them in a seaside environment.
See this all could have been avoided if only they gave me free speakers.

LOL !!!!!!!

Do you have yellow paint buckets that are now mysteriously empty and kids with guilty smiles on their face?

i really like these awnings i got. they are from shadetree http://www.shadetreecanopies.com/. most retractable awnings look kind of temporary to me but these are just a track that you install into a structure like a pergola. we got the dimensions of the awnings and had a pergola built for them. the awnings just screw tracks to the pergola and slide back and forth in the tracks. we have sun or shade and they look good both ways.

greg

Damn, that is impressive. I guess that cures the rust problem - just replace the few that rust!

Excellent news indygreg. Yes Axioms customer service is as good as it gets. Ya know, I have a weber grill and the top portion of the inside of the grill is peeling. That shouldn't happen. I have had the grill over 500 degrees on some occasions but I was under the impression it could withstand that high heat. Other than that the Weber grill is excellent. Expensive though.