i just noticed today that the tritium in my acog doesn't work anymore. i carry this rifle daily so i know what i'm talking about. i always thought tritium would only slowly fade out in longer than my lifetime, but this happened in no more than 2 days. the chevron lights up fine in daylight or with flashlight, but if i cover the red bar on top with my hand the chevron instantly goes to black. there is absolutely no nighttime illumination. what could cause this? it's not like i beat on the rifle, but it does get a little abuse, after all it is an ACOG(advanced COMBAT optical gunsight).
acog tritium died practically overnight
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Right -the tritium had to leak out. It doesn't go dark in only a few days. It doesn't last a lifetime, but you shouldn't have needed to replace it until you're in your 40's or so. 
Was there a warranty on it?
Was there a warranty on it?
pretty sure the government doesnt get warranties...lol. i could turn it in to our arms room, but i would get a Aimpoint CCO instead. and i would much rather have the ACOG. CCO's are fine, but it's nice to have a little magnification over here.
Strykervet
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Man, I know what that's like. Turning in your good stuff and getting junk back I mean. The army can get it fixed, but that is something the arms room guy will put into action. If you are an SDM, you should be able to get another, no?
The tritium is in a vial, a gas. If that breaks, no more glow. It doesn't break easily though, it must have taken a good whack somewhere along the line. I had a buddy that broke the Aimpoint mount --in half! The Aimpoint, that thing didn't break though. Tougher than they look. I'm surprised the glass didn't break in your ACOG. On the other hand, perhaps the vial was already weak and finally gave out.
Depending on your NODs, if you have the 14's, you can mount that behind the Aimpoint. You can also use the head mount and get behind the sight. Not the easiest firing position, but it works. I've done this with ACOG's too. Try using your NODs and looking at the reticle you have now --if it is still dim with NODs on, you definitely lost the gas. This will also make it impossible to use with NODs.
To be honest, the ACOG as it is is probably fine, and I'd prefer it over the Aimpoint myself. The glow is only the best during daybreak and twilight (but those are the best attack times too). At night in total darkness, that PAQ4 or PEQ2A is your best friend. We used to shoot IR chemlights at night at 300m with those. They are VERY accurate --if you zero them right. Best to get them on paper at 25m, then zero them on steel targets at 300m with live rounds. Tracers can be helpful, but they aren't necessary.
The half life of tritium is 12 years give or take. I could be wrong, but I think the green stuff lasts the longest. Anyway, with a half life of several years, that means that it will be dim by half as much after that time --or rather, that half of the gas left will still be tritium gas. In about 20 years or more, you should still have 25% left. That is enough to make the reticle glow at night.
The tritium is in a vial, a gas. If that breaks, no more glow. It doesn't break easily though, it must have taken a good whack somewhere along the line. I had a buddy that broke the Aimpoint mount --in half! The Aimpoint, that thing didn't break though. Tougher than they look. I'm surprised the glass didn't break in your ACOG. On the other hand, perhaps the vial was already weak and finally gave out.
Depending on your NODs, if you have the 14's, you can mount that behind the Aimpoint. You can also use the head mount and get behind the sight. Not the easiest firing position, but it works. I've done this with ACOG's too. Try using your NODs and looking at the reticle you have now --if it is still dim with NODs on, you definitely lost the gas. This will also make it impossible to use with NODs.
To be honest, the ACOG as it is is probably fine, and I'd prefer it over the Aimpoint myself. The glow is only the best during daybreak and twilight (but those are the best attack times too). At night in total darkness, that PAQ4 or PEQ2A is your best friend. We used to shoot IR chemlights at night at 300m with those. They are VERY accurate --if you zero them right. Best to get them on paper at 25m, then zero them on steel targets at 300m with live rounds. Tracers can be helpful, but they aren't necessary.
The half life of tritium is 12 years give or take. I could be wrong, but I think the green stuff lasts the longest. Anyway, with a half life of several years, that means that it will be dim by half as much after that time --or rather, that half of the gas left will still be tritium gas. In about 20 years or more, you should still have 25% left. That is enough to make the reticle glow at night.
it still works good enough for what i need. it lights up fine in daylight so it'll be fine, i was just surprised i "broke" it. i had always read how they are pretty much indestructible and have not found another review of the tritium working one day and not the next. if it were earlier in our deployment i probably would turn it in, but it is near the end so i wouldn't be ablt to get another ACOG, just an aimoint. the aimpoint in most places/situations would be fine, but the magnification is nice for this place being so spread out and mountainous.
dprice3844444
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Put in a request for a new one and have them notify you when it arrives
Black Butte
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The half-life of tritium is 12.3 years. This means that starting at any given point in time, it will take 12.3 years for the tritium to fade to half the brightness of the starting time. This lends support to the "leaky-gas" theory.
Rubber_Duck
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Too bad it's not personally-owned. Since it's US Gov't-issued it probably has to go back to Trijicon through the proper .mil channels so that the taxpayers foot the bill and it can remain accounted for.
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