I'm debating on one of the ACOG's for my AR and it just doesn't sit well with me that once the unit rolls out of the factory, the tritium has a deadline before it goes dark. Getting the prism lamp replaced is expensive $200-300. Do the modules in Aimpoint,C-more,Eotech last more
than 10yrs? Trijicon says the reticle pattern is
etched in the glass of the prism so maybe I should just get one and consider it a day scope
once the tritium dies. Any thoughts?

10 years is a long time, especially considering you don't have to change the batteries and there are no other moving parts associated witht the illumination that might break.  The new Aimpoints do run for a long time (1000's of hours) without needing new batteries, but once the battery goes out you don't even have a reticle.

Brother
If you put a Dollar a day away for the next 10 years youll have more than enough to have a replacemnt lamp installed. Its still cheaper than batteries over 10 years! Oh and by the way what makes you think the Lighted ret. of an Aimpoint or EO wont burn out after 10 years, (most likely sooner). I love all these sites youve mentioned, But dollar for dollar Ill take the 10 year Tritium life, durability, and no ON/OFF switch ease of operation any day.
BTW my TAO1 and Compact Acog say 12 years, Dont they? hahaha
cp

remember - the HALF LIFE if tritium is 12.5 years.  

So, in 12.5 years the scope will be half as bright than it is just out of the factory.  

Thhen another 12.5 years it will be half again as dim...  but still not gone.

The perception seems to be that it will just magically dissapear at 12 years, 6 months and one day.  

So in 25 years it will still work but will be a dim reticle....  i like things that last but I am pretty sure that there will be some geewhiz new scope coming out between now and 2030 that I will just have to get for my then illegal ar15 that will be stashed in a hole in the back yard ;)

Just to clear up a misconception, the Tritium capsules aren't like a light bulb that just goes dark overnight.

Tritium is a radioactive isotope with a (approx) 10 year half-life.  That means that every 10 years of life, the radioactivity decays, and is only half as potent as it was before, and that it will be half as bright as the previous decade.  It is a gradual diminishment of brightness over time.

Phrased another way, let's say there are 100 candles on a birthday cake today, and that each year, a few of them burn out.
11/2002: 100 candles of brightness
11/2012: 50 candles of brightness
11/2022: 25 candles of brightness
11/2032: 12.5 candles of brightness
11/2042: 6.25 candles of brightness

You will NEVER have the illumination go out suddenly.  Unless, of course, you break the damned thing, in which case, all bets are off, since I'm told these ACOGS are so tough, it would also mean you probably fell off a cliff somewhere, and are a dead from the impact, anyway. :D

I also seem to recall reading somewhere that the replacement lamps are under $150 for parts and labor, but don't quote me on that.

Hope this helps!

These guy's are 100% on the money. My TAO is 14 years old. Sits atop an HBAR Colt and has plenty of reticle illumination to nail anything out there. Not as good as a NOD by any means but 1000% better than open sights at any distance.

Could it be that you have the price of changing the entire reticle in your scope confused with changing the tritium. Most ACOG models come with a choice of reticles. The Trijicon site explains that if you decide you want to change the reticle you chose to something else, that is expensive.

But I could swear I have read on several occasions that Trijicon would replace the tritium in ACOGs for like $35...

I have trit sights on my 92FS, that I bought back in '93, almost 10 yrs ago. They are still glowing brightly. At least with trit, you dont have to worry about your batteries dying when you need your sights the most...

WAS

Posted by new-arguy: But I could swear I have read on several occasions that Trijicon would replace the tritium in ACOGs for like $35...

To replenish the tritium on the Trijicon OEG's cost approx $35, so would think the cost for an ACOG would be somewhere in the same ballpark.

I agree I have never heard $200 mentioned before can you quote your source for that price please?  I assumed $50 every 10 years or so.

Who are we kidding?

In 10 years, I'm sure there will be a more neato, cooler, high-speed optic, that ALL the SpecOps guy on TV use...

...and we'll be talking about, and coveting that.

The ACOGs, Aimpoints, and EoTechs will be gathering dust in your junk drawer.

Thanks for all the feedback. I just called Trijicon to do some fact finding. They tell me it's a mistake to put the TA01 on a 16" flatop because it's calibrated to be mounted on the carry handle of a 20" M16. The price is currently $250 for tritium replacement. This is partly because they have to change the lamp and the prism together. I really think these are awesome scopes but many people in the AR family like to bash the TA01NSN. Maybe it's because this (NSN) update came out right after they purchased a standard TA01.

ACOG Tritium Lamps won't last, does that bother you?

Heck, the only thing keeping me from buying a good night-vision scope is the fact that they have a shelf-life like the tritium sights! I can't see buying an expensive model night vision scope, only to have it quit working one day. The ACOG dimming over time wouldn't bother me near as much.

I have a friend who had a ACOG TA01 on his AR15 for the past 12 years, the reticle is getting kind of weak.  So in all his wisdom, he took it to his dentist friend's office, put it on the table and had the x-ray tech give the scope a shot of health x-ray.  The reticle became brighter.  I don;'t know the status of it right now, since that was about a year ago, but it seem to work at the time.

A little off topic here, but I've spoken to the guys at Aimpoint a couple of times and they said the new ones with the CET technology will last over 4 years on the highest setting before the batteries need to be replaced.  On the lowest setting, they said it would last 10 years.