Question about Tritium Night Sights

R

Rogervzv

New member
I have Tritium night sights of various brands on several of my handguns. These sights include Meprolight Night Sights on my CZ, and Trujicons on several of my .45 1911s.

If I am not mistaken, the element Tritium, which is the active substance providing radioactive illumination to these night sights, has a half-life of about 8 years. Thus in 8 years or so I am imagining that the sights would dim by about 50%

One might think that this means that around every 10 years or so the sights would need to have the Tritium replenished. (?)

If this is so, my question is -- what is the process for doing this? Do the sights have to be physically removed and replaced, i.e. by a gunsmith, or is there a way to replenish the Tritium with the sights in place.

I would appreciate knowing the answer to this question.
 
It's my understanding that the sights should be sent back to the manufacturer and they will replace the tritium vials for a small fee. If you don't have a sight pusher, you can always send them the slide. And you're correct about the life of them.
 
It depends a little on the color of the insert. Different color emitting coatings (phosphors) vary in 1/2 life powered intensity produced between 8 & 15 years. (The tritium activated the glow in the phosphor & different amounts of input are needed for different phosphors before anyone says phosphors don't have a 1/2 life which is technically correct).

They must be replaced by the manufacturer because of .GOV regs. regarding un inserted tritium vials being "radioactive".

1/2 life is just that though they will dim quite a lot in the first part of 1/2 life then much slower for the very long remainder of the full life of the radioactive decay.

For example I have a Tritium illuminated marching compass that's 20+ years old & still quite usable. (its green if that matters)
 
Half-life of tritium is 12.3 years, from beta decay - the betas interact with the phosphor to make light, so fewer betas means less light. The intensity decay half-life of the tritium+phosphor sight might be different though, since the light production mechanisms can be complicated. I know the sights on my 15 year old P226 are pretty much useless except in the darkest dark, where you'd never think of firing a gun anyways, but in those 15 years my near vision in dim lighting has also gone to hell, so tritium sights aren't very important to me anymore.
 
The Meprolights on my Glock lasted 17 years before I decided they needed to be replaced, although I could still see them glowing
 
Don't forget the 1/2 life clock starts ticking when the Tritium is created, not when you, the end user buys the sight. I wonder what the average lead time is on them?
 
I can attest that Trijicon will replace the vials, and the price (last time I did it) was $18/vial, or $54 for all three.

I have read that Trijicon is the only one who offers this, and that is one reason that when I am looking for a set of night sights, I keep buying the Trijicon product.
 
I didn't know you could get the vials replaced on Trijicons.
That's cool, but since you'd have to ship them in (which must cost something), and new sights can be found for ~$80, it doesn't seem like it would be all that huge of a savings.
Of course, in 7-8 years I might have grown really attached to my current HDs.
 
My 1989 vintage 226 came with "sig light" night sights by Trijicon when I purchased it new. They'd finally faded away to unserviceable about 4-5 years ago. I shot the gun back to Sig during one of their $99 tune up specials and received new night sights as an unmentioned and unasked for side effect. This seems to be typical of my overall experience with their customer service over the years.
 
That's cool, but since you'd have to ship them in (which must cost something), and new sights can be found for ~$80, it doesn't seem like it would be all that huge of a savings.
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Ah yes! But don't forget to factor in the disposal of "radioactive materials by proper methods via correct channels" they are assuming you will use when replacing tired ones.;)
 
This makes me curious... Trijicon actually provides the tritium vials to several different sight manufacturers, including Ameriglo and XS. Will they replace tritium vials on those sights as well, or just Trijicon-branded ones?
 
Ah yes! But don't forget to factor in the disposal of "radioactive materials by proper methods via correct channels" they are assuming you will use when replacing tired ones.
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Ive been selling my "tired" ones on EBay. Usually get $35-40 a set for them too. Cuts the cost of a new set in half.
 
This makes me curious... Trijicon actually provides the tritium vials to several different sight manufacturers, including Ameriglo and XS. Will they replace tritium vials on those sights as well, or just Trijicon-branded ones?
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They will not work on any competitor's sights
 
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