Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion

[arteekay]

Hi Krpt, that is not completely the truth. We have taken it into consideration and therefore take the initiative to order it from Ebay so as to save time for the customer. As there is no stock for the plug at warehouse, it's the best and quickest way. It probably takes only a few days. We will try our best to minimize the time waste for our customer.

Well, this is not completely the truth. The cord, a bog standard piece of cable in just about every way has been ordered from Ebay.

The piece that the cord plugs into, with the remaining pieces of charred and discolored plastic is being shipped from China, or at least I was told last night that it was. I wouldn't put a piece of equipment in this state back into operation again at work, and certainly would not at home. It has been temporarily replaced until the proper part provided under my warranty is installed.

Hi doobie, we have consulted with the engineer. It has been caused by short circuit. One common cause for short circuit is overloaded wattage. In that situation, the cord will get burnt, but not in this color. It should be pure black, not like this color, hmm, orange-brown. We assume there is water.

This is the first I've heard of water being the assumed cause. The tent was at 85 degrees and 38% humidity, there was no chance of condensation being the cause. There is no water source of any kind above the lights.

I also don't believe your engineer can tell you that water was the cause of the failure based on the color of the charred plastic, but I will research if necessary.

thanks for the advice, Sejd, we only have warehouse in CA and NJ. I apologize for her. The senior manager must have noticed this and had some words with her already. She looks sad.

She shouldn't, it isn't her fault.

yes... Randy... so we decide not to recommend daisy-chain for all our lights. Our Mars Pro series doesn't have this feauture.

When I enquired about this feature in December, I was told that I was fine to plug one into the other, just not to do anything else on the second light. If I was informed instead that you didn't recommend it, I wouldn't have done it.

For this reason alone a full replacement should be considered, in my humble opinion.

I'm thinking moisture has a hand in this from the looks, These lights dont draw a ton of power really. My heavens the computer I'm banging on draws 300w most of the active time. just sayin at US standard branch circuts are as a norm 20amp @ 115v (2300w) and from breaker to device is designed to handle it , the connector on the light is of the same breed.........moisture ?

No moisture, I'm sure of that but you'll have to take me at my word only obviously.

I did have the two daisychained, as I was directly told was fine to do. Like you I've been comparing the draw to my computer equipment, so I figured my home server is drawing 900w, this is a similar load.

There is a possibility it was slightly loose of course, nobody could ever say for sure that one wasn't, but I'm not one to half plug in my equipment, there was no movement or vibration other than from the internal fans, and there was no tension on the cord which was in the back of the tent away from us moving around inside. It ran like this for about 7 weeks I think.

As I said in my journal, I believe the following to be true:

1. This is not a problem with a specific vendor, I see this type of stuff with IT equipment all the time.
2. This is not a significant fire hazard, as the devices fail safe (off) and the likelihood of burning down my house is greater from a charging cell phone/tablet.
3. Better to have two 900 than one 1800, not only for ease of positioning in the normal working state, but also so a single failure isn't as impactful.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hi arteekay, I am sorry about this. We don't stock the power cord and the plastics in the warehouse, because this kind of problem seldom happens. If it's not water, only two causes have left, overloaded wattage or loose contact. The maximum watt for one power cord is 1000w. Two 900w are not supposed to cause the burnt-out. Could you do us a favor? Could you ship the burnt-out power cord back to us in China? We will pay for the shipping fee. Our power cord is UL ratings. We need to find out the reason. We will appreciate it very much if you could help us.

Well, this is not completely the truth. The cord, a bog standard piece of cable in just about every way has been ordered from Ebay.

The piece that the cord plugs into, with the remaining pieces of charred and discolored plastic is being shipped from China, or at least I was told last night that it was. I wouldn't put a piece of equipment in this state back into operation again at work, and certainly would not at home. It has been temporarily replaced until the proper part provided under my warranty is installed.




This is the first I've heard of water being the assumed cause. The tent was at 85 degrees and 38% humidity, there was no chance of condensation being the cause. There is no water source of any kind above the lights.

I also don't believe your engineer can tell you that water was the cause of the failure based on the color of the charred plastic, but I will research if necessary.




She shouldn't, it isn't her fault.




When I enquired about this feature in December, I was told that I was fine to plug one into the other, just not to do anything else on the second light. If I was informed instead that you didn't recommend it, I wouldn't have done it.

For this reason alone a full replacement should be considered, in my humble opinion.




No moisture, I'm sure of that but you'll have to take me at my word only obviously.

I did have the two daisychained, as I was directly told was fine to do. Like you I've been comparing the draw to my computer equipment, so I figured my home server is drawing 900w, this is a similar load.

There is a possibility it was slightly loose of course, nobody could ever say for sure that one wasn't, but I'm not one to half plug in my equipment, there was no movement or vibration other than from the internal fans, and there was no tension on the cord which was in the back of the tent away from us moving around inside. It ran like this for about 7 weeks I think.

As I said in my journal, I believe the following to be true:

1. This is not a problem with a specific vendor, I see this type of stuff with IT equipment all the time.
2. This is not a significant fire hazard, as the devices fail safe (off) and the likelihood of burning down my house is greater from a charging cell phone/tablet.
3. Better to have two 900 than one 1800, not only for ease of positioning in the normal working state, but also so a single failure isn't as impactful.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hello guys, from today on, the factory will not accpet customized lights. The workers will come back in March. DHL and FEDEX in China will take off from Feb. 4th to Feb. 11th. During this period, we couldn't ship the lights from China. Sorry for the incovenience.

 

[doobie57z]

I guess i dont understand why you are guessing what the manufacturing defect is, just give him a working light, which he paid for, and take this failure back for research and development. Frankly, Im hesitant if your "warranty" is sending me parts...when I buy a product, i expect it to work as advertised, for the warranty period, or be replaced. No excuses. Im shopping HID lights at this point...

 

[TheEEngineer]

Just a quick note, almost every warranty is to fix or replace which is up to the discretion of the manufacturer/retailer. Short analogy, You purchase a car with a warranty and one of the tires (for this case covered under the warranty) shreds due to a manufacturing error, you don't demand they give you a new car.

 

[Sejd2131]

Sara, I`m looking at purchasing either the Marsii or reflector series for my 3x5 room.. Currently use an HPS 400W. I only plant 3-5 plants at a time. I like the idea of the 5w and the two fans, not interested in the old 600 series. Whats the best way to grow?

 

[PurpleHaze22]

Anyone?

Does anyone have any personal experience growing Humboldt Seed co Green crack feminized seeds? On one of their pages they list it as a indica dominant strain and on their other page it says sativa dominant and when you search for that strain by them on google different seed banks say different things as well. So i figured while i wait for them to reply does anyone have any personal experience or insight on this particular strain by this breeder? I am running Humboldt seed Blue dream right now and they are beautiful. I am very interested in Green Crack for my next run

I just sent them this email and i hope they reply

"I had some confusion about one of your strains i needed to have cleared up. Your green crack feminized cannabis seeds say they are Indica dominant on your store Green Crack - buy Green Crack seeds online - Humboldt Seeds UK but other sites selling your seeds for this strain are saying they are sativa dominant. And your description on your blog even mentions them as a sativa dominant HSO Green Crack | HSO En

Right now i am a medical marijuana patient and i am currently growing your blue dream feminized seeds. I love them and they are coming along wonderfully. I am interested in growing your green crack feminized seeds next if they are an uplifting sativa dominant strain. Looking forward to hearing back from you soon! Keep up the great work!"


Hopefully the strain is sativa dominant because the smoke effects sound phenomenal and the buds also look amazing! Cheers everyone

 

[TheEEngineer]

PurpleHaze22, my guess why you haven't gotten an answer here is because of your topic, it does not pertain to this thread. I would suggest you post this in a relevant sub-forum.

 

[Glitch911]

Sara, I`m looking at purchasing either the Marsii or reflector series for my 3x5 room.. Currently use an HPS 400W. I only plant 3-5 plants at a time. I like the idea of the 5w and the two fans, not interested in the old 600 series. Whats the best way to grow?

You will need multiple lights is you plan on using the whole area. A pair of mars II 900 would work great.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using 420

 

[Sejd2131]

Glitch,
Thank you for your response. I thought the 900 was actually the way to go as well, but, how do you figure 2 of them? I don`t think two will fit in my area, i`d burn them with that much power.. Forgive me, i`m strictly a 400w HPS grower, who wants to venture into the world of LED world. Thats alot of power imho..

 

[Glitch911]

Glitch,
Thank you for your response. I thought the 900 was actually the way to go as well, but, how do you figure 2 of them? I don`t think two will fit in my area, i`d burn them with that much power.. Forgive me, i`m strictly a 400w HPS grower, who wants to venture into the world of LED world. Thats alot of power imho..

Well the approximate coverage area is 3x3 for one 900 watt at flowering hight 18-24 inches or 3.5 feet at veg hight.
So 2 would cover a 3x6 foot area nicely.
The total current draw would be around 700 actual watts. That's roughly 47 watts a square foot of growing area. The minimum would be around 30 watt per square foot. Higher is better and will give larger yields. LEDs are a bit different when we calculate what we need to cover an area. We don't use lumens but watts per square foot. Since LEDs have lense angles it cuts down on coverage area as you move the light down. And as you move it up you loose intensity. Now you don't have to use the entire space of course so you could use one in a 3x3 foot area. Also 2 of the mars II 700 would work. I would assume since you use hps ATM that ventilation is not an issue. I personaly use 80 watts a square foot for my grow and I've never had healthier plants before with any other light source. Hope this helps in our session making process. Take a look back a few pages at my current grow. Using 1 mars 2 400 and an older 300 mars hydro in a 2x2. Maybe give you an idea.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using 420

 

[Dave Groomer]

Glitch,
Thank you for your response. I thought the 900 was actually the way to go as well, but, how do you figure 2 of them? I don`t think two will fit in my area, i`d burn them with that much power.. Forgive me, i`m strictly a 400w HPS grower, who wants to venture into the world of LED world. Thats alot of power imho..

Glitch has it correct!! I run a 900 in my 3x3 tent. You will need 2 for a 6x3 area. I promise. You won't be disappointed!!!

 

[Sejd2131]

Anything beats the yield i get on my 400W. Hard to believe only 5-6 years ago, we had no alternatives. The 900 looks like my yield and density will increase.. Thank you both....

 

[doobie57z]

Just a quick note, almost every warranty is to fix or replace which is up to the discretion of the manufacturer/retailer. Short analogy, You purchase a car with a warranty and one of the tires (for this case covered under the warranty) shreds due to a manufacturing error, you don't demand they give you a new car.

I had that happen, I can assure you they did not ship me a tire UPS right after the chinese new year... its not a car...stupid comparison.

 

[PurpleHaze22]

Day 29 Flower update for the Humboldt seed organization Blue Dream in the 3'x3' tent under the Mars II 900.Running Advanced nutrients

 

[TheEEngineer]

What I am trying to say is if they can replace a part on the item, why would they replace the entire unit? I get this is not a car, hence the analogy part.
Also here is what an analogy means; a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification, a correspondence or partial similarity, a thing that is comparable to something else in significant respects.
So an LED light is similar to the car as that they are many parts involved and failure of one does not necessarily mean the entire unit failed.

I had that happen, I can assure you they did not ship me a tire UPS right after the chinese new year... its not a car...stupid comparison.

 

[arteekay]

I guess i dont understand why you are guessing what the manufacturing defect is, just give him a working light, which he paid for, and take this failure back for research and development. Frankly, Im hesitant if your "warranty" is sending me parts...when I buy a product, i expect it to work as advertised, for the warranty period, or be replaced. No excuses. Im shopping HID lights at this point...

It's important to note as well that I bought on the website's indication that there was a service center in Canada, which there is not. This mistake hasn't been fixed on the website yet either.

That's not to say I would have made a different choice, I quite like what the two Mars II 900s have produced in my grow, but it would have been nice to be properly informed beforehand.

Just a quick note, almost every warranty is to fix or replace which is up to the discretion of the manufacturer/retailer. Short analogy, You purchase a car with a warranty and one of the tires (for this case covered under the warranty) shreds due to a manufacturing error, you don't demand they give you a new car.

Oh no, not the dreaded car analogy... just kidding.

To extend the analogy, it would be like i purchased a car with the promise that the local service center was fully equipped to fix and repair it bumper to bumper. Only after the factory installed rim threw a tire was I told that they don't in fact fix anything locally, and although I can use the temporary spare, it's going to take a month to get a new rim in from overseas.

Undoubtedly still issues with the analogy, but I feel it's closer.


edited to add: And I was directly told I could daisy chain then, which likely contributed to the failure.

 

[Glitch911]

What I am trying to say is if they can replace a part on the item, why would they replace the entire unit? I get this is not a car, hence the analogy part.
Also here is what an analogy means; a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification, a correspondence or partial similarity, a thing that is comparable to something else in significant respects.
So an LED light is similar to the car as that they are many parts involved and failure of one does not necessarily mean the entire unit failed.

If it were me and its was important to have the item asap I'd just buy the adapter from a local electronics shop or pull one from a dead PC psu. As for the cable its cheap also. I would be upset if it happened to mine. But I wouldn't make as big a deal out of it. Not worth arguing over at all.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using 420

 

[Glitch911]

It's important to note as well that I bought on the website's indication that there was a service center in Canada, which there is not. This mistake hasn't been fixed on the website yet either.

That's not to say I would have made a different choice, I quite like what the two Mars II 900s have produced in my grow, but it would have been nice to be properly informed beforehand.




Oh no, not the dreaded car analogy... just kidding.

To extend the analogy, it would be like i purchased a car with the promise that the local service center was fully equipped to fix and repair it bumper to bumper. Only after the factory installed rim threw a tire was I told that they don't in fact fix anything locally, and although I can use the temporary spare, it's going to take a month to get a new rim in from overseas.

Undoubtedly still issues with the analogy, but I feel it's closer.

And to add I agree they shouldn't lie about having a repair center that doesn't exist.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using 420

 

[arteekay]

If it were me and its was important to have the item asap I'd just buy the adapter from a local electronics shop or pull one from a dead PC psu. As for the cable its cheap also. I would be upset if it happened to mine. But I wouldn't make as big a deal out of it. Not worth arguing over at all.

Hmm, not sure if this was directed at me or not. I don't believe I've made a big deal out of the equipment failure, I've stated above that it is very typical and I'm not at all concerned about the failure. I left it alone for a couple of days by choice, then brought it back into working order myself pretty much as you've stated here.

It's the after sales support that I'm making a bit of a deal out of, and that others are currently browsing the mars-hydro site and are still being incorrectly let to believe there's a service center in Canada.

And to add I agree they shouldn't lie about having a repair center that doesn't exist.

Mars is a great sponsor of this wonderful website, so I'm going to believe this was just an honest mistake and it will be corrected quickly.