Avoid this cheapo company
- Thread starter MD84
- Start date
I don't know what to say-- I run 6 sp250 and 2 sp 650, and haven't had one problem in 2 yrs since I bought them. Totally satisfied with the performance. As well, I had 2 California Light works Solar Storm 800's, and the drivers burnt out on them after a year- I was told by the company that they don't make the driver anymore, and that I need to buy a new light.(Not happening)
I am not a poster boy for either of these companies, if I had something to complain about Mars I would say it, but it seems CLW is not a very good company either, especially when you pay so much for their product!
I am not a poster boy for either of these companies, if I had something to complain about Mars I would say it, but it seems CLW is not a very good company either, especially when you pay so much for their product!
Have a couple of the FC3000 units one each of the two different bulb types.
The last connector before the wall plug is a round unit that on each of mine
had one wire that was not tinned. Had problems with it, contacted Mars and
they sent me new connectors. I tinned the wires prior to putting the new connectors
on, and have had no further issues.
The last connector before the wall plug is a round unit that on each of mine
had one wire that was not tinned. Had problems with it, contacted Mars and
they sent me new connectors. I tinned the wires prior to putting the new connectors
on, and have had no further issues.
Be careful when rewiring yourself you might lose the payment from insurance if a fire is caused by the rewired light. It's heavily regulated and a company should not say to its customers to do this type of stuff without appropriate knowledge.
I have their smaller model in veg and I'm happy of the result as well but it's unacceptable from them to ask to their customers to rewire something themselves when they are not electrician. As I said it can lead to big trouble with your insurance in case of fire caused by the rewired light, it can cost you all you have this type of bullshit.
Precisely. We're not talking about just re wiring a plug for your radio. It's outrageous these guys are asking customers to do this with high powered eqt. And what happens with the 5 year warranty once we start re wiring these lights ourselves? The company is a joke that's all i can conclude. I love the way they used to be all over the threads on this site. Now there's issues they are nowhere to be seen. Im going to have to sell these 3 lights just to buy one good quality one smh after taking losses.
eastcoastjoe
Well-known member
I had the same issues years ago. This was before Samsung diodes so quite some time ago. Same thing though. They wanted to send me parts lol.
They sent me the parts, and I was able to speak with a tech on the phone, and they supplied me with a
video that showed quite clearly what needed to be done.
It was not difficult, and I have never had any further issues with the product.
I used to make a living dealing with things of a similar nature.
It seems to me that the round connector was the source of a lot of the complaints.
Can't help but think that it was so that they could use a single fixture, and go with different plugs for the various markets they serve.
If that is the case, there is no real need to use the connector at all, it could just as well be
eliminated with the plug put in where the round connector used to be.
Could not help but chuckle over the thought of going back to HPS and MH.
I used to replace the guts of mine every few years, and of course the ballast repair kits came
from China.
I have to say that while I can sure understand the frustration of the OP here, I think that the
outfit has been decent to work with from my perspective.
video that showed quite clearly what needed to be done.
It was not difficult, and I have never had any further issues with the product.
I used to make a living dealing with things of a similar nature.
It seems to me that the round connector was the source of a lot of the complaints.
Can't help but think that it was so that they could use a single fixture, and go with different plugs for the various markets they serve.
If that is the case, there is no real need to use the connector at all, it could just as well be
eliminated with the plug put in where the round connector used to be.
Could not help but chuckle over the thought of going back to HPS and MH.
I used to replace the guts of mine every few years, and of course the ballast repair kits came
from China.
I have to say that while I can sure understand the frustration of the OP here, I think that the
outfit has been decent to work with from my perspective.
eastcoastjoe
Well-known member
I’m pretty handy with tools and fixing things so I can relate with what your saying. But for every guy like us that may not have an issue fixing something, there’s probably 1000 that don’t even own a screwdriver. You shouldn’t need to know how to work on things as part of the warranty
I’ve dealt with mars in the past and always had issues with their lights. After seeing how they handled the warranty, I would never spend money with them again. I’d rather spend my money with HLG. At least they stand behind their warranty and have people a phone call away that I can speak to without any communication barriers
I liken buying mars with playing Russian roulette. You might get a decent light which works like a number of people on here or you may get one that might catch fire. One of mine is good, the other NOT. I’m replacing the one light and leaning toward hlg. Should have gone this way first time around. If you are reading this.. the cheap often times turns out to be more expensive. Pay up and be safe...
he went back into his fukin cave..
eastcoastjoe
Well-known member
This is a fricking nightmare, you think you're safe with a light you are using for years and one day boom it burns, that's so scary. The man has been really lucky to get the fire at the beginning, if he was gone for a longer period he would have lost his house. Mars Hydro has definitely some responses to give about this. Where is their rep who used to post here?
eastcoastjoe
Well-known member
Yeah man it’s really scary. I had some ballasts malfunction in the last and melt some cords. Very scary stuff.
You would think LED lights would be more safe but stuff happens. I think if it were me, I’d be leaving those drivers mounted to the housing. Less likely to catch steel / aluminum on fire versus a wood wall
Holy f-ck! Looks like my ballast or very very similar. If the ballast goes up in smoke on the frame I hope my gorilla tent is fire resistant. Man... you seriously dodged a bullet. Maybe I should replace both my lights. Who needs this shit...
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If I am not mistaken the drivers used were Meanwell, which are reputed to be an industry leader.
Having seen these pictures, my drivers are coming out of the tent. They will be mounted to a metal
surface, to increase the sink effect. They each are going to have a dedicated fan as well.
Am pleased with the product, and love what it does for me, not to mention the difference in the power
bill from when all I used was MH and HPS, but I realize we are are dealing with something that is still
relatively new, and have no problems with doing what I can to try to run the gear a little cooler, which
will hopefully extend the life a bit.
Having seen these pictures, my drivers are coming out of the tent. They will be mounted to a metal
surface, to increase the sink effect. They each are going to have a dedicated fan as well.
Am pleased with the product, and love what it does for me, not to mention the difference in the power
bill from when all I used was MH and HPS, but I realize we are are dealing with something that is still
relatively new, and have no problems with doing what I can to try to run the gear a little cooler, which
will hopefully extend the life a bit.
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eastcoastjoe
Well-known member
Negative. That’s a inventronics driver. Even so, it’s hard to really trust anything coming out of China. It’s not like most of the worlds counterfeit goods don’t come from there. So when a company has a shady reputation, I don’t even think we can trust a label on a driver to 100% be what it’s supposed to be
Its cool to see Mars step up and respond to this problem posted in their own forum...oh that is right they have not made any comments.....there's your answer right there....no reputable company is going to have you doing electrical work to "warranty" the light.
I built my own light from scratch and quality parts. I know it will be OK. I built it in May of 2020 and still rocking perfectly. Never had a issue.
I would NEVER buy ANYTHING from MARS HYDRO.
To say that just because LED tech is new...which it is not, they deserve a break for issues is idiotic.
Have a sweet day. Peace negative.
I built my own light from scratch and quality parts. I know it will be OK. I built it in May of 2020 and still rocking perfectly. Never had a issue.
I would NEVER buy ANYTHING from MARS HYDRO.
To say that just because LED tech is new...which it is not, they deserve a break for issues is idiotic.
Have a sweet day. Peace negative.
