Mars Hydro Fire hazard!!

[TheCannaCreator]

I purchased my FC 8000 about 11 months ago. It began flickering after roughly three months of use, and the problem has progressively worsened. Upon inspecting the cables, I discovered they were extremely hot at the quick connection point. Examining further, I was alarmed to find such poor wiring inside the connector. The bare wires were visibly touching each other, causing significant damage to the surrounding area, resulting in arcing, heat generation, wasted electricity, and, most alarmingly, posing a severe fire hazard.
I also checked the cables on my other three Mars Hydro lights. While two of them were cool, one was notably hot. When I disassembled that one, I found the same faulty wiring setup. The cables are not under stress, they are securely positioned, and I consistently operate the light at 75% capacity. This issue should not have occurred, and it’s particularly concerning to find the same problem in two Mars Hydro lights.

 

[superx]

That's not good to read, I'm glad you posted.

Luckily the fire was avoided and your safe, its not worth thinking about if you hadn't of been there for a few days. (Coming back to a pile of ashes)

Is it possible your fuse box was overloaded?
I'm still in the dark ages regarding LED and havent made the switch over from MH/HPS
Considering though.

 

[exploziv]

Nothing uphill in the panel or wiring of the building can make a connection do that. It probably wasn't a good connection to start with and it failed more and more.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Nothing uphill in the panel or wiring of the building can make a connection do that. It probably wasn't a good connection to start with and it failed more and more.

Agreed. It's for situations like this that all of my lights and fans in the tents are connected to arc fault electric outlets. Ground fault outlets may keep you from getting electrocuted but they won't stop a fire like arc fault outlets will.

 

[Tangwena]

I recently had a similar fault though not on a Mars brand light.
Bad connections on a selector switch ( infrared, ultra violet ect) some panels were off and not working.
I inspected the switches (broke them open) and found arcing had burned the contacts.
I just cut the switches off and soldered them in the closed position so now they are permanently on without the UV which I never used anyway.
It seems to be a common problem the panels themselves seem bullet proof but the switches are not robust enough to do the job.
Probably the same old quality control problem with stuff from China.
I'm an electrician by trade and have found the same problems quality control with just about anything made in China.
But the panel prices are unbeatable so its just buyer beware.

 

[TheCannaCreator]

Yes I agree 100%, this is a quality control issue with Mars Hydro's cheap foreign manufacturing. What makes it worse is the horrific customer service, when contacted about this they have absolutely zero interest in helping and make it a technical impossibility to return it or get ANY help.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

wow... i have a year old fce8000 - in the spring i came back from dinner, and checked my tent- i smelled like burning rubber, and i see the 8000 plug into my outlet is smoking- i pulled it out and part of it was melted... it took the issue to mars, and after about '2' months they sent me another power cable... i shutter to think if it started a fire, and my puppy was hurt... or worse... the fukin chinese wouldn't have to worry about biden, they would have to deal with me....

 

[Ringodoggie]

You sure don't seem to hear much good about Mars Hydro.

 

[Lester Beans]

That's not good to read, I'm glad you posted.

Luckily the fire was avoided and your safe, its not worth thinking about if you hadn't of been there for a few days. (Coming back to a pile of ashes)

Is it possible your fuse box was overloaded?
I'm still in the dark ages regarding LED and havent made the switch over from MH/HPS
Considering though.

Best advice....stick with HID lighting.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

Best advice....stick with HID lighting.

exactly what my bro said....

 

[Ringodoggie]

So, what you're saying is that if Mars Hydro made HID lighting it would be good quality?

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Best advice....stick with HID lighting.

Better yet just don't buy Chinese crap. It's HLG for me. I've seen so many of these Mars fire hazard threads.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I have 6 Spider Farmer lights and I am very satisfied with them. Plus, I hear a ton of good feedback about them. Not sure where they are made but I would guess, China. Not all that glitters is gold.

Who is HLG?

One thing we all agree on.... Mars Hydro Sux. LOL Sorry, Mars. Nothing personal.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I have 6 Spider Farmer lights and I am very satisfied with them. Plus, I hear a ton of good feedback about them. Not sure where they are made but I would guess, China. Not all that glitters is gold.

Who is HLG?

One thing we all agree on.... Mars Hydro Sux. LOL Sorry, Mars. Nothing personal.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of HLG (Horticulture Lighting Group). They're the ones who basically started the whole Quantum board thing They trademarked the name Quantum Boards but I think it's expired now. It's an American company that builds a lot of their stuff here.

I do have a Mars SP3000 they gave me a couple years ago that I actually kinda like but it worries me about their wiring. I should rewire it myself since it is a decent light.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

I have 6 Spider Farmer lights and I am very satisfied with them. Plus, I hear a ton of good feedback about them. Not sure where they are made but I would guess, China. Not all that glitters is gold.

I've got two SF4000's and three SF 2000s, a couple with 3 plus years of continuous usage, with absolutely no trouble whatsoever. Samsung LEDs and Meanwell drivers have a pretty good safety record as far as I can tell. Not sure about Mars Hydro and what components they use.

HLG, like Lumigrow before it, may have superior technology but they charge too much money for their product.

 

[exploziv]

I'm surprised you haven't heard of HLG (Horticulture Lighting Group). They're the ones who basically started the whole Quantum board thing They trademarked the name Quantum Boards but I think it's expired now. It's an American company that builds a lot of their stuff here.

I do have a Mars SP3000 they gave me a couple years ago that I actually kinda like but it worries me about their wiring. I should rewire it myself since it is a decent light.

You only have to check/replace the connectors. All that I checked had the right size wires inside. Also I got to say the risks may be bigger for USA growers and I suspect these meltings that some complained about happened mostly in USA because 110V means double the amperage. So whatever happens in those connectors is on steroids..

 

[zachrockbadenof]

double the amps, so what .... i think 110 , is like 3,6amps on my fce8000, which i run under 75pct power... its plugged into a 20amp breaker , with only a small fan on the same circuit... so the total draw is prob less the 4amps.... so i think the 110v thought is bogus....

 

[exploziv]

Well, if you have a bad connection, there will be more heat/arcing there. I ain't saying a good light with good connections is dangerous because of the extra amps. But if there's a problem, that extra amperage can help it evolve. Even if yours is 4 amps when dimmed, full power it should reach 7+ amps. Which is a lot to pass through a bad connection point.

 

[Absorber]

Well, if you have a bad connection, there will be more heat/arcing there. I ain't saying a good light with good connections is dangerous because of the extra amps. But if there's a problem, that extra amperage can help it evolve. Even if yours is 4 amps when dimmed, full power it should reach 7+ amps. Which is a lot to pass through a bad connection point.

100% spot on

 

[zachrockbadenof]

yep... i understand..... buy chinese and pray....