ajcapetown Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hey All I've been thinking a lot about putting this post up as I'm not really one for moaning and being negative, however after much thought I decided that it would be unfair of me to just keep quiet if I can stop other guys from going through what I did recently. Some of you might know about my ballast problem, for those that don't, I bought a blue electronic ballast from Hortishop in Cape Town last year. It came with a price tag of around R3500, not cheap for a 600 watt. When I collected I asked about the dimming features etc and was not really given any help apart from "go to an electronic store for a dimming controller" and "just connect it up and it will run at 600 watts" I went ahead and connected it up and started using it, assuming it was 600 watts. I wasn't entirely happy with my grows up until recently but put it down to different nutes/experiments I was doing etc. Then a friend came to my place and was in my grow room and he said he felt my light just didn't look that bright. We tested it and it was putting out less than half the amount of lumens it should be! This obviously freaked me out.. we all know less light = less results and explained why I was getting such bad stretch, small buds etc. I then emailed hortishop and was again told to go to an electrical shop, no other help was offered. I got a 1 sentence reply. I went to 4 different shops and nobody could help me. Eventually I got to shop 5 and was helped by a really helpful light technician who also had no answers but managed to get hold of the guys who supply the ballasts... Venture Lighting. Venture were very helpful and said that the ballast should be connected to a simple on/off switch which will allow it to run at either 50% or 100%. That is the only dimming feature available. I bought an on/off switch like you'd have on a bedroom wall from the electrical shop but they could not help with how to wire it up so I contacted Venture Lighting myself and again they were helpful and emailed me a wiring diagram. I managed to get it all wired up, can't say it looks very pretty as there are now loose wires and a switch in the mix but as soon as I flicked that switch the light literally doubled! So I now know that it is working at 600 watts. What upsets me the most is that for the last 9 months I've been running a ballast at basically 300 watts. Clearly the Hortishop doesn't know that these things run at 50% power BY DEFAULT unless a switch is attached (which they clearly don't know how to do) SO how many other guys have bought ballasts from them and will never know any better? Instead they, like me will think they may be growing poorly and getting low yields etc. The whole switch and cable mess is also ugly, my eyes go straight to it overtime I'm in my grow room... not what I'd want given the amount of money I spent. In this industry I feel we need shops that are knowledgable and helpful. I have made the decision that I will not longer shop at Hortishop. I almost feel guilty whenever I try get advice from them, as if I am wrong for asking questions. I never discuss what I grow so it can't be that they hold that against me. Anyway I'm not doing this to knock them, my reasoning is that if any of you are using their ballasts its VITAL that you check your lumen output, you might just be getting half of what you paid for. Rather use another shop when buying technical equipment because they also have no clue how their products work. Peace Guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabtzar Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I won't stand for bad service like that. Name and shame buddy. I expect good service from the get go and if I'm spending money then even more. I have had nothing but good service from GTH, Grow Guru and HHA. Ill pass this info onto my mates in CT. Awe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajcapetown Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Agreed buddy. I have actually dealt with GT Hydro and Hydro Herb, had great service and stuff that arrived on time from both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajcapetown Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 I've also bought various thinks from BTL headshop and man they are a cool bunch, had awesome and efficient service from them everytime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Thanks for the heads up Ajcapetown. Sorry to hear about your ordeal. I had great service from Grow Guru and Hydropnic.co.za. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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