FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Feeling pretty jelly right now. Happy growing! Hopefully I can get one for christmas for the greenhouse.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I'd recommed giving some serious thought to getting your money back. The TS600 is a legitimately dangerous light and the claims from MarsHydro about how efficient it is are way off.

Read more here: https://old.reddit.com/r/SpaceBuckets/c ... ery_badly/

I know these lights are tempting because of the price point, I really do. I always feel terrible when I see someone get one of these because I know many of us are limited financially and good LEDs get expensive quick. However, the old, "it's more expensive to be poor," adage comes into play when talking about LED lights. Saving up for something made with LM301B chips and a good driver from Meanwell or Osram will cost less money over 2-3 years compared to these LED boards that are cheap up front. Plus the more expensive ones won't kill (or seriously injure) you.

And before anyone comes sharing their experience with cheap quantum boards being fine and having used them for years, don't waste your breath. It's not about whether someone has used these without injury, it's about the fact that people have been injured by these boards through no fault of their own, the company knows about it and doesn't care.

You don't need a seatbelt until you do.

"Up to 156 volts DC on the MCPCB not isolated from ground.

Can easily measure >75 volts probing exposed chips not isolated from ground.

Ingress protection so weak I can easily scrape it off with my fingernails (it's a thin spray-on plastic coating. Fine for a bit of splash protection. Not for essentially line voltage non-isolated ingress protection)."

The above is just the worst of the worst parts about the board. There's enough floating voltage to seriously injure and/or kill you. You can read more at the link I posted previously. It's also worth exploring the r/handsoncomplexity sub for relevant lighting info.

Beyond the lethal parts the board has terrible thermal management, easily reaching temps of 140°F and higher and uses low-quality LED chips. This means the quality and quantity of light you start off with is worse and lower than from a board by HLG, Spider Farmer, ChilLED, etc. Then take into account the fact the chips will burn out faster and become less efficient more quickly and we're talking about a board that has 1/2 the working lifetime (or less) to other boards.

Interesting information, but I’m not 100% certain about what it means for those of us who already have these lights (or similar). Many of us are not in the position to just replace them.
SDK1, do you have any links to practical (and low tech/simple explanation) information on how to modify lights with these issues to be a bit safer or at least how to use them with the understanding of the risks? For example, maybe shock risk could be reduced if the fixture is hung with plastic zip ties and never contacts a metal rack? Is it possible to insulate or ground it properly?

It's an unfortunate situation to be in when you already have the light. That's part of the reason I always feel terrible when someone gets one of these, even moreso when the person is obviously excited about it and views it as a great upgrade from whatever they had before whether that was a bright windowsill, T5s, HPS, or whatever else.

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to mod them to make them safe. It'd basically require you disassembling the whole board, LED chips included, and rebuilding the board so it conducts electricity safely. The housing is energized so hanging it with zipties doesn't do much to prevent *you* from being the path of least resistance should you touch the board while it's plugged in if some part of the paltry safety measures have degraded or failed entirely.

The only safe way to interact with the board is to do so while it is unplugged from the wall and off. Should go without saying that being in a damp environment where you might get water on yourself and then brush up against the board is uhhh.... the opposite of good. So be extremely careful.

To be clear, I'm not saying this light *will* kill or injure you. I'm saying the potential is extremely, unacceptably high and everyone who decides to use these lights should know that MarsHydro finds the price of your life an acceptable cost of doing business. And anyone who uses these lights knowing all of this agrees that their life is worth $109.98 plus shipping.

Edit: I want to be clear that the last paragraph is not meant to be judgemental. It's meant to force some perspective and hopefully make anyone who has one of these lights or considers getting one that they are taking a serious risk, one that is entirely unnecessary. Don't put your life on the line when you could wait another few months, save up a little more money, and buy a quality light that will last longer and doesn't come with a high risk of putting you in the hospital.

I bought a Mars Hydro TS600 about 2 years ago, and I've never had any issues with it (knock on wood). After reading that post on Reddit, I'm going to replace it asap. It's not worth risking my life or my house just to save a few bucks. I've never gotten shocked by the panel, but I can confirm its terrible thermal management (the aluminum cover is too hot to touch after just a few minutes).

I'm looking at the ViparSpectra XS1000 panel:

• Samsung LM301B LEDs
• Mean Well LED driver
• Dimmer
• Heat sink fins across the width of the panel

Does anyone have any experience with this brand/model?

ViparSpectra is good. Probably the lowest end I'd go for a solid product. Haven't checked the specs myself but if they're genuinely using LM301Bs and a meanwell driver, that's 99% of any question/concern eliminated imo. I'm not a brand name hussy for most things I buy but when it comes to lights, brand names are trustworthy for a reason. Samsung for diodes and Meanwell for drivers goes a long way in building trust in any light for me.

Osram makes good stuff too. Bridgelux LEDs are good. If you want to get into DIY stuff, looking into the Vero 18s from Bridgelux (look on Mouser or Digikey) combined with a meanwell driver will give you enough light to grow pretty much anything.

ChilLED makes good LED bar lights. Refurbished ones are frequently on sale. Fluence is great but pricey. HLG is solid and their hobbyist level boards are slightly higher on price point but worth it. Spider Farmer is good as far as I know and they seem roughly similar to ViparSpectra. <--- just a few examples. Once you look at reputable lights you'll be able to spot the bad/dangerous ones a mile away. Good lights offer transparency about their efficiency, diode manufacturer and offer 3-5 year warranties and usually have good customer service.

Look up PAR38 builds on reddit for a $5-$20 dollar DIY build to grow high light plants.

This light is cheap-ish, safe, very bright (use that dimming knob), and overall ok for the money. Generic LED chips with no info on the manufacturer so don't expect them to last forever, but if you use it on half power or less, they'll easily last 2-3 years. Most bang for your buck if you have reflective material around the plants. 5-gallon bucket works alright.

https://a.co/d/1a46jni

Edit: the 600W version is justifiably "worth it," in terms of light output, safety, design, etc. The 1000W version isn't; it's an extra $26 for a bunch of LEDs that spell GROW LIGHT FECIDA around the center. Don't get duped. The rectangular versions are an additional $10 for nothing the 600W UFO can't do.

My recent build below

No problem, someone's got to care about people and it's obvious that businesses like MarsHydro won't. Plus I hate scammers and they are a dime a dozen in the artificial lighting world since weed got legalized.

Glad you checked the temp on the light. It's good that it's not overheating right out of the box. That said, it doesn't mean there isn't a dangerous amount of current running through the ungrounded parts of the board. I would still urge you to return it if you still can. Check the 1 and 2 star Amazon reviews for some interesting stories.

If you need light over a small space you can also get a couple PAR38 LED floodlights and a couple E26/27 sockets. $10 and it'll give about 36,000 lux at ~8 inches. Roughly 500 ppfd.

I use these Have this bucket with them And this tank that I'm growing sphagnum (and a ping I didn't have room for elsewhere) in.