Old Reviews Gotham Hydroponics

[ChinaRider]

PS.... Here is a blue widow around at around 40 days of flower directly under a 500 watt blackstar.... :-}

 

[BOMBUDZ]

I just got my Blackstar chrome 6 spot..had some trouble gettn it to me damn post people been smokin something but this thing is bright..
I ve been wanting to wire my setup to solar as I have alot of sun here runnin a couple panels n fans etc could do for not too much just havent got around to really checkin it out..but in the works

 

[ChinaRider]

I just got my Blackstar chrome 6 spot..had some trouble gettn it to me damn post people been smokin something but this thing is bright..

Just wait.... After you work in your tent for more then 5 min or so your vision has a green tint for a while. ;-}

I ve been wanting to wire my setup to solar as I have alot of sun here runnin a couple panels n fans etc could do for not too much just havent got around to really checkin it out..but in the works

I'd love to see what you do with this... I'm growing medical in Arizona and have sunshine out the wazoo.

 

[BOMBUDZ]

they were selling a solar kit here that looked like it could of powered up my fans and 2 panels but it doesnt tell you that it can run 400w or ?? they used other terms ..so i needed to do the math..to figure it out and never got around to it..but I will one day lol..I know I need to get it together planning on buildin a house and want to incorporate solar in it..get kickbacks from the gov if I do and can sell the energy back to the electric company..
yes..Green lantern vision

 

[Mr Piggy]

Well wrote Joker, that's some great info with backup links! I can't wait to see your end result on the project. If it works and you get a model out, sign me up

I too have had the green tint. I panicked and thought I had tinted my vision forever. I now wear eye protection every time.

 

[ChinaRider]

I panicked and thought I had tinted my vision forever. I now wear eye protection every time.

LOL.... I totally thought I was the only one.

 

[Mr Piggy]

There's worse colors for the world to be tinted

 

[TurboJoker]

Have to agree with you there Mr. Piggy and ChinaRider, had to buy a pair of sunglasses just for the cab, I spend too much time just staring at the garden .

I have been thinking, I would like to try and push a prototype out sooner given the range of interest in the project. About three hundred dollars and a weekend of labor should do the trick, something to look for hopefully by September.

Looked around at solar kits, might be a $500 min project, 2x 55w cells ~300, 12v 100w inverter ~200 though for a more usable wattage (a few kW) and a system that can push back into the grid stretches up into the 10,000's. Bit out of the budget, so I will leave you professionals with sun to spare to that.

 

[Gandolph420]

Woo.. Didn't mean to start a full scale riot, Gotham fans are on a war path. Just wanted to offer my opinion, I have been buying products from china for years and appreciate not having to deal with a middle man, while I haven't used that company specifically, I intend to outsource my next light purchase.

And granted I have not worked with Gotham Hydro personally as of yet.

My poor experience with American LED vendors goes as follows. Purchased 100w Blackstar from blackstarled.com, account got charged to pcgrowbox.com, both supposedly based out of CA, when it arrived it shipped from lighthousehydro.com, all three locations sell the same light for different prices, although the same company, and it still took over a month to recieve, and customer service was poor at best, it was always on the way, or I should have received this invoice, or tracking number was wrong. The whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth, it did eventually arrive, and I like the light, but not worth the hassle. Never had a legitimate Chinese manufacturer waste my time like that.

From what I have read Gotham Hydro is a sister company to Lighthouse hydro of whom are only "official distributors" further more these companies get their authentic blackstars from, you guessed it, china:

Lighthouse Shangkong LTD.
NO. 105 China South International
Materials City, Pinghu, ShenZhen
CHINA

I just wanted everyone to know what they are really buying, and cut out the deceptive advertising, they aren't made in America, they are good lights, but why pay a bloated American price for the sake of convenience, even with the highest quality components these lights cost the manufacturers a miniscule fraction of their retail price. Those light contain no rare materials, a 100w blackstar consists of about $15 worth of parts when purchased wholesale a 500w maybe $60 worth of parts. Sure factor in assembly, taxes and customs, and you have a somewhat inflated price. Still the stateside distributors need to make money so the price continues to go up and up, and as long as everyone is none the wiser they can still make hundreds of dollars off these lights, simply for reshipping a product.

If one breaks, and they ship you a new one free of charge its because they have 500 of them sitting in a warehouse that they bought for next to nothing, and they have already made enough money off you to cover the cost of replacement without flinching under the guise of quality customer service. I just refuse to fall for it.

I can see the towns folk gathering with pitchforks and torches, to oust my Frankenstein-ish beliefs from their countryside but please don't hate me. Just trying to save everyone a bit of money, sure sometimes its a gamble, sometimes its better to be safe than sorry, I just want to show you my hand of cards and increase your odds of success.

Nothing personal, I just thought this was a thread about Gotham Hydroponics, not some Chinese manufacturer, if you want to boast about that company make another thread, dont muck this one up with it.

 

[TurboJoker]

Nothing personal, I just thought this was a thread about Gotham Hydroponics, not some Chinese manufacturer, if you want to boast about that company make another thread, dont muck this one up with it.

Not here to boast about a chinese manufacturer, never even used them before. If you read the whole thread it boils down to yes Gotham Hydroponics is a good store, with quality customer service, but you pay for it, if you are on a budget and can forgo the customer service consider buying direct from where they buy their lights, or similar manufacturer. Or even build your own.

Its a double edged sword, on one hand you have quality customer service, and fast shipping, but expensive. On the other hand you have questionable customer service, slow shipping, and lacks branding sticker, but inexpensive. Its all about knowing your options before you jump the gun on placing an order, everyone is different and require different needs.

Its difficult to say one company is good or bad without providing something to compare it against.

So "nothing personal" but if you feel the thread needs a redirect contribute something.

Just checked out your setup, how are those 240w blackstars running, the tent looks nice , did you get them from Gotham Hydroponics? Care to share your experience?