Srirachi
Well-Known Member
Recently I ordered 2 different brands of CMH light. One was branded Apollo Horticulture, the other, Vivosun.
I wanted to mention it here because someone could have a fire or get a hell of a jolt if their unit has a similar issue.
The Apollo Horticulture light is definitely heavier construction and today, I ordered another one and will be ditching Vivosun's cheaper unit. The reason is because the first Vivosun light was DOA, and the second one quit after less than a week. I didn't send this one back as the vendor told me they'd rather I send pics and dispose of it. The vendor is working with me so I really can't complain - cheap stuff costs the same as expensive stuff, you just pay in different ways... so really I brought the hassle on myself.
I took it apart to take pics as instructed by the vendor, which tells me they have seen this issue before. While I was in there I fixed the connection but the light was still dead. Opening up the ballast showed why - several of the SMDs on the circuit board were physically detached from the board either due to exploding or desoldering from arcing. The entire board is potted in epoxy making it difficult to repair.
The crimp connector was burned through and arcing against the frame. Typically this happens on electronics when someone is overcrimping the connectors and cracking them so this is usually a sign that an entire production run may have issues...
I wanted to mention it here because someone could have a fire or get a hell of a jolt if their unit has a similar issue.
The Apollo Horticulture light is definitely heavier construction and today, I ordered another one and will be ditching Vivosun's cheaper unit. The reason is because the first Vivosun light was DOA, and the second one quit after less than a week. I didn't send this one back as the vendor told me they'd rather I send pics and dispose of it. The vendor is working with me so I really can't complain - cheap stuff costs the same as expensive stuff, you just pay in different ways... so really I brought the hassle on myself.
I took it apart to take pics as instructed by the vendor, which tells me they have seen this issue before. While I was in there I fixed the connection but the light was still dead. Opening up the ballast showed why - several of the SMDs on the circuit board were physically detached from the board either due to exploding or desoldering from arcing. The entire board is potted in epoxy making it difficult to repair.
The crimp connector was burned through and arcing against the frame. Typically this happens on electronics when someone is overcrimping the connectors and cracking them so this is usually a sign that an entire production run may have issues...
