So I guess I never really spent alot of time thinking about it... Does expensive equipment really increase quality? I know new digital ballast use less electricity and put out more light supposedly but what about bulbs? Why is the Plantmax 1000w 90$ and the Hortilux 1000w 250$. I'm getting worried cause I bought cheap. I also bought some equipment online that is no name ballast or light bulbs that i can see but they work fine, worked fine before BUT could it be better with better equipment or is it in the grower? First time hermie fucked up everything and still came out decent mids.
You have to be smart about it , but in most of the cases cheap components are not that chip on the long run . Cheap crap has better chance of failure VS brand ( which comes with warranty ). Brand Items usually last longer and over all are more user friendly . For instance ; Cheap grow tents have limited ports , often with some useless port sizes and locations in the tent , zippers will tear of fast , light leaks are just part of that cheap crap , some of them are toxic ( when exposed to heat of HID light ) and on and on and on ... Bulbs : Quality bulbs comes with warranty . Why? Because manufacturer know that they ( bulbs ) will last at least a year , cheap crap- no warranty ... Why ? Manufacturer know that them sell crap... Also spectrum , 2 HPD bulbs can have different spectrum , one can have far from optimal another close to optimal .... Air stones : Blue stone just pure crap , micropore - perfect , 1 st one cost $4 another $35 but quality speaks for it self . PH/EC meters : Quality meters a)expensive ,b) water proof ,c) adjust readings according to solution temperature ( as result more accurate )... Cheap crap : none of the above...I hope you got my point .... Brand name quality Items are actually cheaper ( on the long run) than cheap , sweatshop made crap which will require you to replace it often...
Thanks alot Elvis... So basically cheap equipment wont affect quality/ quantity TOO bad but I will be sorry after a few uses when my flowering bulb breaks 2.5 weeks before harvest huh?
I use cheap gear but i have spares for everything because i expect breakdowns and anything that has a moving part in it if its cheap expect breakdowns. Elvis is basically right but in the long run as you learn you will upgrade anyway as you learn exactly what you do and don't need
better quality usually costs more money but just because it costs more money, does not mean it's better quality so price does not depict quality the differences between brands on bulbs will make very little difference to how well your plants will grow. there are many more variables that have a far bigger influence