Lighting BlackStar The Manual

[Vedder6.0]

personally, and this is just my opinion, im never going to go back to a blackstar ever again.

ive owned mine for a little over a year now, but WAY before that 1 year mark hit..... this happened:




i peeked under my blackstar unit after about 6 or 7 months of ownership and noticed one of the center bulbs to be burning out. God only knows how long its been like that seeing as how i didnt peek under my unit week after week when I bought it.
I immediately emailed them.... no response...

then this happened:



half the unit... dead.
emailed them again... this time, not only their amazon store but also gotham hydro's website.
after weeks of waiting.... FINALLY, a reply.... which said

"We offer repair services on our of warranty lights. please give us a call - 845-XXX-XXXX"
(im not sure if im supposed to post #'s so i edited it.. and i think he means "....on our off warranty")


.... off warranty? i havent even owned the product for a year and its out of warranty?
So i asked them how much it would run me to fix the unit.. they didnt give me a price when I called, because "Depending on what we have to do to the unit", and also the fact I have to send the FULL unit back and wait for the new one (they wont ship out a new one while the old is being sent back) made my decision a lot easier.



I love growing under LED's. But im never going back to blackstar series ever again.
their customer service is -10/10. they are slow to respond to problems. And personally, and again this is just my opinion.

Go with other LED's people. And always ask about the warranty!!!! Someone that offers a 1 year warranty stay the eF away.... Seriously.

 

[slappynutz]

Wow that's scary when you pay a lot of money for those and that happens. Not inspiring a lot of confidence for the biggers panels.

I am still debating on whether to get another 135 UV ufo, but the idea of only having 2-4 of any medium size plants under that is not too appealing and then if their was a lighting failure that would be devastating. Not to mention very expensive if out of warranty with the shipping etc.

When I can afford to take the risk I will certainly get another one and hopefully the price comes down by then.

 

[Groff]

Seriously guys... BS 240w put out around 50% of actual power draw, so around 120W. For the price these units are, and how others have dropped... BS is not the best choice out there today!
You can get BETTER units for essentially the same money. This is already very old tech in the LED industry

 

[astronomy420a]

i have four bs panel's they two have been running since 2011 at 20/4 and i dont like it when people on the bs thread make statement's like they suck donkey dong, or you can get panel's at the same price or less that function as well. i dont think so! your scaring new grower's with your personal
opinon's that the bs suck's or is old tech! ......wrong. it simply is the cheapest panel that work's !!! so please cool it! with the negative rhetoric!:

 

[astronomy420a]

groff please back up your statment that you can get better panel's for the same price. i find it hard to believe!

 

[astronomy420a]

i love my blackstar panel's and will argue with anyone that say's there no good. there are way more people who use them and have not had any problem's so new grower's on this thread, please take any negative info with a grain of salt! you could buy a mercedes benz that has problem.s or you
could buy a toyota and have no problem's. that's the way it is. i am gonna cool down now.

 

[yodabuds]

Seriously guys... BS 240w put out around 50% of actual power draw, so around 120W. For the price these units are, and how others have dropped... BS is not the best choice out there today!
You can get BETTER units for essentially the same money. This is already very old tech in the LED industry

Groff just curious what you would say would be better? Mines been running almost solid year at some times 24/7....I've done complete grows from seedling to finish under them with zero deficiencies. AFN likes to have proof is in the pudding LEDs. There are SEVERAL successful PROVEN GROWS using BS 240w panels, please if your going to recommend better "panels" for cheaper also have the grows shown under them and their results first!

 

[Muddy]

personally, and this is just my opinion, im never going to go back to a blackstar ever again.

ive owned mine for a little over a year now, but WAY before that 1 year mark hit..... this happened:

View attachment 271271


i peeked under my blackstar unit after about 6 or 7 months of ownership and noticed one of the center bulbs to be burning out. God only knows how long its been like that seeing as how i didnt peek under my unit week after week when I bought it.
I immediately emailed them.... no response...

then this happened:

View attachment 271301View attachment 271302

half the unit... dead.
emailed them again... this time, not only their amazon store but also gotham hydro's website.
after weeks of waiting.... FINALLY, a reply.... which said

"We offer repair services on our of warranty lights. please give us a call - 845-XXX-XXXX"
(im not sure if im supposed to post #'s so i edited it.. and i think he means "....on our off warranty")


.... off warranty? i havent even owned the product for a year and its out of warranty?
So i asked them how much it would run me to fix the unit.. they didnt give me a price when I called, because "Depending on what we have to do to the unit", and also the fact I have to send the FULL unit back and wait for the new one (they wont ship out a new one while the old is being sent back) made my decision a lot easier.



I love growing under LED's. But im never going back to blackstar series ever again.
their customer service is -10/10. they are slow to respond to problems. And personally, and again this is just my opinion, their units suck a donkey dong.

Go with other LED's people. And always ask about the warranty!!!! Someone that offers a 1 year warranty stay the eF away.... Seriously.

I have the same issue with two 2010 model Blackstar 240s. The drivers are bad and need to be replaced. Since both are out of warranty I'll need to pay for the replacements. Per Vic at Gotham, $20 each. I would suggest you call, not email, Gotham and ask to speak directly to Vic. In my experience he's a great guy and very willing to satisfy his customers.

 

[Vedder6.0]

not everything in the world will receive a positive review. i posted my experience, i put IMO - in my opinion. Im happy other people have been running their blackstar for decades. I just so happen to get a panel that burnt out and find it very convenient they finally responded to my inquires and phone calls the moment my warranty was up.
IMO, a 1 year warranty is kinda BLEH

just dont want any other members to get a faulty panel and go thru what i went thru
peace

 

[Vedder6.0]

I have the same issue with two 2010 model Blackstar 240s. The drivers are bad and need to be replaced. Since both are out of warranty I'll need to pay for the replacements. Per Vic at Gotham, $20 each. I would suggest you call, not email, Gotham and ask to speak directly to Vic. In my experience he's a great guy and very willing to satisfy his customers.

i forgot who i talked to, but it wasnt vic. i'll give them a call after work to see if i can get ahold of him or leave him a message.
Thanks muddy!!!