I received my @ViparSpectra KS3000. Here's a brief look at the unboxing and initial setup.
For those concerned. It arrived in a plain brown cardboard box that does not advertise the contents. No one will be be the wiser that you just got a grow light.
The old box in a box trick. The inner box is non descript also.
Opening the box. Its well packed and cushioned.
It comes with adjustable rope hangers, stickers, manual, and a plug converter for non-US plugs.
Setup is simple, unfold the fixture and hang via enclosed hangers. The driver has a long cord allowing it to be mounted outside the tent. It's winter in my locale and I can use any extra heat so I hung mine inside. In the summer I can choose to change its location if needed. I didn't put a stopwatch to it. But the entire process of removing my old homemade fixture and replacing with the new took about 20 minutes tops. Its housed in a ViparSpectra 3'x3' tent.
Why did I upgrade? My old fixture was a the same wattage, but similar to many of the other options in the 300 watt strip light category, it measured 24"x24". What I found is that the smaller footprint creates too much intensity in the middle of the tent and the intensity drops off significantly on the edges and corners. The ViparSpectra KS3000 solves that problem by utilizing a 32"x32" frame, moving the strips more towards the edges of the tent. You can see the difference between the Vipar and three other competitor lights.
I have a light meter to monitor the intensity at the plant tops, and vary it depending on the stage of growth. The manual gives a good guide on hanging height x dimmer setting for each stage which is nice for those without meters.
Now lets get some seeds cracking and put it to use!
For those concerned. It arrived in a plain brown cardboard box that does not advertise the contents. No one will be be the wiser that you just got a grow light.
The old box in a box trick. The inner box is non descript also.
Opening the box. Its well packed and cushioned.
It comes with adjustable rope hangers, stickers, manual, and a plug converter for non-US plugs.
Setup is simple, unfold the fixture and hang via enclosed hangers. The driver has a long cord allowing it to be mounted outside the tent. It's winter in my locale and I can use any extra heat so I hung mine inside. In the summer I can choose to change its location if needed. I didn't put a stopwatch to it. But the entire process of removing my old homemade fixture and replacing with the new took about 20 minutes tops. Its housed in a ViparSpectra 3'x3' tent.
Why did I upgrade? My old fixture was a the same wattage, but similar to many of the other options in the 300 watt strip light category, it measured 24"x24". What I found is that the smaller footprint creates too much intensity in the middle of the tent and the intensity drops off significantly on the edges and corners. The ViparSpectra KS3000 solves that problem by utilizing a 32"x32" frame, moving the strips more towards the edges of the tent. You can see the difference between the Vipar and three other competitor lights.
I have a light meter to monitor the intensity at the plant tops, and vary it depending on the stage of growth. The manual gives a good guide on hanging height x dimmer setting for each stage which is nice for those without meters.
Now lets get some seeds cracking and put it to use!
