Mars II 400w upgraded 2018 information needed

tacobean

Active Member
Greetings 420'ers,

Discussion regarding Mars II 400w (160true watts ea) to obtain vital information.

After a bit of research it appears there were huge numbers of customer product issues with Mars Hydro sending out series II 400w units straight from the factory built to fail prematurely from 2015-2017? then in 2018 they replaced the old epistar 5w diodes that had problems on the unit with newer SMD diodes, and so my first question to any whom know is:

Are these new SMD chips still cheap burnout prone diodes or are they leagues better? Is the penetration improved with this chip upgrade?

Has anyone had any issues with the 2018 upgraded versions as of yet? Please post here and inform me of your experiences or knowledge of these lights regarding problems or great success.

I noticed the 2018 model upgrade has also removed the glass panel, this tells me these diodes do not tolerate heat at all. Are the fans good quality? The power supplies? How long should these internal parts maintain working order does anyone have info? Very limited and yes I have extensively searched the web and came up short of answers.

I also see this model is now being discontinued and am growing concerned the units may be or become faulty from the reviews.

Have I made a bad purchase ordering this model from Mars Hydro company?
 
Hi @tacobean, thanks so much for putting this question! Here is my explaination for you.;)
For the old version of Mars II, why would they "burn out"? :rolleyes:- With the improving wattage on the leds from 3~5w, the heat is more, while the lens quality didn't improve on the market, therefore with long time usage, there would be some burn out with the lens, but remove the lens, the leds are still working. So the burn out problem is actually on the lens, not the leds. :eek:
A lot led grow lights manufacturers are still using the leds which has lens, why they got less complain? :(- Each products has its own defective rate, even the most expensive, luxury products cannot make sure 100% perfect products, we do also, but as we sell about 9 years now, thousands products each month, the quantity of defective lights increases with times on, so it looks like we have more defective lights' complains; But if you buy another lights with this design from other manufacturer, there will also have this problem with times on, we have bought several other brands to test ourself, and the same problem happen again as well. :eek:
What is the advantage of the new upgraded Mars II?:oops:
- We use the newly advanced SMD tech leds, in the past, only the best led brands uses these version chips, like Cree, Osram, that is why their lights has less problems. The chips has no lens, so there won't be any burn out on the lens. Also, compared with other led chips, they are brighter, higher par value, and higher output with less heat caused. We put the first version of SMD chips lights on our Mars Pro II lights, the chips were customized with Epistar, the imported ones from Taiwan directly, not just buy the normal ones in the market. And we get great results from customers' feedback. Then we working on the Mars II, but we are hoping to give customers better price with the same quality SMD tech chips, so we working on the developments on the soldering tech, with many tests and revises on the designs, finally the upgraded Mars II chips come out. We bought the chips with big quantity to help the price down, so that more customers will benefit with this new technology, and no needs to buy the expensive Cree or Osram chips lights now:circle-of-love:. :)
- There is no glass cover on the lights, it doesn't for the heat releasing, but for the better light output. Lens at past, though might concentrate the lights in one point, but actually it will cut the whole light output around 10%~20%; the glasses cover as well, will cut the light output around 10%; We uses to make the glass cover to protect the leds panels, but now the new tech is well made, you can clear the panel directly after some time's usage, so no needs for the glass cover. (y)
- The light itself has ETL certificated as well, and all the components are either UL listed, or anti-fire, very safe to use.
- We do not discountinue the Mars II version, but the old version Mars II, the new upgraded Mars II we keep Mars II 400, Mars II 900, and Mars II 1600, the three type can help growers choose for their own growing needs already.:yahoo:
Hope this explaination is clear, and if you have more questions, just let me know. I would be more than happy to help. :popcorn:
 
Thank you Sarah for providing such an informative reply,

I do have some very important questions if you would be kind enough to answer:

#1 Cleaning the panel, are we able to use a glass cleaning cloth directly on the lenses of the SmD chips or will this damage them or promote potential burn out problems?

#2 How is the warranty card used? It has no information written on it from you the manufacturer, a blank card with no item serial, details of purchase or relevant info?

#3 externally, if needed, where can I obtain replacement SMD chips?

Can i please have chip make, model, supplier/source?

Also information on model/make of drivers and fans in the Mars II upgraded 400 version?
 
Thank you Sarah for providing such an informative reply,

I do have some very important questions if you would be kind enough to answer:

#1 Cleaning the panel, are we able to use a glass cleaning cloth directly on the lenses of the SmD chips or will this damage them or promote potential burn out problems?

#2 How is the warranty card used? It has no information written on it from you the manufacturer, a blank card with no item serial, details of purchase or relevant info?

#3 externally, if needed, where can I obtain replacement SMD chips?

Can i please have chip make, model, supplier/source?

Also information on model/make of drivers and fans in the Mars II upgraded 400 version?
Hi Tacobean, good day! :)Here is my answer below: :green_heart:
1. You can use the dry cloth to clean the panel, no problem at all, won't damage them. ;)
2. We don't have warranty card, but we keep all the purchase data in our system, so once you have any warranty problem, you can contact us directly with your purchase data, order number, we can check with your order and proceed with your warranty accordingly :high-five:
3. The newest SMD chips have very small defective rate, but if there is any chips burn out, you will need to contact us to send the light to repair center, because the new soldering tech, you cannot do it yourself.:surf:
4. The chips are Epistar's but we do the after SMD soldering ourself. So you probablely cannot find the model online.
Hope my explaination is clear! :welcome:
 
Hi Tacobean, good day! :)Here is my answer below: :green_heart:
1. You can use the dry cloth to clean the panel, no problem at all, won't damage them. ;)
2. We don't have warranty card, but we keep all the purchase data in our system, so once you have any warranty problem, you can contact us directly with your purchase data, order number, we can check with your order and proceed with your warranty accordingly :high-five:
3. The newest SMD chips have very small defective rate, but if there is any chips burn out, you will need to contact us to send the light to repair center, because the new soldering tech, you cannot do it yourself.:surf:
4. The chips are Epistar's but we do the after SMD soldering ourself. So you probablely cannot find the model online.
Hope my explaination is clear! :welcome:

Can not replace upgraded Mars II 2018 SMD epistar chips due to the SMD soldering?

Is running x2 of these mars II 400 upgrades lights side by side @390 PAR equivelant or better than x1 Mars II 700?

Also Sara what is the life expectancy of these Mara II series 5w chips?

How much is this small defective rate?
How do these new chips compare to the Pro series II chips you say were the first version?
 
Can not replace upgraded Mars II 2018 SMD epistar chips due to the SMD soldering?

Is running x2 of these mars II 400 upgrades lights side by side @390 PAR equivelant or better than x1 Mars II 700?

Also Sara what is the life expectancy of these Mara II series 5w chips?

How much is this small defective rate?
How do these new chips compare to the Pro series II chips you say were the first version?
Hi tacobean, :slide:the new SMD chips is usinjg different soldering ways, which usually cannot be handled by normal person. So if there is any problem, ship back,our repair center will help handle it directly. :high-five:
And two of the Mars II 400 will be better than one Mars II 700 for sure, there are more chips, 160pcs vs 140pcs.:surf:
The lifespan of the chips is also the same 50000hours,:reading420magazine: but also depend on the usage of the growers. And also there will be light loss as well like all the other lights. Just slower. :popcorn:
Defective rate is less than 1%:battingeyelashes:
Pro II version uses Taiwan made Epistar chips, which will be higher quality, that is for sure, and that is why they are more expensive as well.
:laugh::love::love:
 
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