Johnston Grow Light CX9 NOT SAFE

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
First off I know the owner of Johnston Grow Lights is on here and and this is in no way an attempt to bash his company up until now I was very satisfied with his lights, but I noticed my light was off during times it should have been on I thought it might have been a timer issue but when I touched the power cord I could hear sparking and the lights came on stayed on for a little bit then went off. When I unplugged the light cord it had already began to melt inside the unit from heat and was literally moments away from starting a fire! The light is less than 3 years old without going back through my email I dont remember the exact date of purchase they could be less than two years old. I purchased from growershouse.com not directly from johnston grow lights, but regardless this could have turned into a very bad situation. I've had an old Groblu led light thats about 5 years old going strong with no issues. I just wanted to share my experience with this lamp.
 

Stephenj37826

Well-Known Member
First off I know the owner of Johnston Grow Lights is on here and and this is in no way an attempt to bash his company up until now I was very satisfied with his lights, but I noticed my light was off during times it should have been on I thought it might have been a timer issue but when I touched the power cord I could hear sparking and the lights came on stayed on for a little bit then went off. When I unplugged the light cord it had already began to melt inside the unit from heat and was literally moments away from starting a fire! The light is less than 3 years old without going back through my email I dont remember the exact date of purchase they could be less than two years old. I purchased from growershouse.com not directly from johnston grow lights, but regardless this could have turned into a very bad situation. I've had an old Groblu led light thats about 5 years old going strong with no issues. I just wanted to share my experience with this lamp.
Hello

Sorry to hear about the trouble. Send an email to us with your address and we will get this taken care of.

Thank You
 

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
What was the companies response to this issue? I assume it's out of warranty.
The unit has a 3 year warranty, and after checking was purchased in june 2016 so less than 2 years old. As you can see the owner has already been in contact with me about the issue which is a testament to him and his companies character. I will let you guys know how it plays out.
 

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
i think it's unfair to say his lights are 'not safe' it could be caused from a number of things including mishandling (incl during shipping) or improper use, the fact it happened 2 years later sounds like something came loose that wasn't previously, i'm not sure but i'm glad to see @Stephenj37826 prompt response, makes me happy with my purchase
I dont think anything I said was unfair, but I greatly appreciate the response from @Stephenj37826
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
That sounds like a too small cable for me. Probably just a suitable was taken and not paid attention to sufficient cable cross-section. Bad quality of power cables is not rare. Inner diameter should be at least awg18 for a lamp like this!
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
Resellers also buy larger contingents sometimes without power cords and hangers to get a better price and use their own, cheaper powercords. Maybe not even someone from Johnson is guilty.
 

legalcanada

Well-Known Member
Resellers also buy larger contingents sometimes without power cords and hangers to get a better price and use their own, cheaper powercords. Maybe not even someone from Johnson is guilty.
yes OP may want to bring this to the resellers attention as well
 

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
Resellers also buy larger contingents sometimes without power cords and hangers to get a better price and use their own, cheaper powercords. Maybe not even someone from Johnson is guilty.
This is why in my original post i clearly said I wasn't trying to bash HLG as a company, I also made it clear In the original post that I did not purchase directly from HLG. My claim of the CX9 not being safe was based on as I said in my original post my personal experience with one unit. I in no way tried to say the company or all of the products were not safe or defective. The response and customer service so far from @Stephenj37826 has been outstanding, and based on that and the performance of the unit before it malfunctioned I would still recommend any one toward his company.
 

nc208

Well-Known Member
This is why in my original post i clearly said I wasn't trying to bash HLG as a company, I also made it clear In the original post that I did not purchase directly from HLG. My claim of the CX9 not being safe was based on as I said in my original post my personal experience with one unit. I in no way tried to say the company or all of the products were not safe or defective. The response and customer service so far from @Stephenj37826 has been outstanding, and based on that and the performance of the unit before it malfunctioned I would still recommend any one toward his company.
Possibly change title of thread then. A MOD could help if you can't edit. Glad to see manufacturer is taking care of you.
 

cookie master

Well-Known Member
because its a one off issue. Its really mean to a small company to say that their product isnt safe based on one issue. A better title might be- my johnston light failed. And you are adamant about it not being a loose wire when that sounds like the issue. The guy saying power cable- that is NOT the issue, its an led not a 1000 watt hps.
 

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
because its a one off issue. Its really mean to a small company to say that their product isnt safe based on one issue. A better title might be- my johnston light failed. And you are adamant about it not being a loose wire when that sounds like the issue. The guy saying power cable- that is NOT the issue, its an led not a 1000 watt hps.
I was very respectful to the company and my intent to not BASH HLG was made clear in the first line of my OP so I dont think anything I said was mean. I made it clear that it wasn't purchased directly from HLG, I was completely transparent and the power cable wasn't loose as you're suggesting. I have the utmost respect for how @Stephenj37826 responded to my concerns and I think he is a top rate business owner, but the fact remains that MY unit failed, and had I not checked on it and been home when I was my house when have burned down and my dog would probably have died in it. So Im more concerned about that than anything else.
 

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
Like I said IN my original post I was only speaking from personal experience with MY unit, and I would still purchase from and recommend HLG as a company to other people even more so now than before based off the outstanding customer service I received from @Stephenj37826 In no way am I or was I trying to bash HLG I was trying to share a safety concern I thought thats what this community was for.
 

nc208

Well-Known Member
Like I said IN my original post I was only speaking from personal experience with MY unit, and I would still purchase from and recommend HLG as a company to other people even more so now than before based off the outstanding customer service I received from @Stephenj37826 In no way am I or was I trying to bash HLG I was trying to share a safety concern I thought thats what this community was for.
Safety concerns are obviously a big thing and very important to let others know about. However the title of the thread is not a one off warning but you basically blasted everything coming from the company by saying their lights aren't safe. A lot of people will see your title and possibly not even read your thread, what do you think their thoughts of the company would be after seeing your title without knowing how great the customer support was. That's why you should change your title to be a one off warning that this happened. Instead it comes off as a blanket statement that this company doesn't make safe lights.
 
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