I had to sign up for another account to post since I can't figure out my password or email for the regular progrow account but I own a Growtronix system and thought I should chime in. I don't see how people think Growtronix is expensive? Show me another controller that does what it can do for cheaper? The sentinels that loudblunt referred to are ok but they don't have the abilities that Growtronix does and are only slightly cheaper and can't be added to like growtronix can. I have 3 rooms controlled with one growtronix cvontroller and my level of control is much greater then could be had from a sentinel controller. Can sentinel turn off the lights if smoke is detected? How about turn off the pumps if a flood is detected? And send a text message to your cellphone to boot? Can you check in and control the grow room live from your cellphone? How about an emergency shutdown from the cellphone when needed. Can it detect the meter man and turn off the lights before he gets to the meter? Don't think so. To someone who takes growing seriously these features are well worth the money in my opinion.
Another thing that people say about automation is that they prefer the "hands on" approach. Thats just silly in my opinion. Do they sit in their grow room and watch a temperature sensor and turn an exhaust fan on and off??? Same with Co2, Humidity? I figure they're just new growers who don't have the knowledge to know how important it is to control an indoor grow properly. How do they control and syncronize Exhaust fans, Co2 genie, foggers, dehumidifiers, heaters, exhaust systems?? I mean you need SOME type of automation, growers who turn on and off their lights manually aren't doing themselves any favors IMHO. While growtronix and sentinel type controllers are probably overkill for the average grower it's hard to imagine how the heck they get by without it.
Now that I'm sounding like an advertisment I'll give you some negatives about growtronix. I bought my system about 3 years ago and have added to it fairly regularly. If you saw the system I bought back then and what they offer now you wouldn't recognize it,the product seems to change quite a bit. Although always compatible. Second is the build times can be rough when you need some equipment and have to wait at least a week or more for the item to ship. I waited over 3 months for my ph tds and temp meter! The system is sold with regular phone type cord but if your system is anything but small you'll need to make your own cat-5e cables. There is a bit of a learning curve if you ask me, but once it clicks you get excited about the possibilities because the system is completely configurable. Besides that the support is like none other, I've had emails answered in minutes and he's made himself available in the middle of the night to give support through IM chat. To end this long winded opinion I'll just say that Growtronix is an awesome controller and until something better comes out I'll be a loyal user. And whether sentinel, growtronix, climate master or some other controller automate your grow you won't be sorry and you'll still have plenty of work for "hand on" time with the ladies.
peeze
