Cheap vs Expensive Equipment

[Damon94]

Hi all, had a quick question on brands and wheather or not to spend more money.

Im looking into buying an inline exhaust fan and carbon filter my local grow store has fan, filter, ducting, and fan controller for around $250. I can however go on amazon and get the same stuff different brand obviously for around $125.

Should i spend the extra money or should i just get the one on amazon? Any help would be awesome, its my first grow so im not sure what to do. Thanks.

 

[ttystikk]

Fans, ducting, carbon filters are all pretty standard bits of kit and should not very much in terms of quality.

What you get from your hydro store is their warranty and return policy- which varies from shop to shop.

When it comes to something technically involved like high performance lighting on the other hand, some of the very best available options are NOT the most expensive, as it turns out that much of the innovation in the field is about reducing costs of acquisition as well as operation.

 

[Morth]

Careful with the mufflers though cheap ones usually use fiberglass for sound dampening instead of acoustical material. Not an issue really if venting to an attic or outside but if it's venting into a living space would make sure it's acoustical material and not fiberglass. fan is a fan filter will very i have a cheap one that seems to work great to me some say the phresh filters last longer but not sure. Some people also say you can cook the cheap filters in an oven and reset them also not sure if that's correct or not.

 

[Bareback]

Vortex fans have a 10 year warranty. I never see them in shops, but worth the money.

Just make sure your cfms match.

 

[Kevin the Great]

Some of the super cheap fans can develop vibrations over time. The higher end ones are balanced better, better bearings, quieter operation. I have run both the super expensive and the super cheap filters in various setups, phresh is marginally better, not worth the price in my opinion.
My personal setups use the amazon i-power cheap fan/filter combo. I think it was 150 with a controller.

 

[Damon94]

Some of the super cheap fans can develop vibrations over time. The higher end ones are balanced better, better bearings, quieter operation. I have run both the super expensive and the super cheap filters in various setups, phresh is marginally better, not worth the price in my opinion.
My personal setups use the amazon i-power cheap fan/filter combo. I think it was 150 with a controller.

Thats the exact one im looking at. Is that combo good? I only have a 4x4 tent with 2 plants right now.

 

[Morth]

Can hang the fan by bungee cords to eliminate the vibration problem. would actually suggest doing that over mounting it anyways as it will eliminate some noise even on the higher end fans .

 

[Kevin the Great]

Thats the exact one im looking at. Is that combo good? I only have a 4x4 tent with 2 plants right now.

It would work just fine for that. I put a layer of soft foam under the mounting pad and used rubber washers to reduce harmonic vibration. I run LED and only have the fan at 20% power.