****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I just received so not a complete review. You get what you pay for. It is plastic and a tad wobbly but it has a nice look and I'm pleased with it. If my plants die I am satisfied that it won't be the lamps faultAnother seller is pricing these at double the price. My African Violets are blooming their heads off under these lights. People have taken pictures of my violets because they look fake. I bought two of these lights so far. Love them. They are positioned far away from a window in a living room.I snagged this while there was a $10 off coupon and definitely suited my need for a small desktop grow light (with better price and output than getting a fixture to mount the GE BR30 bulb in). We'll see in time if the supplemental light helps my aglaonema plants which were not getting much indirect light from my window.The only thing that is slightly confusing on this product (and seemingly all grow lights) is that it's a 30W equivalent, as the adapter's rating and the part number on the LED board indicate 10W of actual draw (5V 2A).I can't speak to the timer function since I prefer to have my light controlled by a smart relay - unfortunately the included cable defaults to off and does not remember the state on power loss but it's just a standard 1.35mm barrel jack which I had an alternative power source for. That said, I got this more to tinker with and integrate into my setup than to use as-is so I cannot fault it here. The length of the cable and included power adapter seemed to be adequate for most purposes.Big pro on this is that it's dimmable which I'm assuming is just reducing the input voltage since it's all DC, unlike the LED bulbs which almost always have an AC-DC transformer integrated. I'm currently just using a dedicated right angle plug wall transformer at full power on a timer and can adjust this setup in the future as needed. Overall a good, compact desk setup for growing plants that can be used as-is or modified as needed. Can fit a 6" and 4" pot with some decent positioning and doubles as the drip pan, protecting your surface/preventing mess. Seems sturdy enough to stand up on its own even without pots in the base but obviously does better with the added weight. Might be a little short for my use in the long run but one of the best starter light options by far.Couple minor cons that aren't worth docking a star at this price point:The mounting is a bit flimsy, it'd be nice to have a screw to secure the bottom but the plastic friction insert holds well enough with how light the LED panel is. I'd also have loved to have a right angle on the barrel jack if I were using the original cable - straight plugs put a lot more strain on that small jack and are harder to cable manage along the aluminum support. Having a slightly smarter controller in the cable which could remember settings after power loss would be ideal as well but with this competitive pricing, again a non-issue especially if you're willing and able to tinker with it.Last year i was moved to a windowless office and my plants really suffered. I bought this grow light due to a strong recommendation for a youtube channel I really like. So far so good. Its been 9 months and my plants are much happier. I am not getting tremendous growth, but while before my plants were dying from lack of natural light, now they are staying healthy. My favorite part is probably the timer function. I have it set to go on when i leave the office and it stays on for 12 hours after I leave. Thinking of getting another to increase the number of plants in my office and improve my working environment.This was very quick and simple to assemble. The light shown here is at 75% power.We purchased it after we noticed the center cactus on the right was turning brown. We live in the Pacific Northwest and assumed it needed more light. We purchased the cactus on the left a week ago to fill the light tray, and immediately repotted it into the bugs bunny planter. I’ve circled the new growth we’re already seeing, and I think we can credit this light.As my headline said, I feel drawn to this light in the morning, and sometimes take a few minutes to sit in front of it to just gaze at the cacti. Everyone in the Pacific Northwest is chronically vitamin D deficient, and perhaps that’s why I’m so drawn to it.The power cord is about 64 inches long, but the control panel is located halfway along its length, about 31 inches from either end. I wish they had located it closer to the light, because it really limits where I could place this, since I couldn’t run the cord down behind the desk to the power supply on the floor without losing access to the control panel.The other flaw is that the timer loses about 5 minutes each day, causing it to turn on a little later each time. It’s not a big deal to reset it every couple of weeks, but that’s why I need access to the control panel.*update* less than 6 months after purchasing this and using the timer it has burned out and no longer works at all. It was my favorite plant light but I have removed two stars for its lack of durabilityI’ve had this on my desk at work for six months and it just died. It worked great for my plants for about 5, but over the last month, you could tell it was dying because they were too lol. Great lamp and super cute, but I’m not sure that they sell replacement bulb platesI bought this to help my seedlings i want to plant in the garden. I’m new at gardening and find my stems are growing strong enough. I’m hopeful this will work and helpsThis lamp SAVED my cacti! Literally they were growing all long and leggy with any new growth. But after using this lamp and having my cactus under for 12 hours at the brightest setting the new pads are coming in with the correct shape.
