VIPAR LED Review (6 months later..)

Scharfschutzen

Scharfschutzen

Well-Known Member
So I would like to share with the community my results with purchasing VIPAR LED lights. I purchased two 450w panels for $200 each. These came with a 1-year warranty. I initially was going to purchase the Blackstars for $300 and a 3 year warranty, and I regret it immensely.

After getting the panels (within my 30-day return window.) Having regrets, I tried returning them so I could purchase the Blackstars instead. The company refused to take the lights back and kept messaging me back and forth until PAST the 30-day mark. I contacted eBay and opened a claim. eBay was kind enough to force them to accept the lights so I sent them back. The company actually denied ever receiving them and shipped the lights back to me, in a different package, of course. I decided to let it go. Since I had opened a case and it "successfully" went through, eBay wouldn't allow me to open another or even allow me to message the seller. I had to request the seller's contact information and actually call them.

As for my results after receiving the lights, my plants did flourish better than my original 8-bulb t5 fixture (I used the LEDs for my veg room.) When I initially installed the lights, I couldn't even walk in my room because it hurt my eyes so much; I would wear sunglasses. About 4-months in, I noticed it was getting harder to see with my glasses on. I eventually quit using them and my eyes weren't bothering me at all. Being stoned, I never really thought about it.

Another 2-months go by and I decide to look at the panels again. The first thing I noticed is both panels have MULTIPLE bulbs burnt out. There were 18 burnt out on one and 13 on the other; photos attached. I spoke with the tech and he assured me the bulbs could not be burnt out, because the whole panel would fail. After speaking with "Lisa" on eBay, she contradicted the tech and said individual bulbs COULD burn out without whole panel failure.

So I contact the company again and they offer to send me LEDs and solder them myself. I tell them no, I have a 1-year warranty and you're going to honor it and fix it yourselves. They agreed and sent me a UPS label. The tracking number shows it as delivered I haven't heard a word from them since. They wont reply to my messages and haven't sent the panels back. I spoke with eBay and they tell me all warranty claims and issues need to go through the manufacturer, and they cannot help.

I hope this information helps anyone in the market for LED panels.
 

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Scotch089

Scotch089

Well-Known Member
But you had bought off of eBay, from a wholesaler- no the actual company. They aren't in control of what their distributors do (keep in mind usually the distributor comes to the company and says hey I'll buy so and so many for yay price, not the company contacting sellers- there's no interview process to find who will be a good wholesaler), VIPAR has came on this prim and backed themselves up before, and in a very good, respectable, and HONEST manner. I have respect for that in its own, even if their new models are still mid tier. (You should've contacted them and gotten the newer model too, better output I'm sure, better components I'm sure, and surely better customer service.)
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Scharfschutzen said:
I tried returning them so I could purchase the Blackstars instead.
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I have four Blackstars. They're nothing special. I'd consider them in the same category as VIPAR. Maybe a bit more on the side of over-priced Chinese rebranded imports.

Get an Area 51 RW. If you don't want to make a big move, get the Cree 60w equiv (9.5w actual) bulbs at Home Depot and use as sidelight with your T5. They're not "blurple" lights. Won't hurt your eyes.

Is it true you bought through a reseller, not the real VIPAR? Can you give a link to the seller? I've always been confused if the one on eBay is the same as the company in England. The one in England doesn't show the lights of the one on eBay. I always assumed it was a name ripoff.
 
Scharfschutzen

Scharfschutzen

Well-Known Member
The eBay vendor is "VIPARLED-USA" and they give the impression they are the manufacturer (importing from China, of course.)
The link is here: www.ebay.com/usr/viparled-usa

Nonetheless, I'm expressing my experience from the USA, from eBay, a commonly-used website. The reason I purchased these panels is because they were the cheapest I could find (for the wattage, taking into account that LEDs obviously aren't driven @ 100%)
If someone's experience with their customer service has been adequate, PLEASE feel free to share. I'm not here to bash the company, I'm simply here to provide knowledge based on a commonly-used methodology for purchasing goods online and my experience.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Scharfschutzen said:
The eBay vendor is "VIPARLED-USA" and they give the impression they are the manufacturer (importing from China, of course.)
The link is here: www.ebay.com/usr/viparled-usa
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Thanks. That eBay seller has been presented here as the legitimate US seller, and that the variation in lights offered from the UK company was due to the UK site being out of date.

So, I don't know what's true now. I was always suspicious because of the huge difference in lights offered.

Maybe you should contact the UK seller and ask if that's their official US rep. You'd eliminate any doubt and might get some action if indeed they are affiliated.
 
Yodaweed

Yodaweed

Well-Known Member
az2000 said:
I have four Blackstars. They're nothing special. I'd consider them in the same category as VIPAR. Maybe a bit more on the side of over-priced Chinese rebranded imports.

Get an Area 51 RW. If you don't want to make a big move, get the Cree 60w equiv (9.5w actual) bulbs at Home Depot and use as sidelight with your T5. They're not "blurple" lights. Won't hurt your eyes.

Is it true you bought through a reseller, not the real VIPAR? Can you give a link to the seller? I've always been confused if the one on eBay is the same as the company in England. The one in England doesn't show the lights of the one on eBay. I always assumed it was a name ripoff.
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I would agree for the panel blackstars, they are nothing special but the blackstar ion 8 is a beast, I have it and an area 51 light and honestly the ion 8 is just as good if not better.
 
Scharfschutzen

Scharfschutzen

Well-Known Member
Hey that's a fantastic idea. I will definitely head down that route.

I just have doubt in my mind about the longevity of these if getting them back. Obviously there's a cost-savings associated but there's also the headache.

How have the the Blackstars the Area51s hold up over time?

I at least consider the Blackstars superior because of the 3-year warranty..assuming they'd honor it :p.

Are the Area51's superior because they aren't "blurples" as you called them? (haha I love it.)

Do you have any idea what the T5 with LEDs in the are called? I've seen red/blue ones included with fixtures but never stand-alone.


And of course you get what you pay for. But not all of use have $1100 to dish out on LEDs and choose a more economical route.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Scharfschutzen said:
How have the the Blackstars the Area51s hold up over time?

I at least consider the Blackstars superior because of the 3-year warranty..assuming they'd honor it :p.
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I've only had the Blackstars 6 months, and the A51s 3 months. Blackstar should be less risky than the unknown sellers on eBay, et. al. I assume you'd buy from Gotham Hydro who's tight with Lighthouse. I think they'd help if you had difficulty. I've talked to them a couple times and they're very helpful. You pay for this though. Blackstars are just imported Chinese lights. They cost more but you get on-shore support.

A51 has a lifetime warranty. After some period of time they sell you replacement parts at cost. They state they have plans for an upgrade path. But, so far that's just a plan.

Scharfschutzen said:
Are the Area51's superior because they aren't "blurples" as you called them? (haha I love it.)
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In my 4x4 tent photosensitive tent I have a Blackstar v2 180, Apollo 4 (custom spectrum) both "blurple", A51 RW-150 and XGS 190. The A51s are performing the best. It's not a valid comparison because the other two lights are about 120w actual. They're not doing badly at all. But, the plants under the A51s have far larger buds right now. There's one I swear I could put a coke can behind and you wouldn't be able to see it. I should take a picture.

The A51s are superior because they use more efficient LEDs (more light for less watts), they use fuller-spectrum light and probably because Jeff at A51 has given it more thought than the imported "cartel" lights (5-6 factories that produce all the components assembled and sold under different names).

Scharfschutzen said:
Do you have any idea what the T5 with LEDs in the are called? I've seen red/blue ones included with fixtures but never stand-alone.
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I haven't seen them. I googled for "LED t5 replacement tubes" and found some things. Cree makes a T8 which was discussed here. (<link) I don't know if anyone's growing with such lights yet. Not clear how suitable they'd be to growing. But, that thread is about Cree's incandescent replacements. You might find that to be an inexpensive alternative.
 
gk skunky

gk skunky

Well-Known Member
That sucks. Did you notice the pattern the diodes were going out in are all the same? To me looks like it's one particular type of mono diode that's burning up. Probably could have bypassed them and used it for supplemental lighting. but that's BS. hopefully you end up getting your money back. Did you pay with a credit card? Probably too late to do anything that route but if they are refusing warranty and you have proof of that who knows. Couldn't hurt to tall the card company up and ask if that's what was linked through eBay or paypal. Worst they can say is "No we cannot help.".
 
Socalrob

Socalrob

Well-Known Member
I checked with my wife on some of our card policy's and just using some cards will extend warrantys and also some card company's will back you for 6 months. They will make you prove what problem you couldn't resolve on your own but whether you used a credit card or paypal look at their policy's before giving up.
 
Scharfschutzen

Scharfschutzen

Well-Known Member
gk skunky said:
That sucks. Did you notice the pattern the diodes were going out in are all the same? To me looks like it's one particular type of mono diode that's burning up. Probably could have bypassed them and used it for supplemental lighting. but that's BS. hopefully you end up getting your money back. Did you pay with a credit card? Probably too late to do anything that route but if they are refusing warranty and you have proof of that who knows. Couldn't hurt to tall the card company up and ask if that's what was linked through eBay or paypal. Worst they can say is "No we cannot help.".
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I did notice the similar burn-out pattern.

I actually paid with billmelater (paypal credit as it's known as now.) It has been long-since-paid off with a debit card no longer active. Ebay told me they cannot help. All the wrong things in just the right scenario bongsmilie
 
Yodaweed

Yodaweed

Well-Known Member
Scharfschutzen said:
I did notice the similar burn-out pattern.

I actually paid with billmelater (paypal credit as it's known as now.) It has been long-since-paid off with a debit card no longer active. Ebay told me they cannot help. All the wrong things in just the right scenario bongsmilie
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That's really lame those lights were defective the manufacturer should cover this with no problems.
 
PSUAGRO.

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
Scharfschutzen said:
I did notice the similar burn-out pattern.

I actually paid with billmelater (paypal credit as it's known as now.) It has been long-since-paid off with a debit card no longer active. Ebay told me they cannot help. All the wrong things in just the right scenario bongsmilie
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Yeah it's usually the low quality blue/"uv"diodes that burn up first when being pushed......

Have you tried threatening the BBB on them? Should destroy their online sales rep......worth a try

Good luck
 
indianajones

indianajones

Well-Known Member
that is a really old model of light. i know they get their lights
made by evergrow now, and the build quality is much higher.

i contacted evergrow directly and purchased mine, but i got
6 lights at once. i used them for 15 mos before giving them
to friends. their house got raided 3 mos after giving them the
lights, but still not a single burnt diode.

here's what vipar's leds actually look like-

 
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