Grow Tent Questions

StopFrontinFool

Active Member
LMAO.....wow..... how many light leaks from the dark room? one user with 1 post?

yea, your fucking very credible....thanks for trying to take a stab at me and my advice. but i really cant see me really giving a fuck about someone who tries to belittle me but has one post. LMAO

second....maybe you're too stewpid to put a tent together.....ever wonder why they have those big ass flaps in the inside behind the zipper? ITS FOR THE FLAP TO bE FOLDED UP TO STOP lightleaks.... but i bet your genius ass didnt think about that? i bet you got your flaps all bent up

nice try....close but no cigar.

before you try and belittle me again, maybe you should look at my post count and my reputation, then look at yours....then logic might strike you some sense!!!!
LoudBlunts, this isn't about you, it is about tents. I test them for a living. The number of times you posted versus me is totally insignificant. You don't scare me son.

This past weekend was a hydro trade show in Vegas called the PGTA. This is where I was. Where you there? I met with the maker of the Dark Room. I don't recall you being in our meeting. It took place in his DR300 on the trade floor. Keep smoking your reputation and post count cause it is all you have.

You throw around some hefty words but don't offer a single shred of proof for what you say! How can you prove a case with no real evidence? Oh you sound good on here where nobody knows any better but you really don't offer much in the way of evidence.

For the sake of this argument, barring the current problem with most white plastic tents (which I readily agree is a major and deal breaking problem), let's take a look at quality realistically.

Everyone can grow in a DR, I don't doubt that but does that mean it is well made? Nope!

The weight of the DR against any other brand (excluding HTG which is selling the biggest piece of shit made)? Why does the DR weigh half of the HH, Habitat or Sunhut? Aluminum poles is the answer. They are cheaper, lighter and make the cost of the DR much cheaper to mfr but the retail price is HIGHER than any other tent has ever been! Even the Homebox, which uses crappy poles too weighs more.

The material: Yes it looks cool. Everyone will agree that the (plastic based material) metal-like material really catches the eye and is probably the single biggest selling point. It comes from the photo umbrellas used by the photo industry. It isn't very shiny until they coat it with a nice shiny layer of PVC to make it brilliant. Don't take my word for it. Do a simple test.

This flap that Loudblunts is so stuck too (which doesn't work very well) that is supposed to keep the light from penetrating through the zipper but only works on the upper portion of the tent, tear it. Yes, take your fingers and tear it off with your nails--yeah just like a piece of masking tape. That is how easy it is to rip. Take this little piece of precious flap and burn with a lighter. This will expose your PVC layer, make the so called metal stuff bubble (just like plastic) and most of all, it will allow you to smell it--all plastic. Metal won't burn like that.

I can hang from my poles on three other tents. I weigh 200 lbs. As soon as I put my weight on the DR, the aluminum poles folded in half and broke! Ok, you say, nobody does this and you're right. We did it because DR is running around with a video showing that you can hang from the poles and we wanted to debunk that BS so we did. We then got another DR to keep testing.

Why does this matter? Because you guys all want to hang hella shit from the ceiling-- filters, fans, lights, ducting etc and you should be able to without any problems. The bigger the tent gets, the more likely your ceiling will bend or break. The smaller units can take the average weight.

You will notice in Puff's set up (very nice by the way), that he had to hang his blue Windtunnel from BWGS by himself. There was no provided spot for that blower. Other tents have offered a blower and filter bracket for years. DR cut corners and saved money on this and yet is costs more!

The zipper is the worst thing about the DR. It is the one "tool" that gets used the absolute most. I told the owner this very thing last week. Not if, but when your zipper breaks, you go from happy camper to seeking a replacement. DR is plagued by zipper replacements. The zipper is inferior. Someone mentioned that other tents were the same. Not true. Homebox isn't great, HTG sucks as usual, but SunHut, Habitat and HH all use bigger toothed, plastic zippers that can and do take more punishment. Again, this is the one part that will break and shouldn't on the DR.

The flap-- it is supposed to keep light from penetrating the zipper. The design by DR again is VERY cheap and not good enough. The industry should not go from better to worse. The flap is insignificant on the bottom half of the DR because the light coming from above makes its way past the flap and right out. This happens on the side doors as well. It is supposed to stop the light but it does not! This means it does not work as intended or touted by Loudblunts. Sorry dude, evidence speaks for itself and I never intended this to be about you.

Setup on the DR is the best. Because it doesn't need specific poles in specific places to make the general frame (unlike the other models), the directions are very simple and this makes it very fast to assemble. Good job on keeping it really simple. I less impressed by the fact that the ceiling cross members don't fasten to the frame but let's face it, you have to be pretty stoned to knock one of the cross members off once installed.

The pebbled metal surface versus white. Most of you missed this one. Yes, it looks really cool and again I will repeat is probably the biggest selling feature whether you took the time to realize it or not. However, titanium dioxide white is the whitest white in the world and it has much better reflective properties than mylar. White in general reflects more light than mylar. Cool selling point but really insignificant in the long run. You will grow the same whether its white or mylar. Too many other factors are much more important--temp, humidity, lumens, bugs and strain.

Back to the pinholes. The sewing needle sewing the tent is what made them. The owner admitted to me that it HAS BEEN a problem! The material is so thin that when sewn, it leaves holes! It is that simple. It is a problem. How he fixes it remains to be seen in his next model.

I leave you with this: if the tent weighs half of its competition, uses aluminum not steel poles, plastic not steel corners, has no specific brackets for fans or filters, has pin holes, is made with a really bad zipper, & allows light to leak through its zipper, and costs more, is it really that good? No. It is only good right now because the other tents are killing plants. Once they work past that issue, all of the other companies will be offering a superior product for your money compared to the DR. Count on it, free trade will bring you the best out there. The DR is currently way over priced and time will prove that I am right.

No hard feelings Loudblunts-- you could not have seen me coming. Respect. :joint:
 

xtheghostx

Active Member
I'm getting my dr from bg hydro and they claim to be using a newer model that fixes a lot of the lighting issues. Not sure if its all true but that's who I'm ordering from.
 

LoudBlunts

Well-Known Member
no offense taken bro..... your original post was directed towards me whether you want to admit it or not, i even question your username. i felt questioned, so i answered. we all have opinions just like our assholes bro.

was I at hydro conventions? lol seriously, you cant possibly be so naive as to underestimate a fellow hobbyist, let alone another person? you know as well as i know, underestimation is the downfall of anybody. and they damn sure didnt stop making hydro conventions nor 'professional meetings' with ceo's of companies after you went to yours. you dont know me, i dont know you....lets be reminded of that!

Although we don't see eye to eye on the DR, im still glad you're here....i welcome everybody with open arms, but just know on a website like this....you come hostile, you will recieve hostile.

Thanks for your 'professional', 'conventional' advice/opinion. I like to hear from all angles!
 

Bain

Well-Known Member
Stopfrontin, what do you suggest is the best tent for your money? Personally I'd be looking for a rather small one. Nothing bigger than 2'x3' or 2'x4'
 

StopFrontinFool

Active Member
LoudBlunts, sorry that I came so strong. Your experience in doing what you do is valuable and just as much as the next guys. I'll come correct.

Bain, you're going to laugh at me but you really only have one choice right now. The DR. Until or unless it starts killing plants, it is the only choice left on the market. HH has been open about problems. Habitat stopped selling and then they put it back on the market to get rid of them. Same with the Sunhut--mums the word over there. And HTG is selling the only one really made out of PVC and made by a chinese company that simply copied the others, but badly copied the others. I guess until another tent is released by someone, you only have one choice! I just don't think the choice is worth the money as is.
 

Bain

Well-Known Member
So are all of the tents killing plants except DR? or are some just not available? I mean, I can find just about any type on ebay or somewhere on the net, but I just wouldn't wanna buy one that I'm going to regret.
 

Puff

Well-Known Member
I was just playing around with what I had on hand and I came up with a pretty good setup for a cheap diy grow tent.



The shelves are by sterilite and you can take out the middle ones and the legs keep stacking together, you can make it as high as you need. I even ordered panda film and a stick on zipper. You could put two next to each other to double the width. There great for small spots and cheap too!
 

LoudBlunts

Well-Known Member
so stopfrontin....not attacking, insulting.....just inquiring minds

if the DR is the only choice out now......what was your reasoning for posting/registering again in the first place? what was your exact reason for bashing them again?

i mean IF the DR is the only reliable tent.....why would you bash it? then turn around and say that [its the only choice]?
 

Puff

Well-Known Member
I don't recommend that Hydrofarm hydroponic system in the picture above. It sucks, I think it was a waste of money. I was putting that setup together to grow some tomatoes or strawberries? I dont know what else to do with it? I dont expect it to work very well, it relies on a peice of fabric to wick the moisture up to the plants.
 

Puff

Well-Known Member
Yea that struck me kind of odd myself when he recomended the DR after the previous posts. But at least we all agree.
 

Bain

Well-Known Member
bain, you could always build one????
yeah I could, but I'd like to have something that doesn't "look" DIY. Thing is I have friends and family over fairly often and if it does get spotted I don't want something that makes people think "What is in there?!". A tent may look like extra wardrobe space to the avg person. Right now I just have the plants sitting in the open in my laundry closet.

Anyways, I won't have the cash for a while. I'm just conversing so that when the time does come I'll know what to get.
 

StopFrontinFool

Active Member
Yep, all the white plastic tents have the potential for killing. Most companies are trying to hide it. The problem happens in one and not the next within the same brand. 4 brands buy from the same actual material mfr according to what I've been told. This mfr is isn't mixing the ingredients correctly anymore. What wasn't toxic became toxic when in too high a concentration in the tents made from that material. They all seem to be poly-urethane based plastics except the HTG which seems to be PVC. They all have certain common ingredients within the plastic, either poly-urethane or PVC. This is another reason I'm skeptical about the DR. They used a layer of PVC and they claim no toxic substances used. There is no plant death coming from the DR's as far as I know. I'm not saying that. But the propensity to off gas is certainly there given their choice of plastic. We'll see in time.
 

StopFrontinFool

Active Member
so stopfrontin....not attacking, insulting.....just inquiring minds

if the DR is the only choice out now......what was your reasoning for posting/registering again in the first place? what was your exact reason for bashing them again?

i mean IF the DR is the only reliable tent.....why would you bash it? then turn around and say that [its the only choice]?
No offense taken. From the original homebox to where the Huts finally got after several years, there were many improvements. The product had finally earned its place before the problems hit. Then, quite by accident, DR came out when it did (good timing for them!) and gladly everyone had a replacement for their ailing plants.

But, the DR was made for Europe and it was made to a much cheaper standard than we expect here in the USA. Only the Homebox continued to use aluminum poles for instance (not sure about HTG but that tent is a different story), and then the DR comes out with aluminum poles, plastic corners, cheap, really cheap sewing, not a single bit of piping (finished sewed edges) etc. It was done as cheap as they could do it. For me, it was a bummer.

Yes, the tent works but what have we given up as consumers to believe in this tent? We gave up quality. We got a tent that doesn't kill (true) and it was very timely indeed but the overall quality of the DR really left me looking at the past, a past that was on the market place three years ago.

So while I'm happy that everyone has a choice to keep growing, I'm left scratching my head at what we've been sold. Anyway, you can count on the competition to lower the price on these things-- give it a year at most and the DR will be much cheaper and certainly not the only tent on market again.
 

Mindmelted

Well-Known Member
:spew:Just got my dr60 today.Set it up at work,and this thing is fucking killer.Hung 2 175 watt mh and a charcoal scrubber inside with no problem.Got inside and had it closed.No light leaks at all,and the zipper is pretty good.I think all these people that are ragging on it,either got a early version or they are retarded and fucked it up.This was well worth the money.:joint:
 

StopFrontinFool

Active Member
The new Sunhut is out and looking pretty good. Outside is black canvas, much thicker than the Darkroom and the inside is the same as the Darkroom. Sunhut changed its ceiling to be just like the Darkroom but still comes with metal flanges instead of duct socks. I'm told the second water proof floor isn't covered in the metal surface like the rest of the tent. It is still white plastic and this is bad news. Don't use the second water proof floor. The rest of it looks pretty good and they use metal (not aluminum) poles and steel corners, not plastic. In terms of blocking IR radiation, the Sunhut is going to be just a little better than the Darkroom due to its thicker canvas outside, but we are not talking about much. Both models can reflect IR but cannot really deal with radiated heat.

All those people with plant killing Sunhuts can now demand an exchange. Go see your sales reps and tell them you want an even swap out.
 

LuvOrganix

Active Member
Hey StopFront, I need a tent and would like to know, what do you recommend for a non-toxic tent. Are you cosigning the new SunHuts? And if you have any links, it would be much appreciated... Thanks a bunch:peace:
 

mrbuzzsaw

Well-Known Member
Assuming you can do it for under $75 is there any reason you would want to buy one of these over building it yourself? I'm surprised I don't see more people doing that on here. I feel like I am missing something.
being someone who is big on DIY i would normally agree but this makes it so easy. i am gonna pick up a couple of these asap
 

GrowTech

stays relevant.
I have an old hydrohut that has been working great for more than 2 years. After reading all the hype about the darkroom, I bought one of the dr150's. I really can't believe all the BS hype about the darkroom.

Have you tried to count all the F-ing pin holes in these things from the needle in the sewing machine they used to put this thing together? Yo loudblunt, the answer to the question about the light coming into the darkroom is that it very well could make a difference to a grow if the lights in the room where the darkroom sits are bright and are on during the grow's night time.

Keep drinking the Koolaid if you want but stress to a plant or a seedling isn't what I signed on for when I purchased a "professional grow tent". You stress a seed and you can produce hermys. You light the night cycle enough and consistently and you'll get hermys or you'll just throw the plant into a state of confusion or back to grow.

And lastly, my hut has steel poles, no pin holes, a place to hang my fan and my filter, and the zipper is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay beefier. The zipper on the darkroom sucks like hell!!! I already bent two aluminum poles in my darkroom trying to hang everything. Plastic corners??? Whatever.

The product is called the DarkRoom and it isn't even dark inside! Who in the hell are you guys trying to kid? This isn't preschool! If it wasn't for the other tents killing everything, the darkroom would be some piece of shit that nobody looked at twice. Instead, you keep drinking the Koolaid -- but please stop bullshitting people who are reading your posts.

No offense but your post is bullshit in its purest form. If you have had a problem with yours, I would look into talking to the merchant who sold it to you. My DR150 is totally light-tight and is incredibly sturdy (I can hang from the top bars, no problem.) Came with a carrying case, straps, and sets up/breaks down faster than anything else(I've moved an entire grow including all components, ducting, AC unit, etc in less than 15 minutes). Made of heavy duty, fire resistant material, and quality hardware

Anyone who has any doubts about the darkroom, I encourage you to see the grow journal in my signature.
 

mrbuzzsaw

Well-Known Member
No offense but your post is bullshit in its purest form. If you have had a problem with yours, I would look into talking to the merchant who sold it to you. My DR150 is totally light-tight and is incredibly sturdy (I can hang from the top bars, no problem.) Came with a carrying case, straps, and sets up/breaks down faster than anything else(I've moved an entire grow including all components, ducting, AC unit, etc in less than 15 minutes). Made of heavy duty, fire resistant material, and quality hardware

Anyone who has any doubts about the darkroom, I encourage you to see the grow journal in my signature.

i have heard from several people Regarding the dark room that it is not light tight.
i have also heard if you stick a flash light to the wall itself it shines.
again this is what i have heard. i have also heard the corners break due to being plastic
there is also word of the silver inside flaking .. these are just things i have heard.
untill i know for sure i am holding.
 
Top