Today is the day. I've trimmed and jarred the white widow grown in the
sf1000 kit. After completing a cycle with the kit I feel the opinions I have and the data i have gathered should be separated and addressed individually.
I will start with the facts as I see them. Then I will give some opinions. I will try to make clear what is opinion and what is fact.
First the facts!
The kit retails for $559.99 Canadian on amazon. As of the writing of this review there is an additional 50$ off coupon. So if you decide this is the kit for you, now is the time to get it.
It comes in a surprisingly small and even more surprisingly heavy box. Packaged very well with boxes inside of boxes. All items are in their original retail boxes. In the kit you get:
A
spider farmer 27×27×62 inch tent, 1680D with a patterned mylar back. Full metal frame and corners. 3 vents and 4 6" ports.
Opinions:
I love the tent size for a single plant scrog. The quality seems to be good! No light leaks. I do not like how the front "window" is a screen instead of a vynil window, with only velcro to hold air I'm sure it just sucks air in through there all day long. Also I do not like how the mechanism to hold the tents door flap open is just 2 straps. Where most tents have velcro on those straps so you can easily hold the tent open, on this tent the straps have no velcro. Minor gripes, but worth mentioning.
4 inch inline fan and filter with speed controller, ducting and hose clamps.
Opinions:
The fan is unrated but I'm guessing around 160cfm maybe 180cfm. All plastic and quite solid. Works good with the tent. A bit louder compared to my metal with leather wrapped ones I'm used to. Speed controller works and has a decent range for the fan. The filter is unbranded and has worked as intended for the entire grow. Not much bad to say about this combo, it's pretty much exactly what is needed.
Sf1000 100w fixture with 3000k and 4000k samsung lm301 chips, along with 660 and 730 nm chips. (Deep red and infared) utilizing a 100w mean well driver. Dimmer and link function. Hanging kit and timer.
Opinions:
This is the bread and butter of any kit, the light. The fixture itself is amazing, by virtue of its components but also due to its clean construction. Remember I'm used to waygo and marr connectors. Unfortunately moving the driver out of the tent requires an ordeal that includes voiding your warranty. But on the plus side it doesnt really get that hot.
The hanging kit is 4 braided and crimped cable and 2 ratchet rope pulleys. It works but I prefer s hooks and chain. The timer is a push pin type 24hr timer.
Net/mesh, thermometer/hydrometer and 4 - 3 galon felt pots.
Opinions:
The net they include has very large spacing and cant be used as a scrog net, but is about right for your top net or if your not scrogging just a support for the crowns. Unfortunately its black and thick too, making it not ideal for me. The thermostat/hydrometer are your standard $4 dollar store setup. They work, not much else to say. The felt pots... I use felt pots frequently. This is the first time I've had a felt pot start to mold on me. Not the felt itself, but the stitching on the handle specifically. Not sure if this was a freak occurrence or not, but a quick swap to a standard pot fixed the problem.
The entire kit:
Facts:
The entire electrical footprint of this kit is about 125w. The light itself runs at 105w +/- 5w from my readings. I was able to grow 207g of dried flower with 16g of trim with this kit utilizing the scrog method in
promix HP and feeding with
general hydroponics flora series.
Opinions:
I am surprised I hit the 2g per watt mark. The light is technically too small for the tent, but i have to admit I wasnt expecting to hit the same number I get in my big tents with ample light. Admittedly the larf (popcorn) started much higher up though. In my normal setup with ample light I get 12 to 14 inches of hard buds before they start getting fluffy. And that's where I normally trim off during growing. In this setup only the top 8 to 10 inches were hard buds and the last 4 to 6 inches were progressively fluffier. I kept some of the not rock hard buds. But anything that was actually popcorn or easily flattened ended up in the trim.
The kit also did not come with a circulation fan, a must for any grow really.
If I was to change anything in this kit I would:
Include a bit smaller of a tent or more likely a bit larger of a light. Another 50% more and I'm sure my results would have been more in line with what I usually turn out. I would scrap the felt pots and the net and include a small clip on fan for air circulation.
But that is about it.
All in all this is a great kit that has the potential to give you 200g plus of flower. Could you cobble together something better for less? Of course. But kits are aimed toward new growers or those who dont want the hastle of learning all the ins and outs of the gear then tracking down all the components and not actually knowing the potential of the system untill your money is spent. For many the kit is a no hassle, one box item that is known to work well. It takes the worry and guess work out of the equation and let's you get down to what matters. Growin that medicine!
This kit checks all the boxes. It does what it is supposed to and the gear is quality. I would reccomend this kit to anyone looking for one.
I would like to thank
Spider farmer for reaching out to me, and to most of you here at the farm who make this community worth being a part of.
I think I'll take a break from my threads for a while after this one