This post may sound like I'm being a dickhead...I'm not. I'm genuinely just pointing some things out, bc, imo, people are way too afraid of hydro.
DWC is also know as Death Without Cause.
There is no such thing. Something caused it. If they died, something killed them. Negligence is a cause. Also, DWC and RDWC aren't the same. If you have a single (or singular) DWC buckets, there is no water pump. Just an air pump. And the plant will last a while w/out the air pump. You have to fill the bucket every few days at least, so, you'll notice if the air pump died.
I have never had my ph go crazy. It's something I always read about, but ime, it only goes crazy when something else is not right. Root rot will cause that (among other things I avoid) but again, that's negligence, or poor planning...whatever. RO water, nutes, mix, PH, and it's done. Water needs to stay 68-70F. But that isn't difficult.
Faster runs, higher yields, and it's pretty straight forward. Any way is fine...but there are benefits to hydro. For me, it's cheaper. There are also benefits to soil...all soil product I get tastes a little better imo. My product is a lil more potent.
All you gain is faster veg.
That isn't true, but even if it was, that's significant. I think what you are getting at is that it will veg faster, so the only benefit is being 10-14 days quicker. I get that. But there is a piece of the puzzle you missing.
The plant is vegging faster, because the metabolism is rocking. Now, you are right, it doesn't shorten the flower run, because genetically, you just can't. But that metabolism is hauling during the entire run. So, during flower, the plant is significantly larger and heavier, than a soil version of the same cut. In Hydro, THC on average is higher than soil. In soil,
Terpenes on average are higher than hydro.
Look at all the problems people have hydro.
I think this just a mindset. I could just as well say, "Look at all the people using hydro with no problems." If they can do it, I can do it. Overall, my problems with soil have been greater than my issues with hydro. My biggest problem with hydro was getting used to how fast it is. But I'll take that.
Spend the money on another light.
You're making the assumption that people aren't already maxed out on light, or their light bill, or space.
In the end, it's like saying which is better, Rap, or Rock. There is no "better." It's just preference. It may not suit your situation, or it may not be your style. But I don't think people should be afraid of it. A single DWC setup is like $50, so, it's not terribly hard to try it.
I don't do it for the plant size or speed or THC. I do it, simply because I find it easier. No mixing soil, no hauling water around (or watering it all). Every few days I just mix up a new batch of nutes. Flushing is very easy too, with no waste of nutes. I find it very easy to dial in the nute recipe, because the reactions are so fast.
I do RDWC, so, I could have 4 plants, or 24. When they need water, I turn on the hose, fill the res and mix the nutes. The only part left is what I consider the fun part...plant training etc. Everything else is done for me, mechanically.
Bottom line, it's just preference. There are benefits to both, but we all value those benefits differently. But saying not to do it because of power outages is silly. If your power is out, your lights aren't on. The plant will be perfectly fine sitting in water for the average power outage. It will be fine for days. The major problems a power outage will cause are your environment and lights. Both of which are a problem no matter which method you use.
Or not to do hydro because of PH. The ph is not difficult to control. Or water temps....also not hard to control. Hydro does rely on more electrical components.
But people talk about the electric as if in soil, when your electric goes out, your lights, fans, heat or AC et al stay on. If your electric is out, you have problems either way.