Any uk growers using Mars hydro ts 3000 led?

[Beginner101]

Hi, just keen to see if any uk growers are using the Mars hydro ts 3000 LED light?
I have been advised to purchase through this forum, and have been very impressed on videos I’ve watched, just looking for a bit more information on them as I’m a first time grower and my friends only have knowledge regarding grow lamps, thanks.

[dphipps1020]

There's a few here that use the TS3000. Not sure if they're from the UK, but I've seen pictures of some good results from this light. I recently bought one but haven't had it long enough to give a full review. I have a few seedlings under it right now and they love this light so far. I've never had my seedlings leaves reaching for the light until now. It's not even full power and I think the light is about 24" above them. Can't wait until I get farther into the grow so I can really see the difference. Also, I'm not in the UK but I thought I'd comment anyway because I'm sure the light works the same no matter what country you're in. Hope that helps. Welcome to the forum and happy growing!

[Beginner101]

I’ve put research into this model due to you recommending it in my last post, I was trying to find out how these work under iws and if anyone struggles with the electric through the sockets as these are pretty powerful. Thanks for the reply

[dphipps1020]

Yeah so far everything is great. It's not a huge amount of electricity so I believe you should be fine there. I know here I can run pretty close to 1500W in one socket, not sure about there.

[Beginner101]

I’ve watched a YouTube video about it and how much it’s pulling from wall (it actually exceeds what it says marginally) but in the uk I’m sure they can take up to 13amps which is on the edge if I have 2 Mars hydros in one socket. Sure the video I watched it was just over 6 amp on full power for one light

[Malkavian420]

I have a TS-1000 I purchased 6 months ago. While not a TS-3000, it is virtually the same, only smaller, so here are my observations (even tho I too do not live in the UK)

1. The unit does not have a Veg/Bloom setting, instead all the lights are active (so in essence its always in Bloom mode) - the extra lights that are on do not impact vegetative growth, but it does means that the Infra-Red LEDs are activated meaning that it will pump out more heat at the plants. So be careful not to burn them (especially seedlings) by having the lights too close.
2. An external power supply and dimmer. THIS is the big bonus here. With most other lighting units, the power transformer that converts the 110V/220V into the voltage needed for the LEDs is integrated into the light-box itself. That means a lot of heat is generated in the growing area, just converting the power! An external power & dimmer unit, means that the electronics to convert the power can be placed outside of the grow area.
3. Lighter and slimmer design. When I replaced my older unit with the Mars-Hydro, I was surprised by how little it weighs, but then again, no power transformer in the main lighting unit! That also means it is a slim unit and the metal cover allows for easier heat dissipation. I added a couple of passive copper heat sinks using thermal paste to aid in heat dissipation.

When my last grow light stopped working, I did a lot of research to find the right unit and settled on the Mars-Hydro TS-1000 (I have a small grow space and anything larger would have been a waste).
I wish I had gotten Mars-Hydro earlier as I love it.
The weight, dimmer control, make the TS series a great option and I would highly recommend...

Attached 2 images for you.
The first is the power transformer & dimmer control. Now that transformer gets f*****g hot, but if placed outside of the grow area then your plants will be safe from all that heat. Other grow-lights, this will be integrated in the main light unit adding to the weight and heat. NOTE the 2 small copper heat sinks that I added.
The second image is of the light unit itself, you can see how slim it is. Again note the extra copper heat sinks. Even on full power, the light unit while warm to the touch, it is no where near as hot as the power transformer, nor as hot as my previous light unit which was only 300W...
In the box, the power unit is bolted onto the light unit and sits in the blue tray on top, but the instructions show how by undoing 2 screws, it detaches...

[Beginner101]

Thanks for this, helps a lot. That’s interesting with the copper sinks you’ve added as I’ve seen a lot saying not much heat comes from the ts 3000.

[Malkavian420]

Thanks for this, helps a lot. That’s interesting with the copper sinks you’ve added as I’ve seen a lot saying not much heat comes from the ts 3000.

I added the copper heat sinks because I live somewhere where the summer temperatures often exceed 100F / 38C (and is when I miss living in the UK) and so heat control in the growing area can be a major issue for me. So I do every trick I know of to dissipate the heat away from the plants (including frozen bottles of water in the reservoir to stop it getting too warm)

[Beginner101]

Ahh ok that makes sense