Customer Reviews

Hydrofarm JSV2 2-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I ordered the JSV2 2' grow light jump start system and it arrived pretty quickly and set up was a breeze. All you really need is a screw driver and common sense. I put it together in about 10 minutes and the pully system for the light comes already assembled and works great.

It also comes with a 24 watt T5 6400k High output fluorescent bulb which is already installed upon arrival. The 6400k bulb is a very efficient low heat bulb which is designed to promote overall growth in the plant. Because it is a low heat emitting bulb you can place the light source a couple inches from the plants to prevent the loss of light.

This is not a complex system, it is simple and efficient. For the price it would be hard to find a package which comes with a stand, a reflective fixture, a good bulb, easy adjustment, and easy assembly. It is a good first step into the grow light world which is vast and and many times confusing. I also found that it isn't really that flimsy. The product isn't industrial grade but the light fixture is sturdy and so is the stand if you put it together correctly.

I will be growing venus fly traps when they arrive and I have researched grow light systems quite a bit. This system will only cost me $1.50 cents to run per month. The calculation can be done by taking the 24 Watts and dividing it by 1000 to get KW. Then multiply that number by how much the electric company charges per Kilowatt hour. That is the price it will cost to power the light for one hour. Then multiply that number for one hour by however many hours you will run it during the day. Then just multiply the cost of one day by 30 days and you have how much it will cost you to run the system for a month.

For example here is mine 24W/1000 = .024
.024 x .1484 (cost per kWh) = .0035616 cents per hour (less than 1 cent an hour). .0035616 x 14 hours = .0498624 dollars per day (about 5 cents). .0498624 x 30 = 1.50 per month. So my light run for 14 hours will cost one dollar and fifty cents per month. This is assuming that the light runs at 24 Watts per hour.

When I was shopping for grow lights online I found a very helpful website that includes a much better description on the Jump Start grow light and has a lot of technical and very helpful information on plant lighting. littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/lights2.shtml#jsfixture.

The website has a grow lighting guide and also contains the calculation above. It was by far the most helpful website when considering this purchase. It includes a good bit of information about the T5 6400k bulb and the Jump Start from HydroFarm.

I love gardening, but living in New Hampshire, it is necessary to overwinter some of my plants indoors under lights. I bought this product for that purpose.

It has pros and cons. I have looked for similar products in this price range, but this one seems to be pretty unique. I have not been able to find another product which is a complete set with a stand, full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs, and a fixture for under $100.

As such, it seems like there is not much competition for this type of product in the marketplace. It shows - the product could be better.

First, it is not very sturdy. The metal frame requires assembly, but the pieces are soft (mine arrived bent and I had to use pliers to reshape it before I could complete the assembly). The frame, once it is assembled, is not terribly sturdy. Even for something in this price range, I was disappointed with the quality.

There are two fixtures for fluorescent tubes. The tubes do not lock into the fixtures very well, and have a tendency to shift and roll around. The metal pieces which contains the fixtures can flex and deform, which contributes to the instability of the tubes.

One of the light fixtures on the product that I received was defective (I knew because I could switch the bulbs, but each bulb would only light if it was in the working fixture). The retailer I bought the product from (7GIFTS) and the manufacturer were excellent about getting me a replacement fixture - both were very communicative and seemed happy to address my problem. That was a plus.

I have the light on a timer, set to provide ~18 h of light per day to my succulents and some flowering plants that require full sun. All in all, it works well - the plants are doing nicely. The wattage is relatively low, so it does not cost me very much to run the light.

My overall experience with this product was a bit of a hassle, but ultimately it works for my purposes. The cost was not unreasonable - but the product could definitely use some improvement.

I was a little afraid to order this because of previous reviews, but found this item to be perfect for what I wanted to use it for. Set up is easy, fast and works just great. Maybe not the most high quality product for the price, but other ones out there are much more expensive and are basically the same. This is just a simple way to get light to your seedlings for a couple months before planting outside. The light raises and lowers just as advertised. Works Great. Would buy it again.

I just received the JSV2 today, and haven't put it together yet - but I am confident that it is a good product. Here's the thing: the product description on Amazon is totally wrong, according to the manufacturer. The JSV2 now has only one light, instead of the two mentioned in the description, so don't be surprised (like I was!) when the system arrives and looks different than expected. According to Hydrofarm, the older JSV2 had two T-12 bulbs, but they redesigned the product and it now comes with one T-5 bulb, which is apparently a much better bulb.

Not sure why Trilby O'Farrell "Truth please" is having trouble with their unit, but mine moves up and down just dandy. It helps to support the light fixture with my other hand when I pull the string to adjust the height, but it locks just like a window blind. Maybe Trilby O'Farrell should contact the manufacturer and see if there is a problem with that particular unit. Just an idea. Sam.

This item does indeed work, however, the light does not go up and down as they say. It actually uses S-hooks, which were supplied with this unit, so they must be aware of it on some level. The feature that it is supposed to have - whereby you can move the light up and down by a pulley-type mechanism - does not function. Hence, the S-hooks. I was very disappointed by this (I hate S-hooks), but the light itself functions well, and the frame is okay.

I bought this item because I was tired of growing my herbs outside and having the voracious squirrels enjoy them more than me. I have three 9" pots under this one light, and all pots are growing herbs/peppers well. I don't know what the one reviewer was talking about with the raising/lowering mechanism, it works fine for me. It's true though that the plants on the edges do grow inwards a bit, but if you grow in small pots like I do, then its not a problem, every week turn the pot and it grows fine. For the price it would be hard to beat this item.

Figured I'd write a review on this even though there are many, but I just received mine (Oct 2010) so perhaps they have changed things. Anyway, all the things people have said about the stand itself are still valid. Things just don't quite fit together properly...the screws to attach the "feet" to the sidebars are just short enough that you really have to drive the bars down into the feet with a mallet to get them close enough to get started...and when you do that you warp the feet slightly. Also, with a single point of connection to the feet, the fully assembled stand isn't perfectly stable...I still haven't gotten both feet plumb at the same time. Then there are the clips you attach to the light enclosure to allow you to hang it from the stand....you have to be really careful to get both of them well "seated" under a metallic lip is there, because if you don't, that lamp is going to come crashing down on whatever is underneath it. It took me maybe ten minutes to get the whole thing together, and you really do need a mallet or at least a hammer and maybe a dish towel wrapped around it to pound various pieces of the stand into place. That all said, now that it IS put together, it's a pretty good value for the money. Sure, you could just buy a grow light and mount it somewhere, but that assumes you always want the light and the plants under it in exactly the same place. I don't, so this is perfect for me because it's self-sufficient and I can move it anywhere I want to as the seasons change, one area of the house gets a little too cold in the winter, etc. You really can't go wrong with this, you just have to realize you're going to have to fiddle with the stand a bit to get it together and stable. I'd recommend it with that in mind.

After watching one too many movies like "Serenity", "Book of Eli", and "I am Legend"... My overactive imagination ran rampant with worst case scenarios- one of which lead me to realize, "If there were no grocery stores... I would not be able to feed my family..." It was in that moment that I decided, I need to learn how to garden. This somewhat irrational Hollywood induced fear has turned a girl who previously killed her friend's houseplants- including a few plastic ones, into a budding green thumb.

I began my new obsession with a growing collection of heirloom and organic seeds and a box of jiffy pots. I live in Houston and unfortunately began this new hobby during the hottest part of the year. With heat indexes in the hundreds I was forced to start my seedlings indoors on windowsills. I spent nearly a month chasing the sun inside the house. Moving the seedlings to the brightest spots throughout the day. I knew that this would result in leggy seedlings, but couldn't bring myself to invest in a grow light. Partially because of lack of space and partially because I wasn't sure how long I'd stay interested in gardening.

I have posted pictures and I am happy to say that in 6 days I feel as if my purchase has been justified. My seedling have flourished rapidly beneath the grow lights. I leave them on for 14-16 hours a day, in my absence they were on for 36 hours straight. I think there is a little yellowing of purple beauty pepper seedlings- but that may be from nitrogen deficiency. I water my seedlings with a little diluted liquid seaweed and will soon introduce a mineral product called Azomite. We'll see how it goes.

If you are also new to gardening, I highly recommend you purchase this growlight... it's the most inexpensive and easiest to assemble i've found on the internet. (and believe me, i searched for a long time- i really didn't want to invest $47 to grow a few tomatoes that end up costing me $10 a piece) You could go to home depot and diy a growlight, but that involves having a permanent fixture, mounting it under a cabinet or worse to the ceiling, figuring out the most user friend system to raise and lower the light, etc, etc. Plus if you decide to give up the hobby or need to store the growlight between seasons- (i'm hoping) it disassembles easy and fits back into it's compact box that's less than three feet long and 3 inches thick.

I gave the product four stars- because I don't have any experience with any other grow lights to compare results.

Happy gardening!

This grow light system works like a charm. Very easy to set up and the system to raise and lower the light is simple and quick to use. I have been using it to start tomato and pepper seeds and after two weeks under the grow light, they are thriving and already producing their second set of leaves. Excellent product and a fair price.