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Collection in danger of dying

My friends on the forum know what I have been going through with my collection due to my inability to purchase the needed lights to maintain my extensive CP collection. I have been worried about how to maintain the collection this winter, since I need some 30 grow tubes to be able to maintain my plants.

Well. thanks to Andy Wilkinson in the UK, I thought I had the problem licked: Andy has loaned me the needed funds to purchase bulbs for my HID lighting system.

The system is made by the Sunlight Supply Co. in Vancouver, Wa. Purchased 3 years ago, the unit failed after the initial season: only half the ballast functioned. The product provides an excellent source of light....when it works.

Last Feb. I returned the ballast to the company under warantee, where it was ostensibly repaired and returned to me. The folk involved were very helpful and acted in a timely matter.

Since the plants went outside for the spring, and since I had no new bulbs for the unit, I did not have a way to check the repairs. Now, with the cold weather onset and Andys loan, I purchased the bulbs.

Upon checking the unit, the ballast remains as when I sent it in: half functioning. Now I am in a real JAM since the money is spent, and the plants still have no light source. There is no way I can maintain them without a light source, and no way I can purchase another unit. Many of these plants are virtually irreplacable. They are rare and expensive species: material donated to my for maintenence from botanists the world over for my research.

I am now trying to contact the company, and I will be asking that they express ship me a functioning unit to act in the interm while my unit is properly repaired. I will let you all know how the company performs in this regard. I feel that the mistake is theirs: their repair was ineffective. I am hoping that they take this view as well.

Its tough being a "little guy" with no money. Many of you know of my research and efforts to preserve these endangered species. Lets hope there is a happy ending here, or it is all going to come to an end, and fairly quickly. I need that ballast YESTERDAY.
 
Hi Tamlin,

sorry to hear about your problem. Are you sure the ballast is wired correct? These units are build so simple (ballasts sold in the US for HID lamps are normally just inductors), that there are not many causes for them to fail. Maybe it is just not suited for your HID lamp?

Cheers Joachim
 
Phoned the company today Monday 10/06/03. I was informed that the company does not issuue "loaners" since it was against company policy, and that I have to go through a local distributor. The closest is 2 hrs. from here. I phoned there and asked if they would send me a loaner, and was told I had to bring my ballast in for repair, which can't happen before the weekend. This means no lights to the plants for a week, and whatever time is added to the repairs. The salesperson didn't know if they had a loaner on hand, or if the owner would send it to me. I have to call tomorrow and talk with the owner (tick tick tick).

It's not sounding too good. I have plants crammed everywhere there is any light, but it won't work for long.
 
Tamlin,

That doesn't sound good at all. However, your collection must not die due to a lack of funds. PM me, and if Sunlight Supply Co. doesn't set it right, we'll take care of this, somehow. I'll buy the ballast, if necessary. They seem to be widely available, at least.

Capslock
 
Hi Joachim,

I am dealing only with the manufacturer and the outlets since the unit is under warantee. I ASSUME it was wired correctly, but obviously it wasn't, or it wouldn't have failed initially.

The company rep. said once the unit was repaired and returned "usually about a week wait" it would have completely new transformers and I "should have no future problems".

I still feel they should ship me the loaner ballast direct, and EXPRESS since this is such a critical issue. Not to get puffy, but I am not some kid growing dope in the cellar! I also feel that they should be the ones spending time setting this up with the local dealers, instead of me having to make the calls and try to arrange for water to flow uphill!
 
Thanks CapsLOCK, your offer is very touching, ballasts however are not cheap, and this particular unit is a twin MH/HPS unit, not a single ballast and is probably only to be found from this company. I know the company will honor their warantee. It's all just a time issue, and also one of impersonal business ethics vs. special attention. I am a pretty undemanding sort of person, except when it comes to my work with the plants. I will usually take it light (ouch) but this is a very important issue with me! I can afford a week wait: the plants will survive, but I can't afford for this to stretch into weeks, or they will not. I might consider asking you for a short term loan if things get pressed to get some needed light tubes. Money will be coming in the near future, just weeks away: but it's all a matter of time, as I said. I feel like all the forces of my incredible good and bad luck are meeting and impacting on this issue that is so near and dear to me, and I don't particularly like it
sad.gif
 
Tamlin, whatever you need, just message me. The important thing is that your collection doesn't die due to lack of funds or light!

Capslock
 
William, all this again? jeez.
sad.gif
If there is anything I can do, just ask and I'll give you a phone call. Emotional support? Physical support (let's hope not!
smile.gif
) Hope all turns out well, if things go down hill I'm making an emergency car trip down to you with a few goodies.
wink.gif
 
Ditto what the others said.

If it gets critical, shoot me a pm. I'll contribute what I can to the save the cp fund. At the worst you can get a dozen or so shoplights and a bunch of cheap soft lights to get by with.


Casper
 
  • #10
Tamlin,

There are plenty here that will get together and help you out. This is important. Say the word and those of us willing to donate will get together.

Also,I believe, In civil law, if you loose the collection, there is an action in that is directed toward this type of case. The company, if they failed to make the unit right under warrant (that is you warned them that the unit was not right and asked it to be fixed), is responsible for your lose. I know this doesn't replace the irreplacable plants, but the threat of suit often makes companies work faster. Do they understand what is at risk?
 
  • #11
Thanks all, for the support. I hope legal persuit will not be needed! I mentioned this post to the rep. I talked to, and he siad "Please don't threaten me". I don't want this to be a threat, just an account of the way the company handles this affair. I have since written to the company asking for "special attention" which is a painful thing for me to have to do and not really my style, but I will go long and far for the plants. I sent them URL's to my photo's, including the Brasillian expidition by Robert and Fernando last year. Hopefully someone sympathetic will see this and act as a friend to the plants as well: someone who can make an exception to "company policy". Tomorrow I will phone the company again to see what action is being taken.

On the bright side of things, my computer is once again functioning, and with a new hard drive. I mirrored the old drive 2 weeks before it failed, so all my files were conserved <whew>. By Samhain I should be a very happy man, or a man without a collection. Much as I appreciate the offer, I can't borrow more money from friends. I was raised never to mix money with friends "Never a borrower or a lender be" but the offers of help are a very happy thing for me to encounter. One way or another, Tamlin's "Dark Days" are drawing to a close. Soon we rock!!!
 
  • #12
First of all, please read your warranty over carefully before you threaten them (read: upset them) Unless the warranty was written by a 12 year old, they definatly put clauses in there to protect themselves from this sort of thing. I know because I see this all day at work. I am a project manager for a comercial roofing company, and I get calls from homeowners with leaks in there roof that is under warranty. When a 6 month old roof leaks, and destroys your home theater system, the roofinf company is liable, right?? Wrong, they are liable to fix the roof, and thats it. Its all in the fine print of the warranty.


On the other hand, please don't let your pride get in the way of saving some beutiful plants. I know it sucks to have to borrow money, but everyone needs a hand sooner or later.

Personally, I would go to the local shop and demand a replacement. Explain to someone face to face the gravity of the situation and see where it gets you.


Just my .02

Casper
 
  • #13
Tamlin,

Sounds good, and it sounds like they'll eventually get your ballast fixed. But there's the interim solution to worry about. So, my offer of help still stands, and incidentally, at no point did I mean for it to be considered a loan.

Capslock
 
  • #14
I'm sorry to hear of all your problems. And you know I'll do anything I can do to help.
First I have alot of flourescent ballasts. I'm sure I have enough for you. All you will need to buy is the tubes and the connectors for the end of the tubes. Both are pretty cheap. If you think you can use them let me know how many you want. They are for 4 and 8 ft tubes, two tubes per ballast.
Second, I can join everybody else and donate some money. I know you won't borrow from friends but I'm not loaning "you" the money. We'll loan it to your plants. Call it an insurance policy. If we help preserve your plants we know we will be rewarded in the future with free plants just like we have been in the past. If we do nothing we'll lose an important plant resource. Please let us help you.
Third, Remember you have your own electrician that will be glad to help you wire the lights. All you have to do is give me a call when you need advice.
Good luck
 
  • #15
William, don't make me and everyone else come downt here and shove money down your throat.
smile.gif
You have the largest Drosera collection I know of...and it should most certainly not go down the drain.
 
  • #16
Man, this is no good.  Isn't it terrible when you finally master growing these beautiful gems and then stoopid stuff has to happen?   Like all those hit last winter from heaters breaking, and your own door being left open to only freeze many many plants many to death and a few to survive.  I wish you luck in your quest, I as well will chip in with anything nessasary.

 I know you and I have talked about this light set up for my personal use, and hopefully everything is taken care of very quickly.  I'd feel that much better about the purchase.  Thanks for your dedication to these plants and us forum members.   And thanks forum members for offering Tamlin and his plants help!
Andrew B.

P.S. If you havn't noticed this is all the towns folk comming out to help the "King of Dews"!!!
 
  • #17
All the kings horses and all the kings men will try to fix the light again.
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  • #18
Also point out to the company that you have some plants that are only found on a few places on the planet.  A loss of those would not be good.
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Best of luck!
Cole
 
  • #19
This deffinately does not sound like a company worth buying from.  It is sad, but service has gone lacking in so many things.  What ever happened to "The customer is always right".  I suspect it was that some customers took advantage.  But this is in business to serve a certain type of customer.  Anyone who buys lights like these needs to have them working properly whether they're for plants or animals.  Hopefully someone will listen.  Hopefully it does not stop at the sales rep.

It would be different if this was the first time you had problems with the lights, but it not.  You sent them back to be repaired.  They said they were repaired and returned them.  They should make it right.  All they have to do is let you use another set up until yours is properly repaired. I know its against policy and sounds like a big deal to them, but its just good busniess.

Just to clarify, they felt this post in general was a threat? That is, the fact that you told plant people?
 
  • #20
I have an idea. Why don't you post their phone number here. and we all can call and ask that they send you a loaner. We are all potential customers and I don't think they would like to have such a large group of potential customers dissatisfied with them before they even get a chance of getting our money.
If you decide to give us the number, we all have to make sure that we don't make any threating or harrasing calls, that'll get us nowhere. If you call you have to be polite.
The choice is up to you Tamlin.
 
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