Hydrofarm Habitat Tents - A Warning

Mr. Bongjangles said:

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to post this information I received recently from my retailer, especially as I have confirmed it myself.

Bottom line - the Hydrofarm Habitat tents suffer from the same problem as the recently manufactured Hydrohuts. They will be doing a recall, likely in similar manor as the one Hydrohut initiated about a week ago.

I got one myself as a replacement for a bad Hydrohut and concluded the same thing after a couple of weeks, so I am very certain about this.

I am told that Homebox is the only brand to not have a problem yet, but cannot confirm this.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I hope this information helps anyone who is having trouble in these tents.

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Lately, we have had an increasing number of customers and retailers approaching us with questions and concerns about some problems they have heard of with grow boxes. Some were simple problems like the cover material becoming brittle with use or a strange smell to the boxes when they are new (due to outgasing); other problems ranged from weird, complex to some that were a bit frightening like plants yellowing and dying within the grow boxes. Everybody wanted to know if these things could happen with an Original Homebox as well. The answer is "No."

How can we be so sure? Let me explain.

Our Homeboxes were on the market for over 3 years before the first imitations appeared. In that time we have not received one single complaint. And, we can assure everyone, that all these problems will definitely not occur with any of our products which are of the highest quality.

When staring the inventing process of the portable grow box we named Homebox, finding the perfect material needed for the cover was a huge issue for us. The demands were set fast:

Durable and tough but not too heavy
Lightproof
Reflecting inside
Soon it was clear, that it had to be several materials, combined to one. Looking only at these perimeters, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) seemed to be the best solution, followed by Polyurethane (PU), which has very similar properties. It is easy to laminate, tough and relatively cheap.

But we also had clear demands concerning the protection of:

The users and consumers health
The environment
Now, looking at these factors, both PVC and PU were instantly not a choice any more.

We researched a lot, and after long time and many investments into trials and tests, we found the perfect combination for our Material.

It consists of 3 layers:

on the outside we use webbed Polyester (PES), for strength and durability and to make sowing possible
as a middle layer, we use black Polyethylene (PE) to guarantee that it is lightproof
the inner layer is white PE to ensure maximum reflection and perfect ability to clean
Why did we choose to use PES and PE instead of PVC or PU? And why is that so important in reference to the occurring problems?

To explain that, let us peek a bit into material science. What are the different characteristics of PVC, PU; PES and PE?



PVC:

Polyvinyl chloride is a thermoplastic polymer. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is unique in its high chlorine and additives (softeners) content, which makes it an environmental poison throughout its life cycle. Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen (BUA 1986, 1987, 1993; Gray et al. 2000, Foster 2000, Ema et al. 2001, Kavlock et al. 2002a, 2002b, 2002c). PVC releases dioxin and other persistent organic pollutants during its manufacture and disposal and cannot be readily recycled due to it chlorine and additive content.

Workers in PVC production were getting sick (lung and joint problems). This was soon known as the so called VC-disease.

Furthermore, additives are not bound to the plastic and leach out. To make PVC soft, a lot of softeners have to be added. One of the most commonly used softeners is di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Flexible PVC products typically contain 30 to 40 percent DEHP by weight, but that figure can reach 80 percent in applications where flexibility is critical. DEHP is known to be hormone disrupting, and otherwise health damaging (Ema et al. 1993, 1994, 1998; Shiota et al. 1980; Shiota und Nishimura 1982; Kavlock et al. 2002). This is especially true for children and genital organs. It was abandoned by the USA and EU last years, but only for children toys, and only in these Countries. No one knows what softeners are used in the PVC that is produced and used in products imported from China, for example.

PU:

Polyurethane (PU) is mainly used in insulation and soft/foamed products like carpet underlay. It uses several hazardous intermediates and creates numerous hazardous by-products. These include phosgene, isocyanates, toluene, diamines, and the ozone-depleting gases methylene chloride and CFCs, as well as halogenated flame retardants and pigments. The burning of PU releases numerous hazardous chemicals such as isocyanates, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, PAHs and dioxins.

PE:

Polyolefins such as Polyethylene (PE) are simpler polymer structures that do not need plasticizers, although they do use additives such as UV and heat stabilizers. The polyolefins pose fewer risks and have the highest potential for mechanical recycling. Both PE and PP are versatile, and can be designed to replace almost all PVC applications. PE can be made either hard, or very flexible, without the use of plasticizers.

In comparison with PVC, PE uses fewer problematic additives, has reduced leaching potential in landfills, reduced potential for dioxin formation during burning (PE burns completely into CO2 and H2O) and reduced technical problems and costs during recycling.

PES:

Polyester are commonly used plastics, with many usages, that are all around us in daily live. They can be used to make textiles (Nylon), PET-bottles, or other food packaging.



After this short excursion into material science, it should be clear why the PVC used in the mock copies most likely is the reason for the occurring problems.

We from EASTSIDE-impex invested a lot of time and money to find the right partner in China, who is able to process PE and PES into the material we use. It was not easy, but we knew we could not go for the alternative (PVC).

Our philosophy is that the best way to earn money is through happy, healthy and safe customers, not through maximised profit.

R&D department EASTSIDE-impex

We´ve got you covered

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la resistance said:

I've seen the threads about the huts being poisonous, but didn't know it was from PVC... does that mean even DIY pvc huts made from hardware store PVC pipes are dangerous also?

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icon said:

also havnt heard anything bad about the dark room made by SECRET JARDIN

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Mr. Bongjangles said:

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to post this information I received recently from my retailer, especially as I have confirmed it myself.

Bottom line - the Hydrofarm Habitat tents suffer from the same problem as the recently manufactured Hydrohuts. They will be doing a recall, likely in similar manor as the one Hydrohut initiated about a week ago.

I got one myself as a replacement for a bad Hydrohut and concluded the same thing after a couple of weeks, so I am very certain about this.

I am told that Homebox is the only brand to not have a problem yet, but cannot confirm this.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I hope this information helps anyone who is having trouble in these tents.

Click to expand...

Habitat was selling in Europe for 10 years without problem which was why we decided to bring it in. Recently, we heard a couple of bad reports despite numerous other satisfied customers. We were not sure if there was any actual problem with the product or if this was fallout from the scare caused by trouble with another company's product. You know how rumors go around. People start blaming a product when actually they have other problems. However, because we didn't want to take a chance and wanted to make absolutely certain, we decided to put the product through further testing. This will take some time. Until that testing has been completed, the product is on Stop Sale. We do not know yet what, if any, changes we will be making to the product when the testing is completed. Sorry that I can't tell you more.

I hope this answers your question. If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to write again.

Best wishes in your gardening efforts,

Carolyn Andrews
Reception and Information
Hydrofarm, Inc.
2249 South McDowell Ext.
Petaluma, CA 94954
(707) 765-9990 x 120
info@hydrofarm.com

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Raijin said:

I think after all is said and done, only secret jardin or homebox are the ways to go.


I have a Homebox that is doing the same thing as my Hydrohut and my Sunhut and now a Habitat. I was told that they all have the same PU and from what I can see, this is true. They look the same. The same plant problem exists in all 4 of them damn things! I haven't gotten mine processed yet, maybe I should do that. None of them use PVC, just PU so that long winded message from Homebox is full of doodoo.

The secret jardin looks like it will work but they look as flimsy as a kids play tent. You gotta be kidding with those plastic corners and sizes that won't hold a decent size tray here in the states. They need better air movement too. The thing looks like it was made to change out film in a camera, not grow plants.

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