Anybody ordered light controllers from this guy (dxsoundo.com)

[thingshappening]

http://www.dxsoundco.com/

Found a link to this guys stuff on a competing website. He was certainly knowledgeable about electricity, something you can't say about the owners of Powerbox (a realtor in California, apparently).

Cap and even more so Powerbox seem to have a horrific reputation online, and the market for these controllers seems pretty limited outside of those two brands.

Has anybody had any experience with this guy?

I'd like to give a "little guy" my business, but if he sucks at his job, well, it's kind of a big deal. Burned down house and all.

Thanks!

 

[rootzbelow]

excellent product cant say enough good things about it. i have the 30amp model with 6 timed 240v and 6 120v outlets. heavy duty construction and way safer than competing products as all come with a 4 prong cord which should be required for any 240 powerd controller that runs 120v also. i would defininetly order again if my needs increased. they are made to order so it took about 2 weeks before i got it. hope this helps.

 

[thingshappening]

excellent product cant say enough good things about it. i have the 30amp model with 6 timed 240v and 6 120v outlets. heavy duty construction and way safer than competing products as all come with a 4 prong cord which should be required for any 240 powerd controller that runs 120v also. i would defininetly order again if my needs increased. they are made to order so it took about 2 weeks before i got it. hope this helps.

Thanks for the heads up Dan.

I kid, I kid. Thanks bro.

His Power Thief product is a neat combination. I don't mind unplugging once a week to run the laundry myself, but I appreciate the platform for sure!

I'm a bit weary about just flipping my ballast to 240 and running a 120 power cord into a 5-15r plug. Thinkin' about paying extra for 6-15 r and "doing it right."

Any thoughts on this, anyone?

 

[thingshappening]

Also, how does his 7200 watt (total), 6K watt capacity box "plug into a 30 amp, 3 prong dryer outlet?"

Running 6K puts you at 25+ watts...we're pushing 25-26 watts 12/12...85-ish% percent of breaker capacity...pushing it or am I being too paranoid?

 

[rootzbelow]

i only run 600w hps and two inline from the box for a total of 20 amps running the 1k's would be pushing it IMO. nothing he makes will go into a 3 prong outlet they are all 4 prong plugs. not a good idea to run 120 without the fourth wire. return for the 120 would be running thru the ground not safe at all.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

DXSOUND ROCKS. really good customer service, the guy always responded to every email i sent. he made me a custom 30amp power theif which he eventually decided to create a line of, cheap shipping and everything. i give DXSound 5 stars cant find anything to complain about! the timerbox works perfect its pretty cool how after my lights are off i can run my dryer, it has a built in switch to make sure you cant run the dryer at the same time the lights are on....and not to mention if anything breaks its covered by warranty....

about the power theif...he claims you can run up to 6 lights, but i wouldnt go over 4k thats just me. 4 1k lighhts at 240v is pulling about 16.6 amps which is over half the load. i would not take the load over 20 amps just to be safe.

 

[rives]

I'm a bit weary about just flipping my ballast to 240 and running a 120 power cord into a 5-15r plug. Thinkin' about paying extra for 6-15 r and "doing it right." Any thoughts on this, anyone?

You are absolutely on the right track here. I have a bunch of rants scattered through this forum on exactly that problem and it's potential outcome. I have never used his gear, but after looking over his site, it looks like pretty good stuff.

 

[mg75]

great customer service & he will build you a custom growroom if you like. he will plan and build a whole operation from scratch.

 

[Guest3498]

I've been looking at these for a while, good the see that people have good things to say.

I hate my solatel controller

 

[GanjaPharma]

i have 3 of his 12kw loadcenters. they are great! I run 8-9kw of lights and a few fans on each one.
i have seen/compared the ones from nowirenuts, and at twice the money, they are VERY nice but not worth the extra $$ imho.
people bitch about the squareD breakers, but i have never had one fail or even get warm.
the last one i ordered was for someone else and it took a LONG time to get here, so check his lead time before you order.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

^he has been getting swamped lately so his orders take an extra few weeks nowadays...when i ordered i had my controller in about two weeks. but now on his website says about a month...the best part about DXsound is he makes everything custom to fit your needs. dont need 8 240v outlets? get 4 240s and 4 120s....lots of different options...

 

[Tactician]

In my opinion, you get what you pay for. Those DXHydro units are cheaply built so cheap to buy. Guaranteed the gangboxes will come lose, SquareD is the cheapest breaker/loadcenter you can buy, not much better than FP. The timer looks really cheap, it looks like it runs on a AAA battery. I am curious as to why he only supplies one ammeter on a panel that has 240V and 120V loads, like Powerbox, I'd like to see current load on both hots. What brand of contactors does DX use. When it comes to electrical, being cheap can cause problems.

 

[Tactician]

Who would you want to build a lighting controller, a Mike Holmes or a cheapskate. Better to go above code compliance. If your medical garden is to be inspected, it will never pass with a controller from DXHydro.

 

[Bud Bug]

Who would you want to build a lighting controller, a Mike Holmes or a cheapskate. Better to go above code compliance. If your medical garden is to be inspected, it will never pass with a controller from DXHydro.

Thats why I like these one ETL approved and ready to go.
http://www.valleyindoor.com/product.php?productid=1068&cat=123&page=1

 

[Tactician]

Those are not CEC or NEC compliant, never pass inspection. Considering the bus is rated for 100A, I would like to see a few more 120V receptacles from that unit. This unit would never pass inspection. That unit won't be safe if you run 6 x 1000w ballasts and a couple 120V devices. A dryer receptacle is wired with 10awg wire, rated for 30A max. The best way to use that specific loadcenter (SIEMENS EQL41000) is two quad breakers Q21540CT. The two 40A x 240V breaker can power 6 lights each, then 4 x 15A for 120V equipment.

 

[Tactician]

I just built this unit for a friend. IMHO it's best to purchase a lighting controller that exceeds any CSA/UL/ETL/CEC/NEC requirments. The RANCO has two stages, stage one temp shuts off one light at a time till temp lowers to preset, then rotates to the next light to turn off when temp rises. Stage two temp kills all lights in 60 seconds.

 

[Bud Bug]

Those are not CEC or NEC compliant, never pass inspection. Considering the bus is rated for 100A, I would like to see a few more 120V receptacles from that unit. This unit would never pass inspection. That unit won't be safe if you run 6 x 1000w ballasts and a couple 120V devices. A dryer receptacle is wired with 10awg wire, rated for 30A max. The best way to use that specific loadcenter (SIEMENS EQL41000) is two quad breakers Q21540CT. The two 40A x 240V breaker can power 6 lights each, then 4 x 15A for 120V equipment.

I don't think the page description is right the 4 light ones come with a 30A (10g) dryer plug and the 6 light come with a 40A (8g) stove plug - I have both of those units (4 and 6 light). Some of those web sites don't have the info right.

 

[Tactician]

12 light controller.

 

[rives]

12 light controller.

It appears that you have all of the devices attached to the front cover pop-riveted into place. If so, why did you use that attachment method?

 

[Tactician]

No pop rivets, all #6-32 screws and kepnuts.