AeroGarden 2411-00B Deluxe with Master Gardener Deluxe Kit, Black Known capacitor issue – Stephan A. Cheney – North Western Connecticut
I purchased the 7 pod Areo-Grow a few years ago. Decided to upgrade to a three light, telescoping light head to accomidate climbing and tall vegetables. I used this twice. The second time, the hood began to smoke. The smoke was white and became very heavy. I had to unplug the unit and call customer service.
I was told this was a known issue and that this head was no longer in stock. The suggestion was to go to ebay to locate a used replacement. I was not pleased.
I was hoping they would take on a more responsible role with this issue. I wasn’t sure if this could have caused a fire as it’s plugged in and running 24 hours each day. Could this have caused an issue while we were all asleep? Could it have caused a fire while we were away from the house?
The customer support person seemed very nonchalant or indifferent after hearing of my smoking light hood. He only said it was a capacitor and they knew about the problem. There were no other replacements in stock and they were not planning on stocking a replacement.
I’m sure I spend .00 for this upgrade and only used it successfully once. Not a great track record.
Would I buy another Areo Garden? Probably not. I like the unit I have and was happy that I saved the original light hood so I could continue the growing cycle that was in progress prior to the three light hood going up in smoke.
I love my fresh basil and this is a great way to grow it during the winter months. Is it worth the worry that something else might catch fire and cause some unknown issues? Probably not. I think I’m heading to the grocery and looking for my fresh basil in the produce isle.
I’m not happy with the way this incident was handled and really objected to the idea that this was a known issue without anyone contacting the owners to beware.
I live in MN where the growing season starts a little later. My husband bought me an AeroGarden for Christmas last year so we could enjoy fresh herbs in the winter. We bought our second AeroGarden in February because we were so thrilled with the results that we had to have another one. If you have a home garden I highly recommend getting the Master Gardner Deluxe kit to start your own seeds early. After we had used our herb kit, we had both AeroGardens set up to start our seedlings indoors. I started heirloom varieties of eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers and had great success with all of them. If you like to use temperamental seed varieties (like heirlooms can be) the AeroGarden is great because you have more control over their environment than domed seed starter trays. I had two varieties of heirloom eggplants that I planted in the AeroGarden and in a traditional seed starter domed tray (just in case the AeroGarden didn’t work) and my seeds never sprouted in the domed starter tray. I really believe the better controlled heating and lighting from the AeroGarden is what made the difference for these seeds. Once the weather turned nice, I began to worry about how my plants would do transferring them from the AeroGarden to the ground. All my seedlings were big and doing beautifully (the nicest looking seedlings I’ve ever had) and I was convinced transferring them out of the AeroGarden would destroy them because the root systems were so different. I chose a day that was overcast with temperatures in the mid 70s and carefully pulled them from the AeroGarden and placed them in a well-composted home in the garden. I made sure they were very well-watered and kept them protected the next day (which was sunny) with a planter turned upside down on each plant for several hours. We had a few nights that got very cold and I lost a few when my wall-of-waters fell over on the plants (I admit, there were tears shed) but that had nothing to do with the AeroGarden or the transferring process. I already have plans for seed starting next March and would highly recommend the AeroGarden. I have one AeroGarden Pro 200 and one AeroGarden Deluxe and I love them both. The Deluxe has the extendable arm and more powerful lights which I use to start tomatoes, but that feature isn’t necessary for other smaller plants. I have 4 year old twin boys and they love watching the plants grow. It’s been a fun and educational resource for them and mommy couldn’t be happier with the results. AeroGrow: 2411-00B Grow full-size tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and more. The AeroGarden Deluxe has twice the light and twice the height of the original AeroGarden. It delivers 4350 lumens of full-spectrum light, ample for growing mature, fruiting plants. Lamp arm extends up to 24″ to give plants room to grow. A 24-hour light feature allows you to accelerate growth. Plus, a Master Gardener Deluxe Kit is included that has everything needed to start and grow your own seeds. AeroGarden 2411-00B Deluxe with Master Gardener Deluxe Kit, Black
