Disappointment after disappointment with grobo

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#1

So far I’m extremely disappointed in everything about this product. From the customer service , to almost everybody I’m seeing on this forum having to add additional parts for things that break … I’m sorry but I’ve paid for a “premium” version of something & I don’t want to have to replace parts with cheap replacements . At that point , I would just do a regular grow tent (which I also have and the plants are thriving)

Am I the only one frustrated by this ? I’ve even ordered extra antennas and everything , my nutrients haven’t been dispensing and I just feel like it was a massive waste of money whether I had it to spend or not.

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#2

There have been quite a few disappointments and discussions, some more civil than others :rofl:. While a lot of people share your frustration, most have just rolled with the punches. I believe @Todd.grobo has made more repairs to his units than I can count. I’m on my first grow and have had no issues yet :crossed_fingers:t2:. As far as customer service goes, you may only find a small handful that share your disappointment. I’ve had a few dealings and always get quick responses, @Dani is a rock star!

The only other thing I might say is that I think the majority of us bought a Grobo for either self-medication (like myself) or to learn the ins and outs of growing cannabis before moving to a tent grow. It’s quite an investment and yes, when things don’t work on it perfectly it’s a bit of a let down, but the options you have are to roll with the punches and get help from support, or return it and wait for a newer (less buggy) version. To my knowledge Grobo is the only machine like this on the market, leaf and seedo are gone.

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#3

Understood, some owners have not had many issues and others have. Sorry to hear … we all spent plenty of $$$ for our Grobo. Hopefully they can take care of you. Good luck in the future. Happy Growing.

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#4

I think one of the biggest issues is the expectation that all you will have to do is fill the reservoir with water, add your seed and the Grobo will do the rest. There will always be a certain amount of user involvement when growing anything. I’m not suggesting that you expected to be 100% hands off once your seed was planted, but it has been a bone of contention from some other people.

Most of the stuff you see other people adding or replacing to their machines aren’t necessarily to replace broken stuff. Some people like @SWSVIC add stuff to help make their grow, such as a water chiller. IMO the antenna should have been offered free to anyone who bought their Grobo within a certain time frame. I have not had any issues with the customer service, other than there is no customer service on the weekends.

@SativeyWonder what parts have you had to replace so far? As far as the premium version, the only difference between the two models is the fluid glass.

As far as your nutrients not dispensing, have you tried watching the bottles after doing a water change to see if the pumps activate? Sometimes the pump needs to be primed, which often requires another drain and fill to fix. Another thing to watch for is whether the pumps had their polarity reversed, which will cause the pump to pump water from the reservoir into the nutrient bottle. This happened to me and it was an easy fix.

Have you made sure the firmware is updated?

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#5

Day 1 - unboxed, some minor cosmetic damaged, I assumed happened during shipping, figured it was on the back so did not press it.

Day 2 - assembled as per instructions, leveled the unit, soaked my pod got my seed ready and started to fill about 6:30PM on a Friday.

Day 2 - after the unit was running about 2 hours, noticed water at the bottom of the unit. Started to investigate. Drained the water out, looking at the tub thinking it must be damaged a hole or something. Well, look at this the low level water sensor was missing a gasket, found the leak. No support that lat on a Friday and nothing on the weekend. Water all over the electronics, my carpeted floor (yes I had placed a mat under it and yes enough water leaked out it got everywhere). Do I ever trust plugging it in again, is the PH sensor going to dry out, oh those damn things are $80.00 bucks and have to be replaced every year didn’t see that in the videos. Oh and ruined seed too and coco pod.

Day 3 - pissed (Saturday) - no support
Day 4 - pissed (Sunday) - no support
Day 5 - pissed Will they put their money where there mouth is and show me some customer service they say they are all about. This my friends will be the test, and I and more than willing to see if it is pass or fail.

A missing gasket should have been caught in quality control, and I am a six sigma and lean six sigma green belt, it might be time for Grobo to hire themselves on of those, dear lord I hope they know what that is.

#6

@SativeyWonder do u mind listing the issues with your Grobo @dthomasdigital wow… Missing gasket ? I seen a lot of issues with the grobo but that is definite first bro…

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#7

It certainly surprised me, as this is designed for indoor grows I would think you would have included that gasket, and of all the places the lower water level sensor, plenty of water leaked out before I noticed it. If I would not have checked it before I went to bed it could have been a disaster.

#8

So I ended up having a great call with customer service who was able to see how often my connection was dropping and able to see I’m back up and running now . It looks like my plant is coming back to life and I’m excited to see the progress and that grobo support was able to acknowledge where they can strengthen and I look forward to it ! Also looking forward to continuing to grow with grobo and see where it all goes !

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