Just got my Gen 2

Grobo Support
#1

Hello,

My name is Roy and I’m new to the community. I ordered my Grobo the first week in October and after being upgraded to a Gen 2, yesterday (a little over a month to the day after my order) I got the box in the mail. I was initially a little worried about the “assembly required” and was both surprised and disappointed to find my worries come to life.

The box comes by UPS, who are always incredibly mindful of the “FRAGILE: THIS END UP” stickers - and fortunately the only damage was a slight bend to the sheet metal near one of the screw points. When the box was screwed together, that bend was quickly warped into place without issue. That was the least of my problems, however.

The “dosing control panel” (a panel containing a PC board along with some pumps and hoses) is attached to the “water level sensor shield” (a plastic divider with three plastic nozzles) by thin plastic wires. These wires plug into the PCB. Unfortunately the wires aren’t nearly long enough, so the “shield” doesn’t enter the water tank.

This isn’t the only presumed manufacturing defect, however. The “grey ribbon cable” that runs from the “crow’s nest” of the unit to the bottom PCB is about half the length it needs to be.

Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but I have tried everything and at this point I just think there’s issues with the unit. Anyone else having these issues? I would have liked to be through with my first grow by now, with the “next day shipping” that the website advertised - but today I am stuck trying to build a grow box. I didn’t want to have to build a grow box, which is why I went with a Grobo. I really wanted this thing to be everything it says it would be, but I’m now feeling like I bought a 75 pound, $2000 copy of Windows Vista.

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((#SoSorryFor..)): :frowning:/:cry:/:sob:
Introduce yourself
#2

Did you watch the videos and follow it during assembly? I already watched it a few times and going to take my time and assemble mine over the weekend.

I can’t speak for the cable lengths of course :grinning: but were they the same as in the assembly video as it seemed pretty simple. Also are you running the cables the way they show in the video as it doesn’t seem like many ways it could go wrong.

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#3

Yeah, you can see that in the videos that there’s quite a bit of slack on these cables.

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#4

But in the actual box, they’re much too short as can be seen here.

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((#SoSorryFor..)): :frowning:/:cry:/:sob:
#5

As for the grey ribbon cable, the provided one is just much too short. 2-3 feet longer and it would fit comfortably, but as you can see in the photo below - it gets to the fan’s height before running out of slack.

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((#SoSorryFor..)): :frowning:/:cry:/:sob:
#6

I can’t see down below, is there any slack in the tubes you can get a few inches from and “make it fit”?

I forget about the long grey wire, I know it goes up the side to the top and connects there. If that short, not much you can do except wait for a replacement OR splice it yourself if you have any extra wire around, just to get it going until a replacement comes.

Only throwing out some ideas, as I will not be working on mine until the weekend. It is coming tomorrow.

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#7

No way to make it fit, and I’m not cutting anything that comes with this expensive unit. No slack on the wires. Talking to Grobo support now, hopefully they can solve this.

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#8

Hey @preciousroy,

We are here for you! Sounds like you have a Gen 1 ribbon cable, the team will chat and send you the correct parts you need asap. Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers,
Stephen

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#9

Hi Stephen,

Thanks so much for that. Hopefully they’ll be able to do the same re: the cable from the bottom water level sensor to the PCB. Can’t grow anything without that.

I appreciate the support. I will definitely keep the thread updated with any and all progress.

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#10

I think mine shipped the same day, do you think this is on a lot of the first ones?

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#11

Bummer! Yea mine is due to arrive Tomorrow I hope it has all the right parts in it.

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#12

So it turns out I will be getting a replacement water level sensor, ribbon cable and some new tape for the fan. The door hinge pin sticks, and I assume I’ll need to pound it in with a hammer. Updates soon!

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((#SoSorryFor..)): :frowning:/:cry:/:sob:
#13

OK, I am worried this happened to “all” the units that shipped that day. They just started making them and you got yours a day or 2 before others it seems. So mine was made with yours I would think.

I guess I will find out tomorrow.

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#14

I feel the same way as u do! I really hope that’s not the case. That means more waiting! :sleepy: I hope it comes in perfect condition, :crossed_fingers:t3: I don’t want a dinged up expensive new purchase. :tired_face:

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#15

The Gen 2 box was supposed to fix all of the shipping and damage issues. You guys are the 1st. Be patient. Unfortunately the 1st are the folk who have the issues that are fixed later in most new releases.

Stephen, Todd, and Stacey will get you right. It may take some time and work, but you will be up and growing.

The one thing I have gathered in my box troubles, they care and will do what they can. They can’t replace lost time or fix our anxiety, but they will get you up and growing real soon. :sunglasses:

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#16

The UPS damage you can really do little about, it’s how they treat large heavy packages most times. At least with assembling it yourself, you can fix the crooked door or seal it better as I know the door on my original Grobo now is not right and light leaks out every seam just about, kinda off from shipping before I think.

I look forward to little tweaks and things so this is for me. I know I bellyache :rofl: at times, usually medicated :rofl: but should be exciting.

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#17

Not looking good :grinning: someone else just said their cord was short too.

I wonder if Groibo should try to get a head of this, and just start sending out longer cords and things “today” to the people they know probably got one of the first units.

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#18

I didn’t order a Gen 2 box. I ordered a Gen 1 box, which is advertised as pre-assembled. Turns out when I ordered it, they didn’t even have any in stock (despite the “next day shipping” claim) and I got an email 3 weeks later saying that I’ve been “upgraded” to a brand new version that I need to build myself. That would also take 3 weeks to ship.

So now I’ve waited 6 weeks for a product that admittedly fixes a lot of issues with Gen 1 - but those were problems that Grobo was having, and I’m not an employee so there’s no real “upgrade” on my end. Beyond that, it doesn’t even come with the correct parts to build it yourself, which feels like the ultimate frustrating cherry on top. I have tried to, as you instructed, “be patient”.

Additionally, if the website said “the product you ordered now will be shipped two weeks before their Black Friday sale” then I would have just bought it during the sale. Yeah, Grobo can’t replace lost time or fix anxiety, and of course they will replace the parts required to make the machine run - if they didn’t, I’d imagine everyone would be contacting their credit card companies pretty quick. I appreciate that they’re not being incredibly difficult about this, but that’s not enough to compensate for all these issues.

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#19

On the one hand, I feel you/we are getting a much better unit in the Grobo 2 so that delay is a good thing. I have the original and if the 2 works out, might even sell the original and get another Grobo 2 as I like a lot of the new features. :grinning:

The “assembling” I was not crazy about as I am not handy and “medicated” all the time, :rofl: but I will give it a shot. It can’t be that hard, I know probably a pain and take me forever, but we can make it a little more solid, so I will do it. Also they said it kept the cost down, so instead of the price going up after all these years for a better unit, it went down a little.

The “mix up” in the parts? It happens and nothing we can do. Yes, it will be a bummer for my weekend, but can’t do anything about it, so not going to let it ruin it. Worst thing is, I have a seed starting in some paper towels, but it will keep another week if I has to.

I would be a little let down if 2 weeks later it goes on sale, but nothing we can do about it.

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#20

This is my first experience with Grobo and I initially had a lot of apprehensions, so this experience is all I have to color my opinion of the company. This doesn’t ruin my weekend, but it’s cost me an entire grow cycle of medicine that I now need to buy retail.

Additionally, I purchased the unit because I need the medicine after spinal surgery - so getting it sprung on me that this was a DIY project 3 weeks after I plopped 2 grand on it (and told by CS that there’s no Gen 1s that they could send) was a bit more than a “bummer” for me.

This is kind of like going into the McDonalds drive-thru to get a Big Mac and recieving a paper bag full of Lobster Bisque with a note that “a spoon is in the mail”. Sorry if I seem somewhat irate at comments like “be patient” and “it happens” – but I don’t have a ton of money to be throwing around. I wish I had another unit to fall back on, or I was just someone who needed to have the newest version of some fancy grow box technology but I just purchased this so I wouldn’t have to choose between being in pain or eating white bread sandwiches for dinner so I can get some medicine to relieve it.

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