600-Watt Air Cool Hood HPS MH System

I bought this item based on the reviews here to grow leafy vegetables indoors during the winter. I have no previous experience with indoor growing or HID lights at all. The item arrived precariously packaged though. I had bought some soil at the same time and these items were bundled together in the same box from Amazon. When I opened the box the huge bag of soil was on top of the box with the lights! There was a little crushing, and I expected the bulbs to be shattered but thankfully everything was in working order. I knew from searching around online that they put out a lot of heat, and this item is no exception to that rule. The el-cheapo amazon tent I bought had its temperatures raised around 10f after I fired this badboy up. The heat was easily mitigated with a inline fan and some simple ducting. The only real problem I encountered when moving air out of the tent was the incredibly bad smell of my cherry tomato plants. Guys who grow medicinal herbs recommend using a carbon filter, so I guess I will begin research on that soon! Here are a few things I thought were relevant: -The ballast is quite small and makes a light humming sound from cooling fans. It stays cool to the touch. Dimming the bulb is achieved via a silver knob that shows the power percent level. The ability to dim the bulbs is rather handy in controlling temperatures. -The wing reflector feels incredibly flimsy. The socket assembly to screw the bulb into feels just as flimsy. -The eyes to hang the reflector by are actually just metal tabs that need to be folded up in order to use. This is just sheet metal that could easily break if flexed too many times. I would suggest just bending them out once and leaving them alone. -The power cables are quite long and seem to be made very well. -The bulbs seem generally good. I have very little experience in this area, but they light up and are blindingly bright. -The included rope ratchets are just the generic type of ratchet found here on Amazon. I have ordered 2 different brands and received the exact same item both times. Works like a champ. I think for the price this is a very good deal. It's just not logical to complain about a item feeling cheap when it was the cheapest thing available! I believe generally you get what you pay for, but in this items regard I believe you get more than that. It becomes a incredible deal with prime shipping added in. If I decide that 400 watts isn't enough I would not hesitate to buy another iPower bundle.