Exo-terra monsoon

[clownonfire]

pathetic unit that habba. it's why this thread was started. apart from the initial QC probs with the "starters" it seems all's well with this unit, so will buy promptly.

thanks for the input.

p.s. i will also remark on the monsoon as soon as mine is up and running, so maybe we could use this thread as a mark for future reference on the said unit !!!

It's a great idea. I'll be setting mine up tomorrow (lucky me is on vacations). I might take a few pics on how it went too. Following Don's advise, I will also try it at 8 hours intervals, and 16 seconds each time.

As for the Hubba, it was a real joke. And for a moment, I thought it was broken until I read a few threads on the net. So very happy I paid almost nothing for it.

[clownonfire]

Mine is running great now. I would get it up and running Eric. Biggest thing I found is I want at least one more nozzle minimum but two more would be perfect to hit every part of the viv.

I was recently told the additional nozzles will be available later this month. Keeping fingers crossed.

I'm now running mine every 8 hours for 16 seconds. The substrate is damp and the plants are growing like mad already. Even my wife mentioned tonight that some of the plants are so much bigger than two weeks ago.
I'm running spring water bought by the gallon and the tank holds enough to run for a long time.

Don or anyone else, I set up mine and it works great. I just have a question on the cycle. There is the cycle and duration dials. On the cycle one, what do the numbers mean. If I chose 8, is it 8 times a day, or each 8 hours? I can't find the information in the instructions.

[MikeM670]

The timer numbers indicate hours. Page 8 of the instructions near the bottom has that info. So if you set it to the number 4 then the unit will turn on every four hours.

[clownonfire]

The timer numbers indicate hours. Page 8 of the instructions near the bottom has that info. So if you set it to the number 4 then the unit will turn on every four hours.

Thanks Mike. To quote my wife Sara: Eric, read ALL the instructions...

[MikeM670]

Thanks Mike. To quote my wife Sara: Eric, read ALL the instructions...

NAW! Why would we ever ever want to do that! Try, pry and then ask for the instructions!!

[DonLisk]

LMAO... I read later, ask 1st and assemble earlier than that.

I order some "T" sections from Josh's Frogs from the Mist King system. They are 1/4 hose fitting also so I'll let you know how they are.

I found out you can't or at least shouldn't mix brand nozzles since it will change how much pressure hits each nozzle and ruin the balance of pressure. So, I'll probably order 2 Mist King Nozzles and see if its an improvement. I'll let you all know once I receive them.

[clownonfire]

So here's more positive news on the Monsoon. Of course you want everything to be functional when you purchase such a unit, and you expect all the pieces to be intact....

Well. That was not the case with mine. One of the nozzle's tip was broken. The very last piece from which the water exits. And even after trying to fix it with Teflon tape, the jet coming out of it was one strong jet, as opposed to a mist stream.

So I called customer service in Canada. Spoke to a very lovely Mary, who was extremely helpful. She inquired about the piece, and called me back later on the same day to confirm they will ship me a replacement piece, no charge, and no hassle.

If the monsoon doesn't have everything the Mist King might have, at least, it has outstanding customer service, and that can go a long way...

[Rocko]

Haha to be fair that's Canadian customer service, I shudder to think what the US equivalent would be like.

[MikeM670]

So here's more positive news on the Monsoon. Of course you want everything to be functional when you purchase such a unit, and you expect all the pieces to be intact....

Well. That was not the case with mine. One of the nozzle's tip was broken. The very last piece from which the water exits. And even after trying to fix it with Teflon tape, the jet coming out of it was one strong jet, as opposed to a mist stream.

So I called customer service in Canada. Spoke to a very lovely Mary, who was extremely helpful. She inquired about the piece, and called me back later on the same day to confirm they will ship me a replacement piece, no charge, and no hassle.

If the monsoon doesn't have everything the Mist King might have, at least, it has outstanding customer service, and that can go a long way...

I have to admit with the few of us that have purchased this product I'm the only one who has not had any issues. I hope this is not a indication of things to come. Quality control seems a bit lacking. But on the bright side as you said the customer service was excellent. Now lets see how long it takes for the part to arrive.

[DonLisk]

Mine has been great since the replacement and as customer service told me, the dealer swapped it out with no issues and on the spot.
The woman answering the phone was polite, actually got to an operating version to answer my questions, and was very pleasant to deal with.

One of my nozzles was spraying a straight line and the insertion of a sewing needle immediately put it in mist mode.

I can't wait for the additional nozzles to become available.

[clownonfire]

Mine has been great since the replacement and as customer service told me, the dealer swapped it out with no issues and on the spot.
The woman answering the phone was polite, actually got to an operating version to answer my questions, and was very pleasant to deal with.

One of my nozzles was spraying a straight line and the insertion of a sewing needle immediately put it in mist mode.

I can't wait for the additional nozzles to become available.

Don, tried putting a needle in the nozzle and like you said, it put it in mist mode! So, fixed... And now I will have a spare part!!

[DonLisk]

Nice Eric :-)
I have the T fittings coming from a Mist King and I'm betting they sold work fine for splitting the lines to get the third in :-)

If the Mist King nozzles were not 15 USD each I would order three to try them out too.

[clownonfire]

I had a thought today. I was thinking one of us could write Mist King and see if we could have one unit, it doesn't really matter to me who has it. We could let them know that we are trying both and at this point we're making a review on the Monsoon, and it would be nice to have the counterpart...

[DonLisk]

I believe they have one coming out in a similar price point too. They would probably loan one on a Credit Card Hold but that would take some well written email or letter. I can see Mike doing a good review on this.

[clownonfire]

I believe they have one coming out in a similar price point too. They would probably loan one on a Credit Card Hold but that would take some well written email or letter. I can see Mike doing a good review on this.

I agree. I'd would also have to be informative, and for our members, and not a selling article. It's something that should be made clear. I would be more than happy to write them and if Mike wants to try it out and do the review, great.

I'd like to have more and more articles on Facebook that would like to our forum. Once again, articles should be for the benefit of the hobbyist, and not for the company!

[DonLisk]

Mike? Come on now, we know you want too.

[clownonfire]

I have to admit with the few of us that have purchased this product I'm the only one who has not had any issues. I hope this is not a indication of things to come. Quality control seems a bit lacking. But on the bright side as you said the customer service was excellent. Now lets see how long it takes for the part to arrive.

Well. They shipped the piece Wednesday and I received it this morning. Not bad at all!

[MikeM670]

Sorry guys,

Somehow I missed some of this thread. It would be very interesting to see how each performed. I imagine when all things are said and done we will find that each unit will work fine and find a niche. From all the things I have read and seen the Monsoon is probably going to be the best unit for a single display or maybe two side by side vivariums. It is a good looking stand alone unit and would not look bad in a more formal location such as a living room. While the Monsoon does have the optional nozzles I believe it is limited to eight. The Mist King system has a lot more optional accessories and grade levels. This would allow users to set up a system for a very large amount of vivariums. That system is more of a component based option which leads to great expandability.

[clownonfire]

I had a few days to play with the Monsoon, and here are some feedback. I have two nozzles at this point, and it is in my 25 gallon horizontal tank, each nozzles are on opposite sides. I have tried 3 times/15 seconds, 2 times 60 seconds and 4 times/30 seconds.

Hands down for me has been the last setting. It keeps the humidity at around 88 during daytime and 83 on the other side (I have 2 hydrometers). The tank looks wet and the plants happy.

It will now be interesting to find what best setting it will be with three nozzles once I receive Don's T splitter.

[s6t6nic6l]

well it seems my concern over the QC on this unit has been proven, as it has been withdrawn from its due date release here due to some "issues". i'll bide my time tho' as this unit does appeal to me. here's hopin'
i guess all's well with your units running smoothly now.