Guy Low Price Electronic

Sunday, 4 October 2009

Impact Wrenches - cordless tools, lithium-ion

I install garage doors, and my impact wrench is my number one weapon. I have owned a 14.4 Milwaukee, 14.4 DeWalt, 18v DeWalt, and now this one. I had to send the Milwaukee back numerous times because of it's poor build quality. I have had motors die on the DeWalt due to its poor cooling design. There are small plastic fins in the motor which move air and keep the motor cool, and they have broken of on every DeWalt impact I have owned. I have been using the Hitachi for more than 4 months without a problem. I look actually look forward to using it. The battery stays secured to the drill, even after a four five foot fall. I laughed at the little light it comes with at first, but it has come in handy in dark garages. The torque is strong enough to pull the lug nuts of a wheel hub, and the battery life is stellar. One battery will get me through multiple double sized garage door installs. The DeWalt would kill at least too full batteries in only one install. It's safe to say that one Hitachi lithium-ion batter = 3+ DeWalt NiCads.

Another reviewer has mentioned a bad smell from the motor. All my impacts, drills, saws, and other power tools have gave off burning odor during the break-in of the tool. This is normal.

One other component of the impact which I enjoy is the pin. Unlike the DeWalt, the pin is designed to keep the socket secure when the pin of the impact is in line with the hole of the socket. The socket WILL come off of the impact with a little force unlike the DeWalt. With the DeWalt, the pin had to be compressed with a nail or screw in order to remove the socket.

To sum this review up... Buy the Hitachi. Hitachi WR18DL 18-volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Wrench

I am a Hitachi fan converted over from Makita. I use this Hitachi WR18DL 18-volt Cordless Impact Wrench to change flat tires on my 2 construction trailers. This Hitachi takes the drudgery out of changing flat tires.

Now I am also using it instead of my air impact wrench around my shop, etc. etc. NO AIR HOSES NEEDED.

Have had impact wrench for few weeks. It is very light and the battery's hold charge very well. The work light is a nice option.

Works well to disassemble engine parts etc.

The only possible negative is it has a tough time with wheel nuts. However it really is not rated as high a tork range as a air impact.

Overall meets all my expectations.

Got the WR18DL today and it promptly took a lug nut that was torqued to 80ft/lb off my Maxima - in about 5 seconds. I plan on keeping this lightweight bulldog in my trunk at all times for just that purpose.

One thing about Hitachi Li-Ion tools that gets overlooked is their battery technology. All Li-Ion batteries are not alike! Hitachi uses the same nano-phosphate formula that DeWalt uses. This technology allows the cycle-life of these batteries to be tripled over the standard manganese (Milwaukee and pretty much everyone else uses this) to 1000-1500 cycles. Manganese Li-Ion only lasts 300-500 cycles - same as NiCd and NiMH. You will need new batteries a lot less often with Hitachi and DeWalt as a result.

I really wish that Ryobi would adapt their One+ impact driver to a wrench because I have their 18V Li-Ion battery, but they didn't - yet. Since Ryobi uses manganese Li-Ion, this is no great hardship. Hitachi sells many bare tools that can use these batteries, so while it's not as versatile as the One+ system, it's the next best thing - with better batteries!

If you're taking big rig tires off, go for the Snap-On CT4850, but anything shy of that can be done at half the price and half the weight by the WR18DL - (again) with better batteries!

Lovin' it.

Don't let the size of this tool trick you. This fanstastic little powerhouse removes the wheel lugs on my trailer and SUVs rapidly. The specs say it's only 1950in-pounds, or 162ft-pounds. It seems to have this plus some. For seriously stubborn tasks, a large and heavy electric may be necessary or a pneumatic impact for the ultimate torque, but for 98% of what I do messing with my Jeeps and lawn tractor blade changing etc, this is a super convenient, small, lightweight powerhouse... (and I don't have to move my compressor, or run super long air lines to my work.)

I shopped for a long time before buying this. There are heavier impacts... Ingersol Rand makes a great cordless with Lithium batteries at 350 ft-pounds. It's $400 w/ two batteries. The Dewalt cordless impact has 300 ft-pounds at $299, but it continues to use the outdated Nicad batteries..in the heat where I live, these fail rapidly and you spend a fortune replacing them every year. I looked at more powerful plug-ins, all above the $150 range have great torque (like the Dewalt:340 ft-pounds at $179), but you'll have to run that power cord to your task. And, most of these tools are HEAVY.

My plan is to use this lightweight powerhouse for most of my chores, and when I need super torque, either hit the task with a 24 inch breaker bar, or breakdown and get a corded electric. If your wheel lugs are not seriously coroded and neglected, this tool seems to have the muscle to take them off. It's so small, it's almost fun to see this tool remove the lugs so easily!

Whoa....size does matter! Small, compact, lightweight size in this instance. If you want a cordless impact wrench...you've gotta try this baby! I can hardly believe the power it has for such a small tool! I work at a wrecking yard driving fork lift, and pull and park an average of 30-40 vehicles a day. I have had my Hitachi impact for almost a year now and I use it 5 days a week to remove wheels from many of these cars and trucks among other tasks. Then I bring it home on weekends in case I have any tasks at home that I might want use it for....it's a tool I just don't like to be without in case I have a wrenching job! I am a mechanical guy and work on cars, appliances, and about anything else that I can fix myself.

I have owned several impact wrenches. I've had a few cheap ones that I won't bother to talk about. Previous to my Hitachi, I had a Goodyear Racing impact wrench. I liked it and it did a good job, but it was heavy, clumsy, and pretty much designed just for using on lug nuts. The batteries also didn't last a long time on a charge and deteriorated a little each time they were recharged requiring replacement after about 6 months. Finally, my charger went belly up as it fried my last battery, so, I went shopping for a new impact wrench as I really need to have a cordless impact on my job.

First I bought a Makita impact wrench thinking that would be the answer. It was lithium-ion, so that solved the battery problem to a great degree, but what a monster. Again, big and heavy and clumsy, and I don't think it was as powerful as my Goodyear Racing impact gun....I quickly returned this puppy.

Then I tried the Hitachi WR18DL....and let me tell you.....this baby smokes! Very light and small and easy to handle but has lots of power and 2 speed settings and was about the same price as the Makita. It is super fast for removing or installing bolts and nuts of all kinds and sizes. It won't do like 1 ton trucks and once in a while at work I will get a lug nut that is so tight that it won't break it loose and I have to break the nut with a fourway by hand. That said, she goes thru 95% of the lug nuts and anything else I have tried without breakin' a sweat.

This little Hitachi impact makes every job that involves wrenching fast and easy and a pleasure to do. As another reviewer said, and I concur, "I actually look forward to using this tool". I have two 3.0 amp hour batteries that I use and they do a great job and last a long time on a charge.

In conclusion....yeah....you can buy a more powerful impact (just double the price and weight), but when you consider size....weight....power and price combined....I don't think you can beat this little impact wrench with anything else on the market! Just a note, if you're shopping for an impact wrench, make sure its an impact wrench your looking at and not an impact driver.....totally different tools.

I am a satisified customer of this impact from Hitachi and was happy to do a review of this tool. - Impact Wrenches - Cordless Tools - 18v - Lithium-ion'

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Hot Yoga Towel - towel, hot yoga

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This yoga towel is all I hoped it would be. I don't slip AT ALL during yoga, and the towel stays glued to my mat. I don't even have to spray water on it like some people suggest with other towels. I can wash it on hot and I air-dry it, even though it says that you can tumble-dry on low. It fits well in the mesh bag, which has enough space for me to add a hand towel and my car keys. The bag is of decent quality and is a nice bonus. Microfiber Skidless Yoga Towel Yoga Mat 24"x72" with Carry Bag + Gift Box Green Color - Towel - Hot Yoga Towel - Bikram - Hot Yoga'

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16 Gb Flash Drive - flash drive, hp

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This unit is great. I purchased it to replace a 64mb unit that wasn't big enough any more. I also wanted to learn to do new things with these thumb drives. It is very fast and after a lot of usage, I have had no read write issues. I have been able to load a DMG on it and boot my mac and install Leopard from it. I have also been able to use it to boot and configure quite a few different laptops using the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows project. I have learned that 2GB units work better for that project, but that in no way reflects upon my review of this product. It works seamlessly in my Macs, windows, and linux boxes. There is a green read/write indicator light that signals under the HP logo. It is pleasant and not too bright and annoying or dim. The cover for the tip connects to the back of the unit for storage while in use. It seems slightly faster than using an external usb hard drive. It seems to make full use of the usb 2.0 bandwidth. I didn't want to go cheap and I didn't want to go expensive - this unit seems to hit the middle of the road quite well. HP v125w 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD16GHP125-EF

I bought this flash because of the HP name and the reviews that touted the speed of the drive. I found the drive to be slow, too slow for me. I needed to move 10GB of photos from my harddrive to the HP and it took 1 hour and 8 minutes! I used Check Flash 1.09 which scopes the speed of Flash Drives and this drive came in at 4.6mbs write and 12.3mbs read. Another source you might want to check out is on the web -- xbitlabs (search 32GB USB Flash Drives), they tested flash drive's speed. So, when you consider that for $5 more you can get the fast OCZ Rally2 16 GB (which I ended up doing) you may concur that there are better drives out there for the money. Hope this helps you in your choice.

This is a great product and here's why:

Small-it's smaller than most of these types of (see review title)

Metal case-doesn't seem as crushable as plastic ones

Cap-I don't like the ones where to contact point just slides in, if I put it in my pocket it may get lint in it, if I drop it in the dirt, dirt with get into it, if I drop it in the mud, mud will get into it, if I slip liquid one the table and on and on.

THE CAP FITS ON THE TAIL END FOR STORAGE!! - is there a conspiracy out there to make us lose caps and buy new ones by most makers of these (see review title)? Almost none of them have a place to put the cap when you're using the device, this one does: thank you HP for standing up to the syndicate!

finally,

The is my second one-and I've never had any problems with them, work as expected

The product works as expected, tried it under both OS X and Linux and it worked fine under both. Do not have a Winblows machine to test it with.

Was concerned about performance as many have reported slow speeds with similar products, NOT this one. Under OS X I was able to write at 18MB/sec and read at 35MB/sec. Under Linux the write speed was a still impresive 10MB/sec (not sure why it was less) and the read speed was 31MB/sec. The test was a group of large files (50-400MB in size).

I also liked the small size and professional look of the drive. I was able to easily put it into the USB port on the back of the PC between two other USB plugs a feat not easily possible with other (fatter) drives).

Only complaint is the clear colored cap, very easy to loose for obvious reasons.

This product is great! For all those people that said it is slow, I agree to that if you do not format it when you recieve it. It comes already formatted with a FAT32 partition that only reads and writes around 2-3 megabytes per second. However, if you format it with NTFS partition, I am writing to it on an average of about 20 MBS and reading at double that speed. Its a great little product and I have a full windows running off of it wherever I go! I love HP!

I bought v125w based on its low cost ($20 AR at local store), and became dismayed over its slow transfer speed. For quick comparison, I had it benchmarked against my other USB flashdrives including 8GB Patriot Xporter XT, 1GB Sandisk Cruzer Mini, and 2GB generic. The average transfer rate as tested by HD Tune 2.54 was 13.2 MB/sec for HP, followed by 30 MB/sec, 18.1 MB/sec, and 22.5 MB/sec, respectively. All were formatted to FAT32.

The test speaks loudly for the performance or lack of on the HP. As long as you are not critical about transfer rate, this inexpensive device does provide ample storage space.

Updated (12/13/09): Just purchased 16Gb Patriot Xporter Dash as the replacement for HP. It had an average transfer rate of 28.1 MB/sec. The difference is staggering, so be sure to test out the speed against your other USB flashdrives if you do purchase the HP.

Bought (2) of these from Staples, they were having a "sale" of $20. Opened one, it was DOA. Being that i still desperately needed a flash drive that night, I opened the other (this time with a razor blade so that i wouldn't destroy the packaging) and it was also DOA. Tried both drives on 3 different computers (windows and mac). Went back to staples, and it wouldn't even work on their computers. They let me have a full refund. But please don't waste your time, patience, money, and shipping on this item. HP can't make a reliable flash drive to save their lives and this has been well documented on both consumer and professional review sites.

in short, AVOID at all costs.

I got this flash drive when Microsoft announced they would start allowing users to use USB flash drives for storage on their XBox360 console. For those who are wondering, this drive meets Microsoft's performance specifications and it sells for about 1/2 the price of the Microsoft-branded drives from SanDisk.

The HP 125w 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is an excellent product. I like several features of this flash drive.

First, the cap fits on the tail end. Being rather forgetful, I misplace caps. Without a cap the connection can collect foreign matter and decrease the quality of the connection to a computer.

This nice clear cap fits comfortably on the rear end of the drive, which solves my problem.

Second, the case is well constructed. Some of the other flash drives I have seen look very fragile, this HP drive is sturdy.

Third, this drive seems faster than others that I have owned. I transfers files twice as fast as the first flash drive I used, and about twenty percent faster than my HP 100w.

Fourth, a light turns on when it is working, and does not stop until the work is finished. This helps me monitor my work and ensure its completion.

This flash drive is the best I have used. I highly recommend this merchandise. - 16 Gb Flash Drive - Flash Drive - Hp - 16gb'

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Cheap Exercise Equiptment - exercise, exercise bike

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Got the peddler yesterday and put it together and used it last evening. It's a very substantially constructed item- nothing cheezy about it. Being relatively heavy, it doesn't slide around easily when you use it.

The great thing about it is that it is simple to assemble: two screws attach the 2 feet parts to the peddle mechanism and those screws have nice, large, smooth knobs that you turn to tighten down- no sharp ends or tiny screw heads requiring any tools to try to work with arthritic fingers. Also, the knob regulating peddle resistance is smooth and well-made too. This is a great feature- being able to make it harder to peddle as you get stronger (this way you can continue to get stronger).

Foot peddle straps are nice and large and there's no open peddle mechanism or exposed chain to get clothing caught in- and the peddling action is very smooth.

All-in-all it's a high-quality item, not some chintzy thing and it appears to be made to last. Also recommend anyone with knee arthritis to check out Treat Your Own Knee Arthritis. Drive Medical Pedal Exerciser with Attractive Silver Vein Finish, Silver Vein (Knock down)

For $20, this little exerciser does a pretty good job.

It only took a minute or two to put it together. Mine smelled a bit like motor oil when it was fresh out of the box, but I haven't noticed the scent since. (My cat seems to love the smell of it, though, and likes to sleep leaning against the bars. Go figure.)

As others have noticed, some of the metal parts near your legs get hot when you use it, so you might want to wear sweatpants or long socks to protect yourself. (Your legs won't normally touch those metal pieces, but the machine is light enough that it's not always stable.) It's true that there isn't a lot of resistance, and when you tighten the knob enough to get some, it's difficult to have a smooth pedaling cycle. Still, even without much resistance, all you have to do is keep pedaling--your heart rate will go up and you'll start to feel it.

I'm reasonably pleased and probably would have given this four stars since it's so inexpensive, but the rubber "feet" on the bottom have left dark, oily stains on my tan carpet after only a couple of uses. To be safe, you might want to clean the feet thoroughly before you put it together, or use the exerciser on a surface you don't mind getting dirty. - Exercise Bike - Stationary Bike - Cheap Exercise Equiptment - Exercise'

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Tools-bench Drill Press

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I just unpacked and setup the Delta 12" drill press. Problems: The plastic power switch was broken off during shipping (once the plastic is cracked there is no easy way to re-attach it). So now I have a brand new drill press with a broken power switch! Be warned if you are having this item shipped! It is not packed well enough to survive UPS Ground.

Otherwise the quality of this tool is equal to the price. It's better than a hobby drill press but not quite as good as a professional "shop quality" drill press.

The setup and assembly instructions were OK. But there were many opportunities for mistakes in assembly that could be more explicitly addressed. Specifically, I recommend assembling the drill press - but leave off the laser unit and the bracket for the tool tray. Leave the bolts a little loose. Then using the base plate as the reference point, use a carpenter's square to align the other components (so everything is aligned with the same centerline. Now tighten everything down and add the laser unit.

The laser cross-hair unit is surprisingly not a gimmick! It's actually designed pretty well. But you must follow the instructions to calibrate it (take a moment to contemplate what you are doing and why!) You must first adjust the lasers so they are "exactly parallel" to each other. The next step is adjusting the lasers so they cross exactly where the drill bit touches. Getting the lasers parallel is essential because this is what allows you to move the drilling platform up and down without loosing proper laser alignment.

I would not buy a drill press that is any lower in quality/cost than this Delta otherwise you'll end up with a piece of junk. DELTA DP300L 12-Inch TwinLaser Crosshair Drill Press

I am overall satisfied with the tool.

It is a little difficult to adjust precisely the depth stop.

Same with the laser. I actually found that I need to recalibrate the lasers each time I change the table height slighty if I want them to be dead accurate.

UPDATE: I now have used this drill press for almost a year and stick with my original review. The tool is still functionning properly. I had a chance to use the different speeds to bore bigger holes, it is a little annoying to have to move the belt but the operation is overall easy. The tool is working as it did the first time I powered it, there is no noticable play.

Overall a good buy.

The drill arrived in a box that appeared to have been handled roughly during shipping. I was initially concerned. However, the foam packaging did its job and all drill componenents were in brand-new condition.

Assembly was easy and proceeded exactly as the manual specified. All metal parts have a healthy dose of protective oil. You can wipe the excess oil with a clean rag (but never actually wash or "clean" the oiled surfaces).

The laser alignment process works as advertised thanks to the included alignment pin that fits into the drill chuck. It is important (as another reviewer has mentioned) to align each laser parallel to the alignment pin. Once each laser is parallel, you can adjust where they intersect for perfect alignment below the drill bit regardless of the height of the adjustable table.

For the money, this is an excellent drill press. I haven't used it extensively yet, but initial tests have been perfect.

This is my first drill press and for a sub $200 drill press it appears to be the best in breed in terms of features and quality. Assembling the drill was straight forward and the instructions were clear. The laser alignment was a little tricky and I ended up adjusting it by hand rather than using the method described in the manual. Once set, it was good.

While I was assembling the drill press the movement of the quill was sticky and would not fully reset until after I turned the machine on. I then proceeded to drill 512 1/8" holes in pine and it recessed properly every time. As I drilled the holes I noticed there was a grinding sound emanating from the gear box as mentioned in another review, but it did not affect the drill's operation.

The drill's operation was smooth, but the depth stop is cheap and difficult to set. Once it was set, it stayed set for all 512 holes. The external parts do seem a little light weigh like the handles, the depth stop, the table crank, and the annoying grinding sound in the gear box. However, the drill table and drill base are solid metal, the motor is strong and smooth, the drill accurate, and the speed is easily adjusted.

But it cannot be overstated how bad the shipping box's condition was when it arrived. The box was shredded and the foam packing core was crushed. I have no idea whether the shipper or the warehouse is to blame. However, several other reviewers have stated the same thing. The only damage was the speed belt housing cover clip which was bent. I was able to bend it back out. This was not the first time I have ordered from Amazon and had the product arrive in a damaged box. Hopefully Amazon is looking into this issue.

All in all I am happy with the drill. I got a lot of use out of it and it worked well. The shipping issue needs to be addressed and it cost the drill a star. The cheap feeling parts are what keeps the drill under $200, and have little bearing on its operation. Plus the laser guide is a nice addition. So for money, it is a good value.

And thanks to the reviewers that wrote about the Delta 20-619 6-Inch Drill Press Vise not fitting the DP300L, despite Amazon's advice to the contrary. You saved me time, money, and frustration!

There is no better benchtop drill press but the Delta customer service couldn't get any worse. I don't know who to blame, Amazon or Delta. The box was beaten up and I realized that the chuck key was missing. I wrote Amazon and they told me to contact Delta or send the drill back for a complete replacement. Delta didn't respond and I wasn't about to send the drill back and risk having something worse happen to the replacement. I've purchased a few power tools on amazon and I don't remember any package showing up clean. The good out of this is Delta helped me make a decision on what table saw to purchase... SawStop thanks you Delta. I recommend purchasing this drill from a local retailer so you can deal with them versus amazon or delta.

As for the drill press itself, putting it together was semi-challenging due to the poorly written instructions. What really stunk is adjusting the dual laser to hit the center. It's nearly impossible to do this due to the design of the adjustment levers (located inside the individual modules). The instructions tell you to remove the cap from each laser module but when you do this, the module wants to fall out of the base. After making the rough adjustments, because that's all you're able to do, you screw the cap back on and you end up trying to twist the module in the base to get the center. If you're lucky you'll get it close enough to give yourself a ROUGH idea of the drill center,,, TIP - don't get greedy and thinking you can get it dead-on you'll end up screwing it up and cursing the darn thing. For my adjustment I know the drill center is a smidge back from the crosshair intersection.

After all of this the max score that this drill press could achieve is 3 stars because the drill itself is outstanding; minus 1 for lack of customer service, minus 1 for the frustration factor (missing chuck key, dual-laser calibration instructions/design).'

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toshiba battery - toshiba battery replacement, laptop batteries

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My first purchase on Amazon. I don't know what I was thinking...something for 80% less than the real deal!?? Original batteries lasted over 3 hrs. This one lasts less than 1hr. Price was so good I bought two! Double Duped! Shame on me. The product label "Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS Laptop Battery by Toshiba" is not accurate. TOSHIBA IS NOT WRITTEN ANYWHERE ON THIS PRODUCT made in China! My Toshiba battery is made in Japan. The product number on the Amazon battery is different "PA.....-1BAS", not 1BRS as advertised. Is there any recourse here? Toshiba PA3465U-1BRS Laptop Battery by Toshiba

I bought this battery,the description says by toshiba it is not its after market,it is not even the same type(part number) as described (how many cells)by the toshiba part number should of been a six cell battery,it doesn't even say on the aftermarket.The battery that was sent to me works ok but it is not a toshiba battery and same part # that I had orderd and not a toshiba battery I'm very disappointed.But I called the seller and told them this they did give me the oportunity to return the item but I didn't (the point is that you should recieve products thatfit the desription that is advertized)I already waited over a week to recieve product and I need a battery now,so next time I'll do my home work before I make a purchase for my electronic equipment and so should you.

I didn't believe this product from this distributer, however, I got this very cheap and prompt shipping.

It works very nice. Normally, the price must be over $100- but i got like $30-. strongly recommend.

I just bought this for my tied and true Toshiba that has bested 3 other computers i have owned during the same time period and it has never failed me so it deserved a new heart (battery) when it finally expired after 5 years of use. The original battery under normal use would give me 1.25 to 1.5 hrs use. I always was content with this and considered it normal. I contemplated buying and aftermarket vs. factory battery and weighed out 1 factory battery or 5 aftermarket for the same price. Hmmmm? So I decided to try the aftermarket which I rarely try, and I am getting so far 2 hours with this. So my thinking of all after market products are not as good as factory was proved wrong. This is a good product if you need a new battery. At least it is in my machine. Maybe i just got lucky, I dont know but i am happy with it. I do not play games or do movie editing on this. It is an XP machine and I use Office regularly and general searching and email. - Toshiba Battery - Laptop Batteries - Toshiba Laptop Battery - Toshiba Battery Replacement'

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Growing Light Fixtures

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i bought this as a gift for a fellow grower friend and his feedback has been pretty good so far. its apparently pretty efficient and runs cool and quiet. i was most impressed with the price of the product in relation to its quality, which is comparable to the Quantum brand that my friends got but I remember him paying over $200 for it. it has the same 3 year warranty, hopefully it will last until a better technology comes out. thank you seller for shipping my item in such a fast manner. 600W Watt Dimmable/Switchable Electronic/Digital Hydroponic Ballast'

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