Medic Grow Fold 8 Review

I have to start with the obvious, the Medic Grow Fold 8 is significantly less expensive than any similar fixture on the market. The current retail price is only $659 USD (medicgrow.com) and we have a discount code (CCFC) that knocks $70 off that price! $589 is suspiciously low for a fixture that claims to draw 720 watts and light a 5×5 grow space. I would expect a price almost twice as high… So what gives?

I approached the Medic Grow Fold 8 with a great deal of suspicion. I carefully inspected the build quality and authenticity of the components. I interrogated the representative about the company’s origin, relation to the manufacturer, certification status, and accuracy of the advertised material. Of course, I also ran it through several PAR tests and measured the operating temperature. After all that, it still seems too good to be true.

Medic Grow is a new brand that was first launched in the summer of 2020. Although they are a new brand, they have a relationship with one of the largest LED manufacturers. They have long term goals and are focused more on gaining market share than turning a profit on the Fold 8. I was satisfied with their explanations to my questions and they seem motivated to provide good customer service. However, as a new brand, they have almost no track record regarding customer satisfaction.

The Medic Grow Fold 8 is a foldable LED Bar Array style fixture. It feels solid and well made. There is a center chassis which houses the driver and two wings that fold out from the chassis with the LED bars. There is a total of eight (8) bars, four (4) on each wing. It takes only seconds to unfold and setup. When fully unfolded, the fixture is just shy of 4’ x 4’.

Many brands try to lower the cost by scrimping on diodes. However, the Medic Grow Fold 8 uses a high quantity of name brand diodes. There is a total of 2,800 Samsung LM301Z+ diodes. In addition, there are 64 Osram 660 nanometer diodes. I inspected the diodes to ensure that they are authentic. The diodes check out. They do not help us solve the mystery about why this fixture is so affordable.

The driver may be a different story. The driver is housed within the center chassis of the fixture. It is not possible to remove it or even inspect it without disassembling the fixture. The representative explained that the driver was specially designed for this fixture and manufactured by Sosen. The driver performed well during my testing. If there were serious issues, it would get hot and lead to poor system efficiency. It did not get hot and the system was very efficient.

When I hung it up for the first PAR test, I was very uncertain how it would perform. After verifying the power draw was about 720 watts, I set it up in a 150 x 150 cm (5’ x 5’) test area. I measured a maximum PPFD of 1000 µmol/m² at a hanging height of 43.5cm (about 17”). When I dragged the sensor over to the corner to start the test I was immediately impressed. The corners are below the 500 µmol/m² threshold, but barely. The Medic Grow Fold 8 produced a truly excellent 5’ x 5’ PAR map.

In the official test, the Medic Grow Fold 8 delivered an average PPFD of 723.2 µmol/m². That is a great average, especially for a 5’ x 5’ test. The 723.2 µmol/m² average across the 2.25 m² space, means the Medic Grow Fold 8 delivered a Usable PPF of 1627.3 µmol. That is higher than any other fixture I have tested! During the test, I measured the power draw at 721 watts, which is exactly as advertised. 1627.3 µmol with only 721 watts shows us that the Fold 8 has a superior Usable Photon Efficiency of 2.26 µmol/w! These are amazing results. I did not expect it to perform as well as it did.

I raised the fixture to see if I could get the corners above the 500 µmol/m² threshold. At 61cm (24”), it came very close, which you can see in the PAR map below. Raising the fixture helped spread more light to the edges and corners. However, the average PPFD fell to 691.4 µmol/m² and the efficiency dropped to 2.15 µmol/w. Regardless, both maps are excellent and suggest that the Fold 8 has a large range for optimal hanging height.

The first two PAR tests certainly do not resolve the mystery of the low price, but they do help us to see just how low it is. In the official test, the Medic Grow Fold 8 delivered 1627.3 µmol. We know that it costs only $589 with discount code CCFC (medicgrow.com). That means the Fold 8 has a cost efficiency of $0.36/µmol! That is insane! Comparable fixtures cost from $0.60 – $0.90/µmol. I would consider $0.60/µmol to be an amazing deal for a fixture with this performance. The Medic Grow Fold 8 seems to be about half price!

It is perfect for a 5’ x 5’ grow space. However, at such a low cost, I figured that many growers may be interested in putting it in a 4’ x 4’ grow space. I decided to run that test.

The Medic Grow Fold 8 will fit in a 4’ x 4’ tent, but barely. In my test, the fixture was slightly uncentered. The power cord hit against one wall and pushed the fixture against the opposite wall. On the other two sides the fixture was almost touching the walls.

The Medic Grow Fold 8 produces too much light to run at 100% power in a 4’ x 4’ space. I dimmed it to 80% and measured a maximum PPFD of 1000 µmol/m² at a hanging height of 30.5cm (12”). Since the fixture spanned wall to wall, the PPFD was excellent everywhere. As you can see below, there are values above 900 µmol/m² from top to bottom and the lowest corner was 704 µmol/m²! It is one of the best 4’ x 4’ PAR maps I have seen.

In the 4’ x 4’ test at 80% power, the average PPFD was very high at 884.3 µmol/m². The Usable PPF was an impressive 1273.3 µmol. Since it was dimmed to 80%, the Fold 8 was even more efficient than in the official test. It drew only 544 watts, giving it an incredible Usable Photon Efficiency of 2.34 µmol/w! At 80% power, you aren’t getting as much light, but the cost efficiency for a 4’ x 4’ application is still incredible at only $0.46/µmol.

I am reluctant to believe things that seem too good to be true. I let the Medic Grow Fold 8 run at full power for several hours. The cynic in me half expected it to burst into flames. However, it barely even got hot. After running for hours in a confined space the hottest temperatures I recorded were 49.8c (121.6f) on the LED bars and 41.8c (107.2f) on the casing of the driver.

The Medic Grow Fold 8 comes with a dimming knob with preset positions at 100%, 80%, 60%, and 40%. As you can see in the graphic above, the dimmer is very accurate. The Fold 8 is also compatible with most controllers.

At $589, the Medic Grow Fold 8 seems to be easily the best deal in horticultural lighting. If I did not know the price, I would have estimated it to be several hundred dollars more than they are asking. I am not aware of any fixtures that even come close to matching the combined Photon and Cost efficiencies of the Medic Grow Fold 8.

After a rigorous inspection, I have to say I am impressed. It certainly seems like a great fixture. If there is a serious flaw, I was not able to find it. That said, you should be aware that it is a new brand and they don’t have a long track record yet. I passed the unit that I tested on to our community member @HempwithGG, they are is going to do a complete grow test to really check it out! See HempwithGG’s Medic Grow Fold 8 Grow Journal! If you get the Fold 8, we will be very interested to hear how it performs in your grow. Please keep a journal in our forum or drop me a note!