HOW MANY WATTS DO YOU USE ON ONE 15 AMP BREAKER

just curious what you growers out there pull from your 15 amp breakers, or 20 amps for that matter. just want to be safe , and not burn the house down

amp x voltage = wattage , in the same way:
watts / voltage = amp

Always been told to use 80% of the circuits max load- whether this is true, i couldn't tell you. My gaff hasnt burnt down yet.

Hope this is of some help, althou i am quite stoned and may have got mixed up.

All the best


Guvnor

A 15 amp circuit can carry only a total of 1440 watts,which is 80% of the 1800 watts found by mulitplying the volts times amps,15 x 120 x 80%= 1440.


A 20 amp circuit can be loaded 1920 watts, 120 x 20 x 80%=1920 watts.

Hope this helps.

Mo,

would i be pushing it with 1600 watts of light and a regular fan with only a 15 amp circuit?? what can i do?

I pulled an 80 amp circut off of my maim and ran it right to a subpanel in my grow op. I split a few 15, 20, and 30 amp circuts off of that.

I run around 2000 watts all the time

Tex

trinity i wouldnt try putting 1600 watts on a 15 amp circuit. It would probably just pop. Try about 1440 as Bigmo said. Peace

Personally i wouldn't go with more than 1250w(+1 fan) on a 15a. I would run a short HD extention cord(from another circuit) for a few things(no 1ks) if ya need 1600ws'...Best of luck with your set-up & be safe Peace 3ld

what do you mean an HD extension cord? you think i'll be good with 1000 and fans on one and a 600 on the other?

HD Heavy duty Not the 100 foot orange 16/18 gauge electric lawn mower cord.
12 gauge maybe. Wont get hot. electrical friction and things of that nature.

^^ absolutly well said JJ. And trinity i have run a 400whps on a HD extention cord...best to get the one for ac units i think it is 12 guage....mabey even 10...the problem is wally world only sells these in like i think 8ft lengths( some even shorter) is the longest i have seen but they are nice & heavy duty & probable would be ok with a 600w...i would just keep a close eye on it for extensive(too much) heat build up for the first few days especially...probably be fine though. Take care & be safe Peace 3ld

also remember to check the receptacle it is plugged into for too much heat...not warm thats to be expected to some degree with a 6+amp draw. Also it's always wize to make sure the connection is very good & even a bit of securing it to the wall or something is my tip as you don't want that wall (recepticle) connection to get loose for any reason & short cycle your 600w ballast...although todays new ballasts can take a 'beatn' & keep on heatn'

these all sound good for me..although I am not crazy with those 1k watters im trying to keep safe hehe..im glad i am reading this before in the future i do soething stupid... man TK is one crazy fucker knows how to do multiple things relating to his grow lol..

i would not put more then 1k on it...... after fans pumps ect you will be right where ya wanna be.....

even on a 20 i would only run 1 k ( 2 x 600 ) fans pumps ect!

Howdy 00420, so are you saying that on a 20 amp curciut you can ru a 1k + fans and pumps? i have 2 dedicated 20 amp breakers for my 2 iks, i wouild like to run some of my fans off of them as well just in case those aothe curciuts pop im not left with lights on and nothing else. Ive seen your work and truist you judgement.

peace

bonz

I DO IT!

i run 2 600's 2 fans 2 pumps ( air/water ) co2 & a trimeter all on one 20 amp

i have even seen 2 k on a 20 amp line ( not that it should be done)

as bigmo said no more then 80% & thats 16 amp's 1 k is only about 10amps
so that leaves you a lil room to play with....... most fans are very low amp's

Bonzo said:

Howdy 00420, so are you saying that on a 20 amp curciut you can ru a 1k + fans and pumps? i have 2 dedicated 20 amp breakers for my 2 iks, i wouild like to run some of my fans off of them as well just in case those aothe curciuts pop im not left with lights on and nothing else. Ive seen your work and truist you judgement.

peace

bonz

Click to expand...

hY trinity,
There is a simple formula for calculating circuit amperage capacity
and it is the same for all electrical appliances
it is ::: watts used devides by voltages used = amperage
for a 1000 watts lamp on 110 volts;;; 1000 devided by 110 volts = 9.1 amps
for a 1000 watts lamp on 220 volts::: 1000 devided by 220 volts=4,5 amps
for a 400 watts lamp on 110 volts;;; 400 devided by 110 = 3.6 amps
for a 400 watts lamp on 220 volts;;; 400 devided by 220 = 1.8 amps.

Also keep in mind that the ballast used consume 0.5 amps.

Never load a circuit to more than 75 percent of it's capacity so

15 X 80%=12 amps max.

hope this is of some help to you.

tex you should post a link to your pics of the power setup with a brief howto

Bump

We need a sticky on this subject, a lot of basic electrical questions in the last couple weeks.

Mebbe I'll toss up a thread on it along with a tutorial on converting security lights, I've done the Regent 100 MHs and the 150 HPSs using the stock reflectors.

Maybe Tex or someone could get a thread together on basic electrical questions and we could get it stickied?

That sounds quite fine but i think electrical talk is a bit taboo in general as the possible hazards involved are great. I know we all mean well & i always seem to put my .02c in on elect. issues having spent many years as a shipboard electrician thinkn' i may know a lil' something. In reality i dont know shit when it comes to real electrical theory & there are too many idiots out there that interpret things (typed) wrong .

Please don't take this wrong i mean nothing but possitive thoughts & no attacks here. I just have seen the troubles with other sites & this issue..... should be delt with carefully...imHo. Take care everyone & have a safe weekend 3ld

i've been using the pm... with my electr. q's & a's lately...just my thoughts

There's Electrons Loose In The House

There's Electrons Loose In The House

I could give you all you need to know to install a sub-panel..it's very simple..
but one should have a good grasp on electrical wiring before taking on such a task...
It needs to be wired with the correct type and gauge of wire..
The right type of breaker for your main panel...If no main breaker, is the breaker count within code..
Amperage ratings of breakers are to protect wires from too high of temperature..
14g typically on 15 amp breakers, 12g typically 20A on a 120VAC system..
We say 110 or 120 maybe 125..truth is it isn't exact, because of loads on the system..
and not just your system...Everybody in your zone is connected load-wise
you are just charged for your part..if everyone in the neighbor is running high inductive loads(transformers, motors, etc).
The voltage may lower a tad as the power factor starts phasing to the inductive side...
the power company trys to compensate by putting up big capacitors all over the grid..
look on power poles they are usually sets of 3 rectangular boxes..The drum shaped things are step down transformers..
Okay went way off subject..When designing a circuit you always use worst case scenario..
so when doing calculations use a little worse of a number ie use 110VAC to calculate instead of 120..
and like others were saying derate the circuit..80% of max is now max...
and you want to draw less than max so the breaker can deal with surges...
when all that stuff comes on at once...current spikes then comes back down to normal load..
Hot wires are bad..don't exceed ratings on extention cords..
this is the number one thing people do wrong in their homes with wiring..
The breaker is matched with the house wiring say 20A w 12g wire...you plug a 50ft 14g extention cord and draw 18A..
The house wiring will be fine ..meanwhile the ext cord is burning up..
if that was a 3ft 14g ext cord..you would probably be fine..
wire distance(voltage drop) works into the calculation too...
copper is a great conductor...but not perfect the longer the wire run is the more the wire becomes a resistor..
and drops voltage..only a super-conductor is immune from this..
So I moved around alot but hope this helps folks see a little of the big picture..

well packnpuff tell us how to build a sub panel before i burn a house or 2 down .. i really need to know how to do this ..lol