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Light controller w/timer for small kit DIY

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budleydoright

Member
ExoSteve said:
EMF from my ballast can distrub the good operating of my relay?

They are A LOT of 30amp relay. I don't know which one I would choose...!!!??!?!?

My wire should be gauge number ?????

Gauge size of the timer wires matter?
Click to expand...

I use the 30 amp 120 V on ebay, I think I posted a link earlier. They are 4 for 10 bucks right now.

ExoSteve said:
http://bubbaspools.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20199

This one is the one I need!! Anyone know how to wire it to my ballast?

Can I make an outlet box (like your) and plug my ballast in it. Plug this timer into this box and give power to the timer with a power cord that I cut the male connector?
Click to expand...

Yes, This is a nice unit.
Switch Rating- Each Pole is 40 Amp Resistive 120VAC 40 Amp Tungsten. You get about 1/2 this inductive.

You can wire an outlet box to this and a plug. It should include very clear instructions.
 
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ExoSteve

Member
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=484311&section=31715&minisite=10025

Found this one in a local store! 15A inductive !! Would you trust it for 25$ ???

For the INTERMATIC timers...they state Normally open or Normally closed without the same spec...what should I know about this?

If its not write INDUCTIVE in the spec. I just take the resistive spec and divide it by 2 to have the inductive load??

You can wire an outlet box to this and a plug. It should include very clear instructions.
Click to expand...
Ok!! Do you think I can install a male plug on it to go in the wall and a female plug for my ballast wire?
 
rives

rives

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Steve, I don't know if you have ordered the timer yet, but the T101/T104's on Amazon are about half the price of the link that you showed.
 
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budleydoright

Member
ExoSteve said:
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=484311&section=31715&minisite=10025

Found this one in a local store! 15A inductive !! Would you trust it for 25$ ???

For the INTERMATIC timers...they state Normally open or Normally closed without the same spec...what should I know about this?

If its not write INDUCTIVE in the spec. I just take the resistive spec and divide it by 2 to have the inductive load??

Ok!! Do you think I can install a male plug on it to go in the wall and a female plug for my ballast wire?
Click to expand...

I dont' trust that litle leviton it does say a 1 hp rating which doesn't equal 15 amps, I believe it is around 750 watts so around 6 amps.

Yes, half the resistive rating to get roughly the inductive. i think there are more variables involved but thats real close. And yes, you could get a heavy duty extension cord, cut it in half and wire it to your timer.
 
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ExoSteve

Member
budleydoright said:
This device is a manufactured version of what I'm talking about.....

check it out.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260870615129
Click to expand...

I plug this in my timer and my ballast into this? Doesn't look ''safer'' to me!! Is it? I see no ground on it...

I plan to buy the aube mechanical timer because the intermatic have a lot of return. They are basicly the same.

The sentinel HID-2 is rated 16 amp inductive according to monstergardens staff. Its weird because 16 amp is a very unusual rating. This timer can power up 1200w of HID light...this is about 10amp on 120v. Why they don't say it can power up at least 1400w instead of 1200w? Don't know what to think about these number.
 
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budleydoright

Member
The unit plugs into an outlet, your ballast into the outlet on the unit, then the cord off the unit goes into a timer, to switch to relay on and off.
 
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budleydoright

Member
I can't speak for how they build it. I do know every relay I have wired only has 2 wires for the coil. The load of is carried by the outlet and relay that is in the unit which is grounded.
 
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ExoSteve

Member
I'll buy the Intermatic T101.

15A breaker is good for inductive HID lamp like a lumatek 1000w or it work like a relay and need to divide by 2 to know inductive load?
 
rrog

rrog

Active member
Veteran
This DIY talk has me thinking ..Does anyone ever build ballasts from kits and upgrade the parts? Seems like there could be significant upgrades in some critical parts. Maybe not
 
whazzup

whazzup

Member
Veteran
ExoSteve said:
I'll buy the Intermatic T101.

15A breaker is good for inductive HID lamp like a lumatek 1000w or it work like a relay and need to divide by 2 to know inductive load?
Click to expand...
Don't think too lightly about the choice of your contactor! core.coil ballasts and electronic ballasts alike have an inrush of about 50A max. You can not use certain contactors for this purpose because the contacts would weld together or get damaged when the break.

Use a contactor preferably rated for AC5a (HID loads) for example the Eaton DILL series

when using a fuses make sure they are selective (so the fuse before the fuse in your box needs to be considerably bigger). In Europe we have tables for that I am sure it works the same way in the US.
 
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ExoSteve

Member
Using higher breaker or fuse for what the wire stand for is not a safe advice. That's just mean that the hole circuit can take what is not made for.

I prefer my breaker to snap and stop all over not snapping and overide the circuit. A faulty breaker can caught fire?

By the way...I got the Intermatic T101 at a local store. 50$can :)

I looked at the instruction. Seems easy but let me know if I'm wrong. The neutral supply AND load wire go on the same screw in the timer???
 
rives

rives

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Wazzup is referring to inrush current, which is almost always several times the running value regardless of what type of device you are using. Electric motors normally draw 300% full load current while accelerating, and some high inertia applications will draw 7-900%. These high currents typically pass before the breakers have a chance to react. Also, with the fusing, he is talking about fuse co-ordination. If you have a local breaker for your grow, for instance, you want it to be of a lower value than the one feeding it at the main panel. This keeps you from having to go to the main panel to reset it when it trips, you can do it at your local breaker. For instance, if you have a 20 amp main breaker using #12 wire, then you would want a 15 amp breaker at your grow.

On the T101, the neutral wires from the supply, the clock motor and the load all go under one terminal - the neutral is not switched.
 
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ExoSteve

Member
Thank you rives! On my panel I have 3 x 20amp breaker and the one just after is a 15amp breaker.

Look like this...

20amp 20amp
20amp 20amp
20amp 20amp
15amp 15amp
15amp 15amp
15amp 15amp
15amp 15amp

Ok good for the timer! Easy to wire up! Will need to buy little thing with a circle to install on the wires...take less place into the timer. Wiring 2 x 14 gauge wire on 1 scre is tight!
 
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budleydoright

Member
Make sure to get a good crimp on those, the cheap crimpers are hard to get a good reliable connection.
I Looked at the intermatic timer today at the local grow shop, it is rated for 20 amps inductive, nice. They're pretty cheap too compared to the crap timers.

That's awsome that you upgraded and learned about this aspect of our hobby exosteve.
 
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