240v vs 120v ballast power cord

[Hammerhead]

OK guys I have a question concerning the power cord for our ballasts. When you run 240v you need to use 240v cord that has a different male end then the 120v version. My question is are these cables the same except for the different male end connection???. I looked at some pics and the look identical in size and material. I cant find any specs on them..

 

[Private Joker]

I think you are correct. I have used the same SO cable to make both 120 and 240 volt cords. They all worked properly. Just make sure the gauge of wire is ok for the amps you are pulling.

 

[Hammerhead]

thats why Im asking. The ballast are 2.75a 240v The cord should be rated for at least 15a. I think its fine to just use the 120v power cord. I just cut off the male end and replaced it with a 240v 15a male plug.. I could not see a reason to purchase new ones with the 240v end. I just went to HD and bought the male ends for 4.98 ea...

 

[Iron_Lion]

yes. just different configuration for safety's sake. Square peg in a round hole kinda deal.

 

[Hammerhead]

Ya im finding allot of code violations in many of the lighting control boxes and power cords for ballast. I just got done rebuilding the entire box I got. The vendor used the cheapest parts and wrong amperage rating for wires and receptacle's.. He had 240v 15a hooked up to the 30a breaker.


When I started the upgrade I used 8-4 main power line to run this controller. So I had 40a to work with.. After inspecting the box. I could not use the 30a breaker he had installed all of the wire was 12g coming out of the 30a breaker. Then it went to 240v 15a receptacle's..

I took the whole thing apart and started from scratch. The only pats I reused was the relay. It is good for 40a.. To be safe I bought new 10g and replaced the 30a breakers with 2 20a breakers.

One of the breakers is used on the trigger/relay so I have 4 outlets @240v 20a going to the new 6-20 receptacle's and 2 120v 20a with new 15-20 receptacle's these are all on the trigger. There is 2 more outlets on that breaker thats constant..

The other 20a breaker goes to 4 5-20 for the a/c to use.. All of my equipment will now plug into this one controller. So now you can not plug a 120v into a 240v or 240v into a 120v.. There is one double Ivory color that still needs to be repalced that one is only a 15a so im using small stuff like fans and pumps on it...Its as safe as I can make it..

If anyone has question I will do my best to try and explain...

 

[Iron_Lion]

Im happy to see it up to snuff, better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Tactician]

Ya im finding allot of code violations in many of the lighting control boxes and power cords for ballast. I just got done rebuilding the entire box I got. The vendor used the cheapest parts and wrong amperage rating for wires and receptacle's.. He had 240v 15a hooked up to the 30a breaker.

Is that a unit from dxhydro, doesn't surprise me you found used parts inside and wrong size wire.

I know a guy who builds controllers that are 100% safe, reliable, and built to exceed NEC/CEC requirements.

 

[Hammerhead]

There was no used parts just the wrong size. It's not hard to bulid these and make them safe...

 

[Cartel530]

yes you can use them. cut the end off a 120v and put a 240v end on it. good to go

 

[Hammerhead]

thaks friend your a bit late to this party Thanks anyway

 

[moonquasar]

Question: what connector is on the other end? (Connecting power cord to ballast.)

 

[Sam the Caveman]

Thats a bit surprising that someone building and selling controller boxes is not using the proper size wiring.

not saying you lying, its just that it is quite surprising

 

[Tactician]

Doesn't surprise me that dxhydro makes subpar controllers. You want a custom loadcenter, a bit pricey, contact info@nowirenuts.ca. Guaranteed to surpass NEC/CEC guidelines.

 

[cody2white]

Do you have a pic I could see? I dont get how it steps down from the main panel. Like 40amp breaker run to box. But what does it connect to next. I thought it was straight to the relay but what about if I wanted some 120v outlets? Anywho I'm making a shopping list and putting together my own. So far I have just the relay and a general idea. Any info would greatly help out

 

[Hammerhead]

Thats a bit surprising that someone building and selling controller boxes is not using the proper size wiring.

not saying you lying, its just that it is quite surprising

The 30a breaker had 12g wire going to the relay... I changed all of it to 10g and reduced the breaker size to 20a...All of these types are not wired safely.I cant name one that would pass code

 

[Hammerhead]

 

[il19z8rn4li1]

greatness so this kinda answered my question :-D

I got some 600 watt ballasts that have 110v plugs on them... kicked myself
for not getting them with the 220v plugs...

After examining the power plug. it says on it

15 amp
240volt

So ya that brings me to think that I could just cut off the end and put on a 220 plug.


NOW i was wondering though... Couldnt I just wire the 3 prong receptacle for 220?

I remember from the receptacle box, it shows you how to wire in either 110 or 220.


I have a 40amp breaker... with 8/3 wire coming off of it.
I figured that if I use the 220 straight from the breaker
I would be able to have all my lights on this one circuit and it wont even
be close to half load. I think its 5400 watts at 220... i have 3x 600s, so 1800 watts.

Should be no issue right?

 

[Hammerhead]

If you have 120v and you want to rewire that for 240v you will need to run another hot to that circuit..RED,BLACK,GRN,WHT.

8-3 wire is to large to fit standard outlets. You would need to reduce that to 12g. You will need to put a control box in between the breaker and your outlets..

 

[downtoearth]

Hi Cody. Check out the thread just above this one. I'm in the process of building my own box the safe way as Hammerhead did. I have corresponded, or tried to correspond with the DXhydro guy and I gotta tell you, I wouldn't spend a dime on this guy. He doesn't return phone calls, he barely responds to emails, his web page is sub par, I have heard bad reviews of this guys work from more than one person. In my opinion this guy has NO business wiring anything for sale. Put quite simply he's no business man whatsoever. If you email him, the email will come back to you as undelivered, yet he still gets the mail. I told him of this and he said he would fix it. That was a week ago and it's still not fixed. This guy is not inspiring and I'm not putting my home in his hands. I suggest getting an electrician to help you and DIY. End rant The further in the thread you will go, the more will be revealed, I hope. I'm learning as I go. Hammerhead and Rives have helped me stay on track throughout the build. I'll post pictures when it's complete.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=230995

 

[il19z8rn4li1]

If you have 120v and you want to rewire that for 240v you will need to run another hot to that circuit..RED,BLACK,GRN,WHT.

8-3 wire is to large to fit standard outlets. You would need to reduce that to 12g. You will need to put a control box in between the breaker and your outlets..

ya I realized that really quick lol...

Thats why Im not adding a sub panel between the outlets so I can
take the 40amp breaker down to a 20amp 2pole breaker so i can use 12/3 on them :-D So i can now run 2x 600watters on each 20amp 2pole breakers :-D

Thanks for the help, this thread and the other one really helped me out when it comes to this 240 jive :-D

now that I got 120 down.. i will soon have 240 down :-D haha
:-D Cheers friends