Welcome to the Grow Room Safety Forum!

[seebobski]

grounding rod

grounding rod

I had my return line at the pole break loose. Home is wired for code of the late 60s so
the pole transformer to be earth ground. Well my grow was safe because I tied my ground to the cold water pipe for my sub panel. But all other electronics in the house fried that was plugged in. Lights flickered like a scary movies. Wife had a habit of leaving phone charger plugged in after charging. It started to smoke and blue arks coming out till it was unplugged. Lucky someone was home. I was working out of town wife called and explained what happened told her to kill main breaker and rushed home. Looked around and then rolled a joint ventured into the back yard to burn. Puff puff and started looking at the lines coming to my meter box. Then looked at the transformer drops to other homes. Then puff puff my return wire is broken ! Called PG&E and they rushed out in less than an hour and fixed it. Sense that I have installed a 5/8" dia 8' long copper grounding rod and tied in main panel on the return tie in bar. Sub panel is unbounded ground at the sub but bonded at main which I believe is code to date. I have a 100 amp main.

 

[nukklehead]

I had my return line at the pole break loose. Home is wired for code of the late 60s so
the pole transformer to be earth ground. Well my grow was safe because I tied my ground to the cold water pipe for my sub panel. But all other electronics in the house fried that was plugged in. Lights flickered like a scary movies. Wife had a habit of leaving phone charger plugged in after charging. It started to smoke and blue arks coming out till it was unplugged. Lucky someone was home. I was working out of town wife called and explained what happened told her to kill main breaker and rushed home. Looked around and then rolled a joint ventured into the back yard to burn. Puff puff and started looking at the lines coming to my meter box. Then looked at the transformer drops to other homes. Then puff puff my return wire is broken ! Called PG&E and they rushed out in less than an hour and fixed it. Sense that I have installed a 5/8" dia 8' long copper grounding rod and tied in main panel on the return tie in bar. Sub panel is unbounded ground at the sub but bonded at main which I believe is code to date. I have a 100 amp main.

Nice job seebo.. Im a big GROUNDER myself never have too much..
Hey green,, where do yo recommend to look into that automatic
sprinkler... sweet...

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

View Image
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fire suppression


Technically speaking, any fire suppression system, if installed correctly, should be done using "orange pipe". Standard PVC's and joint glues/adhesive compounds, as shown in your pic, will fail under fire and or extreme heat conditions before fire is fully suppressed and is therefore more of a 'feel-good" safety measure and not necessarily adequate. Orange pipe is specifically design for fire suppression apps. Dont under-estimate the design or materials required for a reliable fire suppression system. A lot goes into it in for proper reliability & performance if & when needed...CC

Actual fire code description:
CPVC Materials
The material used in the manufacture of the pipe shall be a rigid chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compound, Type IV Grade I, with a Cell Classification of 23447 as defined in ASTM D1784. The compound and the finished product shall be orange in color, and shall be approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) for use with potable water. Material used shall be domestically produced BlazeMaster® CPVC material as provided by Noveon, Inc. (formerly the BFGoodrich Company).

 

[Jhhnn]

I think a big part of growroom safety is accounting for the "what if's", like-

What happens if the fan quits? How hot will it get in there?

Test it & find out.

What's the worst case scenario from using unprotected bulbs in open fixtures?

What happens when a cheapo timer can't handle the load?

What happens if electrical connections get wet when they shouldn't?

What happens to the floors if your irrigation system goes berserk & you haven't used a floor liner?

What happens if your ballast decides to let the smoke out? is it far enough away from flammables to be safe?

What if you run house wiring at more than 80% of rated capacity? Extension Cords?

There's more, obviously, but real safety comes from anticipating problems rather than dealing with them as they occur.

The worst case scenario is that you & your family die in a fire. OTOH, if that happens you def won't get busted & all your shit getting burnt up won't be much of an issue.

 

[nukklehead]

ok cowboy.. im with ya..

whats a good website for furthering my education and
possibly obtaining necessary components to do this...

thanks!