grow lighting help

[scratchgrow876]

i have a room with 4 sockets with 2 plugs each which means i have 8 plugs total on a 15 amp circuit.can i just plug up a 1000w digital ballast for a hps light in a socket without any tripping or worries?also i want two fans on this same circuit?1 being 120v,115 watts=0.96 amp and the other being 121 watts,110v =1.1 amp?

 

[bmp420gti]

Youre gonna be close to the limit with that, 1000w light will run like 9 amps, realistically you could be okay, but everyone will tell you not to power lights off a 15amp circuit, 30 is recommended but I run 20amps with no problems. Just check after its on for a while how hot the outlets and cables are. 15amp circuits were never designed to run constant current for a 1000w light but people run 1000w space heaters in their houses all the time.

 

[HighDesertAz]

At least you have a digital ballast and not magnetic.
The rule of thumb is never exceed 80% the capacity. On a 15amp breaker that is 12 amps.

9.1 amps + 1 amp + 1.1 amp = 11.2

So you are under the recommended maximum.

 

[HighDesertAz]

Just wanted to add that you should check your wiring for nicks/frays/burns etc, just to be on the safe side.

The 80% capacity is for equipment that runs more than 3 hours. During startup your ballast will draw more current to fire the bulb, then drop down to its continuous pull. I have heard that it can increase 5-10%, but I have never checked what the spiked draw is. (it is less for digital ballast than magnetic)

But if you were to just say your light draws 10 amps, and it spikes 10%, then that is an extra amp that it pulls on startup, which puts you at 12.2 amps (not continuous), so you are still ok, even if it is 2 extra amps, but just make sure your wiring is not in bad shape.

 

[rives]

High Desert nailed it. The only thing that I would add would be to check the receptacle caarefully. If the wires just stab into spring-loaded holes in the back, change the receptacle over to a "specification" or "commercial" grade one. Also, make sure that the spring tension on the plug pins is good - if the plug sags down at all with the cord weight dangling from it, change the receptacle.

If the receptacle is the cheap stab-in style, then I would change out the remaining receptacles on that circuit. The older style of wiring daisy-chained from one receptacle to the next, so your lighting load can make a bad connection on an upstream receptacle overheat even if nothing is plugged into it.

 

[scratchgrow876]

thanks guys this cleared up alot of concerns i had.peace