Am I being too paranoid?

mtbazz · Aug 28, 2013

Ok...heres the deal. Been growing indoors the past decade, and really have not had a vacation during that time where Ive gone away and left my grow unattended.

Taking a break from growing is not an option...but I really need to get away and the only thing keeping me from doing so is fear of something such as a fire or electrical problem happening. I usually make sure I am home at lights on to make sure everything is kosher. Doesnt always happen, but 80% of the time I am able to do that.

I am basically running a 1000 watt hps on a dimmable ballast in a 5x5 tent with a fan running for exhaust.

I really need to get away...Should I just switch it down to 500 watts and leave he fan running 24 hours (fan is not hooked up to a timer), or just gamble and keep the lights off for the 2-3 days away (current grow is about 3-4 weeks into flower) ?

willyweed · Aug 28, 2013

both good options,and both will lose you crop,nobody you could trust for a few days? i can vouch for leaving them in the dark for a few days,but it does put them back a bit.goodluck either way.willyweed

K.O.Genetics · Aug 28, 2013

ok.. go get yourself a camera set it up on ur computer.. make sure its not showing shit.. just that ur lights are going on an off.. no details.. then use ur phone or tablet to remote desktop ur computer.. and bam. u can check on shit from wereever ..

WelderDan · Aug 28, 2013

Switch to a couple of cheap shop lights (two 2 bulb 4 ft fixtures). I did that when my mom came to visit unexpectedly and I didn't want a 1000 watt hps and humming ballast giving up my little secret. Since you get cloudy days in nature, the plants won't care that the light isn't that strong for a couple days. The shop lights provide enough light that it won't interrupt your flower cycle. Worked like a champ and it's cheap.

quitelost · Aug 29, 2013

I dont see how turning down the ballast for 2 or 3 days will totally destoy the crop? Maybe cause some strech at the begining of flower? I dont think you should be so concerned, your grow is probally not up to code but ive seen some really scary residential electric work(non cannabis related) that people just left to its own devices and I doubt youve done such a bad setup with your grow.

Ickis · Aug 29, 2013

If your worried about leaving 1000w running you will have the same worry with 500w. It won't be the wattage that causes a fire. It will be the electric system. Bad wires, faulty ballast, fan overheats, etc, ect. It has run fine all the time you watch it so it will run fine when you are away. But I understand the worry and I would not do it.

The shop light is a great idea but I wouldn't do that either. I would take them out. Put them in an upstairs room that gets sunlight from windows and let them sit in there until you get back. Nothing electric running. Outside hours of daylight (if you are in the US) is triggering flowering outdoors so I don't think it won't hurt your cycle. This way total peace of mind. Unless you think you left the coffee pot on or something. LOL!

But in all honesty I would not go anywhere until the grow is over and then take my vacation. But if I had to go I would make them houseplants for the time I was gone.

Dawn Patrol · Aug 29, 2013

WelderDan said:
Switch to a couple of cheap shop lights (two 2 bulb 4 ft fixtures). I did that when my mom came to visit unexpectedly and I didn't want a 1000 watt hps and humming ballast giving up my little secret. Since you get cloudy days in nature, the plants won't care that the light isn't that strong for a couple days. The shop lights provide enough light that it won't interrupt your flower cycle. Worked like a champ and it's cheap.

This^^^^^

Works like a charm!

I grow outdoors primarily but years ago I used to keep my newly rooted clones and vegging plants under 400 watts before I put them outside to flower.

DW had a death in the family I had no choice but to figure out how to keep things going while I was gone for a week and this was the answer. It keeps the light cycle intact with minimal impact. I just put watering saucers under the big plants and put all the clones in a tub with 2" of water before I left and a week later everything was cool. If you have a hydro setup things may be more complicated YMMV :tiphat:

mtbazz · Aug 29, 2013

Ickis said:
If your worried about leaving 1000w running you will have the same worry with 500w. It won't be the wattage that causes a fire. It will be the electric system. Bad wires, faulty ballast, fan overheats, etc, ect. It has run fine all the time you watch it so it will run fine when you are away. But I understand the worry and I would not do it.

The shop light is a great idea but I wouldn't do that either. I would take them out. Put them in an upstairs room that gets sunlight from windows and let them sit in there until you get back. Nothing electric running. Outside hours of daylight (if you are in the US) is triggering flowering outdoors so I don't think it won't hurt your cycle. This way total peace of mind. Unless you think you left the coffee pot on or something. LOL!

But in all honesty I would not go anywhere until the grow is over and then take my vacation. But if I had to go I would make them houseplants for the time I was gone.

I have it setup like a perpetual harvest, so there is pretty much always something in there.

In any case, I will probably just do what you suggested, open up the tent and the blinds so that they get the sun during the day (my lights on cycle is actually 1800 hours to 0600 hours), so they will get a little confused.

Funny thing about this is that I have no issue leaving the T5s running in the veg room...I guess its just the higher wattage of the HPS and the fans going that concerns me.

frankenstein2 · Aug 29, 2013

Bro your all good to go. Has it ever caught on fire when you were right there? I highly doubt a fire will start in the two days your gone. If your this cautious, I highly doubt you have things "rigged" that could be a fire hazard. It's not gonna catch on fire. Make sure your plants are watered good or the water supply is on a timer, and take a couple days for yourself.

-~Wind Walker~- · Aug 29, 2013

Water, and leave the lights off for 2 to 3 days. The daylight plan mentioned above would work just fine.

If you really need to take some time off, is 2 to 3 days of dark really significant to the quality of the product?

-~WW~-

G.Goo · Aug 29, 2013

mtbazz said:
Ok...heres the deal. Been growing indoors the past decade, and really have not had a vacation during that time where Ive gone away and left my grow unattended.

Taking a break from growing is not an option...but I really need to get away and the only thing keeping me from doing so is fear of something such as a fire or electrical problem happening. I usually make sure I am home at lights on to make sure everything is kosher. Doesnt always happen, but 80% of the time I am able to do that.

I am basically running a 1000 watt hps on a dimmable ballast in a 5x5 tent with a fan running for exhaust.

I really need to get away...Should I just switch it down to 500 watts and leave he fan running 24 hours (fan is not hooked up to a timer), or just gamble and keep the lights off for the 2-3 days away (current grow is about 3-4 weeks into flower) ?

I also have this issue bout being home with hps on .The best thing to do is double check everything and go have fun .

If u double check everything and make sure u don't have no fire hazards/ light leaks u will be fine . I also feel married to my grow during flower . So I totally understand where ur coming from. But if only for a a few days just leave and do what u need to do. Double check everything all will be well

gaiusmarius · Aug 29, 2013

i don't get it, why should it catch fire? are you totally over loading your system? are the cables hot? if not you will be fine leaving for a few days. reduce the power to 500w if you feel more comfortable, but those lamps are made to run at full power for days on end. so as long as you don't have faulty wiring, which you would have noticed by now, there is no reason not to trust the system for a few days. use common sense, make sure cables are safe and it will be fine. millions of lamps all over the world are left to run on their timers without supervision.

PhenoMenal · Aug 29, 2013

sorry gaiusmarious but I think that's very dangerous advice ... you're telling him to take a gamble in regards to fire safety in his home while he's away from it

and "I don't get it, why should it catch fire?" is the last thing you'd want to ask the many thousands of people who've lost their homes out of oversights, accidents, and things beyond their control... :/

Our craft involves water and electricity ... things are occasionally going to go very wrong!

It's just not worth the risk growing in your house while youre away on holidays ... if you end up with a fire you'll end up losing your entire house + contents, and even if you're insured you're not gonna get insurance due to the cause of the fire, so it's a lose/lose risk. Not to mention letting LEO know of your grow. And it's not just fires... i've had wooden floorboards ruined when watering lines fell out and flooded the floor rather than my plants... just glad my electrical parts (ballast etc) were elevated

So mtbazz, mate i'd just shut up shop, enjoy your holiday and sleep peacefully at night knowing youre not burning your house down, and resume growing when you get back

gaiusmarius · Aug 29, 2013

i don't know what kind of set ups you build, but my set ups are self sufficient for a week at a time. the set up is full proof. the wiring is properly phused, the lamps are top quality properly grounded. worst thing that can happen is the phuses trip and lights are off. even if pump starts running perma the water runs in a circle, it has no where else to go except back to the tank. there is nothing that can go wrong if things are set up with ever possibility in mind to begin with. but i don't think we even have automated watering in the set up we are talking about here, do we?

so yeah if you have some jerry rigged hot running setup drawing max power all the time, you need to stay there and be ready to watch the fuses in case they are tripped. for a well installed lamp running on a well installed electrical set up there is no worry staying away for 2 or 3 days. specially if the lamp has already been running without problems for a few months.

PhenoMenal · Aug 29, 2013

Right... I forgot that hardware never fails ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law

SirSteely · Aug 29, 2013

Well if your making trips out of your house for any reason your taking a chance of not being there if anything were to happen at that exact moment. IF your running a maxed out circuit in your grow, stop. If you know that your being as safe as you can be. Ease your mind and take the trip. Peace of mind is equally important as your medication. If you dont have a fire suppression system of any sort, invest in a flame defender. I battle with the stay and watch my grow vs get out of the house mentality. Getting out is VERY important.

blaze02 · Aug 29, 2013

you're totally fine to leave your system running. and unless u have plants upstairs leaving blinds open is a security risk.

if you're really paranoid setup a cheap floro shoplight on a timer running same schedule as your hps light. easiest solution. keep it simple

PhenoMenal · Aug 29, 2013

you're totally fine to leave your system running

TOTALLY fine? So you're guaranteeing him that his hardware WILL NOT FAIL why he's away holidaying, and that there is NO danger of fire?

Amazing how many people in this thread are prepared to put common sense regarding fires aside, and put a single 1000w grow before a quarter-of-a-million-dollar+ house, not to mention their growing security regarding LEO.

Anyway, each to their own ... I'll leave you gamblers to it

gaiusmarius · Aug 29, 2013

the point is if it fails in a dangerous way, the fuses will trip stopping any power reaching the faulty component. this is your worst case scenario unless you are doing stupid shit like taping your fuse open so or putting a penny under the old fuses. as long as you have professional wiring the fuse will trip before anything even starts to actually burn.

also if your lamp is faulty, you will notice right away, if it runs fine for a few months, it's obviously not faulty. not sure how things are wired in the US but where i am it's fail safe. worse case scenario you come back to no power and tripped fuses. maybe it's different in the US, in which case i'm sure some electrician will set me right.

Tyga · Aug 29, 2013

T5's for a few days to keep there 12/12 cycle in check... Should invest in a high temp cutoff for the lights and also an auto-extinguisher to hang in the tent or outside near the ballast.

Am I being too paranoid?

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Well this is some bullshit right here.....

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