Growroom Electricity and Wiring
- Thread starter Phillthy
- Start date
use
Member
Thanks again for the help. I ordered a regular heavy-duty intermatic timer. The digital one was the only thing I could find at the local hardware store in the nearest town. Knew I should have just gone with Amazon, but I was trying to cutout the shipping time.
I'll have to run it manually until it gets here. Going to try and run the digital one on my two flourescents next time I start some more seeds.
Thanks for your help again. peace
I'll have to run it manually until it gets here. Going to try and run the digital one on my two flourescents next time I start some more seeds.
Thanks for your help again. peace
binaryfission
Member
has anyone created a more simplified Basic Growroom Electricity upgrade page? Like a streamlined list of things one should have done.
Is is really safe to hire an electrician? I'm not running 2-3K or anything, Just getting him to drop a new "breaker" or what not, so i can have clean power exclusively for the grow area. i have a friend who built a like six foot tall industrial "breaker box" for his job, he might be an apprentice electrician (i haven't asked because he'll get nosy) can i trust him to do the job?
I'm sorry for the newbish questions but i don't even have the vocabulary to know what to search for.
Is is really safe to hire an electrician? I'm not running 2-3K or anything, Just getting him to drop a new "breaker" or what not, so i can have clean power exclusively for the grow area. i have a friend who built a like six foot tall industrial "breaker box" for his job, he might be an apprentice electrician (i haven't asked because he'll get nosy) can i trust him to do the job?
I'm sorry for the newbish questions but i don't even have the vocabulary to know what to search for.
fuse box being tripped?
fuse box being tripped?
question: I have a 300W light and a 120cfm blower running in a room. I wake up, go to the bathroom, and find the power is out in that room. I opened the fuse box, found the one that matched the room (labelled '15'; each other fuse is similarly numbered) flipped the switch, a tiny light flashed on the fuse and my light went back on.
edit, duh googled it. 15 amps circuit is being tripped. Cant be the light, that pulls 2.4 amps on 110 volts, must it be the blower?
290cfm fan, manual says it pulls .53 amps. I am going to check the wiring in the fan.
fuse box being tripped?
question: I have a 300W light and a 120cfm blower running in a room. I wake up, go to the bathroom, and find the power is out in that room. I opened the fuse box, found the one that matched the room (labelled '15'; each other fuse is similarly numbered) flipped the switch, a tiny light flashed on the fuse and my light went back on.
edit, duh googled it. 15 amps circuit is being tripped. Cant be the light, that pulls 2.4 amps on 110 volts, must it be the blower?
290cfm fan, manual says it pulls .53 amps. I am going to check the wiring in the fan.
When you get the chance, turn the breaker back off (it is apparently a circuit breaker - fuses don't have switches on them and if they blow, they have to be replaced) and see what else in the house goes off. If the breaker just reset and things started working again, it is unlikely that the problem is your light or fan. It is probably some other intermittent load on that circuit, like a microwave oven, coffee pot, hair dryer, etc.
I notice a lot of 30 amp light controllers on the market are designed for 3 wires being connected to supply power. Is this proper? Many of them have 120v plug options. I thought it was against code to use 120v plugs on a 240v 30amp circuit if it isn't 4 wires... am I wrong? The thinking being, if it's only three wires, the 120v is using the ground as a neutral.
I just grabbed some Sunleaves Two-Way Ballast and I have a CAP MLC-4XT timer from a previous grow. My question is because the 4XT has 120v receptacles that run at 240v, can I use the 120v cord that came with the ballast and just plug it in the 240v recepticle on the ballast.
That sounds right, but I'm a moron so don't listen to me. check the instructions here http://www.randmsupply.com/productdisp.php?pid=605&navid=5
Binary, I was faced with the very same dilemma. I HATE electricity even though I was a contractor for years. LOL
Take a picture of you breaker box or subpanel, post it up here, along with the amps you will be pulling and how far you need to run the wire.
My buddy is an electrician but was lagging on driving the distance so we did it through pics and the phone.
It was really easy and I was done in an hour, with a solid peace of mind. Truth is, LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS. So your better off doing it yourself with some professional advices so you know you did it right.
If you go this route, Please take quality pics as it makes it much easier.
Hope this helps.
binaryfission
Member
Point taken. I've thought of blindfolding AFOAF to and from the grow.
Is there no reason to ask someone to do this type of work for you? no legit reason, to install a new sub panel ~50' away from the main one. at most i'll be running 3 400w, a small T5HO panel, and a few fans and what not.
Can i ask them to drop a fresh 240v line with 50 amps? or does this scream grow room? Server farm... something....
my electrician put in a 15amp 240v circuit.....i was watching him do the wiring and i think he used the yellow Romex 12-3 wiring.......is this a problem?
theres no way i can get him back in....so 12-3 is only rated for 2000 watts correct?
gonna have to find a DIY to change to 10-3....
gonna have to find a DIY to change to 10-3....
M
milehighmedical
.
Few questions for you gentleman:
I have a 200 amp GE main breaker box with a few extra slots. Large house with one person living in it so very little power is being used. Planning to run 8 1000 watt lights for flower and 2 400watt lights for veg concurrently in the attic. There is a 20 amp circuit servicing the garage run through the attic already, I think I'll run one outlets off that to plug one of the 400watts into. Then a 20 amp circuit from the main breaker box to power the other 400 watt light and about 700 watts worth of fans and pumps at 120v. Obviously I'll wire outlets close to the lights and fans so they can be plugged into the wall directly.
The main breaker box is about 25 feet away from the location of my timer.
I have a MLC-8XT light controller http://www.planetnatural.com/planetnatural/images/mlc-8xt-instructions.pdf and all ballasts are new lumiteks.
Questions:
1. The instructions for the mlc-8xt specify a 40amp 240v circuit via 8/2 romex. The 8 1000 watt lumiteks draw 4.46amps a piece at 240v for a total of 35.68 amps. Doesn't that break the 125% rule by a decent margin? I've been told the lumiteks "soft start" so there isn't a power spike when they all flip on, but I'm worried 35 amps is too large a continuous load on a 40 amp circuit. There is also a 120v trigger circuit that must be plugged in for the timer to work, but draws very minimal load and does not make up the difference right?
I guess I'm confused because I'd like to have confidence that the people making the timers know what they are doing but everything I've read leads me to believe I need to run a 50 amp circuit into the timer.
2. I've got a fan speed controller that dims power based on temperature. I'm going to use it to control 2 10in max fans drawing 456 watts total at full power. The controller is rated for 15 amps. Is it safe to plug both fans into a quality power strip and the power strip into the controller?
3. Is it safe to use extension cords to power a couple wall mounted oscillating fans drawing small amounts of current?
I've got a licensed electrician to help, but he's super busy so I'd like to have the wires fished and everything ready for him to hook up.
I have a 200 amp GE main breaker box with a few extra slots. Large house with one person living in it so very little power is being used. Planning to run 8 1000 watt lights for flower and 2 400watt lights for veg concurrently in the attic. There is a 20 amp circuit servicing the garage run through the attic already, I think I'll run one outlets off that to plug one of the 400watts into. Then a 20 amp circuit from the main breaker box to power the other 400 watt light and about 700 watts worth of fans and pumps at 120v. Obviously I'll wire outlets close to the lights and fans so they can be plugged into the wall directly.
The main breaker box is about 25 feet away from the location of my timer.
I have a MLC-8XT light controller http://www.planetnatural.com/planetnatural/images/mlc-8xt-instructions.pdf and all ballasts are new lumiteks.
Questions:
1. The instructions for the mlc-8xt specify a 40amp 240v circuit via 8/2 romex. The 8 1000 watt lumiteks draw 4.46amps a piece at 240v for a total of 35.68 amps. Doesn't that break the 125% rule by a decent margin? I've been told the lumiteks "soft start" so there isn't a power spike when they all flip on, but I'm worried 35 amps is too large a continuous load on a 40 amp circuit. There is also a 120v trigger circuit that must be plugged in for the timer to work, but draws very minimal load and does not make up the difference right?
I guess I'm confused because I'd like to have confidence that the people making the timers know what they are doing but everything I've read leads me to believe I need to run a 50 amp circuit into the timer.
2. I've got a fan speed controller that dims power based on temperature. I'm going to use it to control 2 10in max fans drawing 456 watts total at full power. The controller is rated for 15 amps. Is it safe to plug both fans into a quality power strip and the power strip into the controller?
3. Is it safe to use extension cords to power a couple wall mounted oscillating fans drawing small amounts of current?
I've got a licensed electrician to help, but he's super busy so I'd like to have the wires fished and everything ready for him to hook up.
Hope this helps.
