electricity safety question...

[issaReign]

hello

i plan to grow 12-15 plants in this tent

http://cgi.ebay.ca/New-4x4-x-6-5-HYD...QQcmdZViewItem

i plan on using 2x 400 watt hps, will that work? I'll be growing in a cramped condo complex, and i don't want to cause the electricity to suddenly go out when i plug the lamps in from too much electrical usage at a time. How do i ensure that this doesn't happen? will it be safe to plug approx. 1200 watts of equipment in a bedroom outlet? how do i pull this off? thanks!

[Hempfarmer]

1200 watts should not be a problem, just make sure you know which outlets are on the same circut.Check the back of each unit you are plugging in and make sure the total amps does not exced what your breaker is rated for. I don't live in an apt. but I'm pretty sure each unit has its own breaker panel. Also make sure you don't strike your lamps at the same time. Use seperate timers for each ballast and stagger the "on" times 1 minute apart.

[issaReign]

Originally Posted by Hempfarmer

1200 watts should not be a problem, just make sure you know which outlets are on the same circut.Check the back of each unit you are plugging in and make sure the total amps does not exced what your receptical is rated for. I don't live in an apt. but I'm pretty sure each unit has its own breaker panel. Also make sure you don't strike your lamps at the same time. Use seperate timers for each ballast and stagger the "on" times 1 minute apart.

how do i check which outlets are on the same circut? how do i check the back of each unit? sorry i really have no idea what your talking about lol

[Hempfarmer]

Originally Posted by issaReign

how do i check which outlets are on the same circut?

It's very simple. Go to your breaker panel, and turn off all the switches, turn them on one by one and record which switch turns on which outlets.

e.g.
1-bathroom outlet
2-refridgerator
3- master bedroom
4- North hallway
5-basement west
6-basement east
7-livingroom
ect. ect.

Each switch will also tell you how many amps it can handle without "tripping". The average house in north america uses 15 or 20 amp circuits. You might see a few 50amp breakers, don't turn these off for they are probaly for your fridge or washer or stove.
If you had a good electrition, they would have marked them for you. Just please keep in mind that some outlets are linked to each other, so you might have say, livingroom and bathroom on the same circuit. I hope that makes sense.

When I say check each unit I mean look at the back of your ballast, your fan whatever you are plugging in. On the back there should be a sticker that tells you how much power it draws. My 430 HPS ballast draws 3.2 amps so it would be safe to put 4 on one circuit. with a total of 12.8 amps if I put 5 on it would draw 16 amps in turn tripping the breaker.

[issaReign]

thanks, you rock!