how big is too big?

[iqcommando]

a question for everyone who has an opinion, but evidence and experience preferred-

just finished reading a thread in which a grower ended up terminating his grow in early stages after being convinced by the grasscity community that the electricity he was going to be running (6X600 watt lighting) was just too much, and would inevitably grab unwanted attention.

my question to everyone here is- how big is too big? where do you draw the line on watts with your grow and why?

i've seen a couple people disappear off of these boards directly after discussing their upcoming new-and-improved expanded 3000+ watts grow. i'm posting this thread in hopes of starting a dialog on the subject, so that growers that take the time to read the discussion can leave with a better idea of where to stop when those ideas of grandeur start taking hold, and thus maybe save some people from a premature 'retirement'.

[Sinus]

I think if your consumption goes up significantly overnight some eyebrows get raised.

[StarGatherer]

I think its the spirit of GC to support the small indi grower.Not the commercial all for profit grows.I see no problem with an idividual to grow a plant or two for medication or recreational use.But when it becomes bigger than just a little personal garden then its kinda frowned upon cause it goes against the spirit of what most of us want.A safe supply without the risks usually associated with the good herb.Its good that those grows are out there dont get me wrong..means more weed for us...but its the big for profit ops that gives off that gangster vibe that scares folks.I know its not my place to speak for the community but thats just how i see it.

[oldgrayhair]

I've always heard/read that keeping it to under 1K per bedroom in the house keeps you pretty low on the radar....if on it at all.

We finally hooked up a nice industrial timer for our water heater, so it only heats a couple hours a day...when we need the showers and such. That made about a $20 difference on the elec. bill. That allows another 400-600 watter running for flowering without any change on the bill.

But, like mentioned....keeping it to a pair of 400's or 600's would raise any eyebrows at all. The electric guys want to make money, so pay the bill on time and don't steal power.

If you are still on the fence, just peek at this chart and you'll rest easy once you know how much it costs to run your equipment.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/speci...lectricity.pdf

Peace, be safe - OGH

[Interested]

6 1000 watt no problem.
At least the area i live in that is, but ive seen 10 no problem and i ve seen 20. But once again i am in canada.Too be safe no more then 7 but i say six is king.

JUst my opinion Lates

[Coagsy]

Electricity companys are run by shareholders and shareholders want our money they must love all us growers as we pay them a pretty penny every year so they will not tell the police however if the police ask them for your power consumption they will not only give them this but they will provid an "EXPERT" to go against you in court and explain how long you've been at it but again you'd have to be running alo0t of watts per ROOM don't think one room with a feww lights i read in one of mel thomas's books that you can safley have 1000w per room if you were only using a house for that. But like the guy said earlier better to only have a few than a house full ( MY DREAM HOME AHHH!)

[ClickIt]

Originally Posted by Interested

6 1000 watt no problem.

Wow just curious, what sort of quarterly bills do you get if you don't mind me asking? I'm paying 0.11kWh here. That's considered amongst the cheapest in Australia, I think one state has 0.09 but others go upto 0.17

[iqcommando]

thanks for all the responses guys. now please allow me to respond with a little devil's advocacy:

many of you have supported the claim that 1000 watts per room is a safe amount of electricity to run...i too have read this a few times, but it seems to always be in the context of how much power you can run through a room without blowing a circuit or overloading, not how much power you can run in a room before you become noticeable to the authorities. the latter wouldn't make sense, as i believe that the utilities/police have no way of monitoring your electricity consumption per room, only your total draw (i.e. how you divided that consumption about your house shouldn't matter).

also, i think it is a widely held misconception that the amount of electricity is what gets you caught. this might be true for people who have truly massive commercial grows, but for growers running only 4000 watts or so, it isn't the amount of power you're running so much as the fact that it is clicking on and off abruptly every 12 hours exactly. this is suspicious, and anyone posted at a local utility with instructions of what to look for will know to zero in on it. there are a number of legitimate journalistic sources (or as legitimate as you can get in regards to marijuana cultivation) that have mentioned this kind of screening taking place in Canada and the US as part of a cooperative effort between law enforcement and utilities to track down grow ops. there has even been a number reports of computer monitoring systems programmed to detect and report the unique power spike that occurs when ballasted light systems turn on and off on a regular pattern. one such article comes from cannabis culture magazine and can be found here (scroll down to the power narc section):

http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/3268.html

now i know there will be some people that will say "wait a minute, i use 6 1000 watt lights and i've been fine!" to that the answer is simple- the strategies used to identify grow ops varies from place to place, and can be very different across different countries/provinces/states/cities. you may be lucky enough to live in a low-detection area, or you may still not have enough power running to meet your individual supplier's criteria for what's suspicious. or maybe you just havn't been nabbed yet?

these might sound like a bunch of facts designed to make everyone horribly paranoid, but ii don't intend it as such. rather it's just a series of possibilities that i hope will help growers, when considered, to make more educated decisions in regards to expanding their grows.

[oldgrayhair]

Well, in growing this evil weed , there will always be possibilities of things going wrong. And there will always be the wrong people looking for those possibilities.

This is where each grower must truly examine their current situation when deciding to grow or not, and on what scale.

I almost equate growing to a sport. Once you reach a certain level of competency, the game becomes more mental than physical.

I believe (don't have stats, just theory) that it isn't the actual plants growing that get most unlucky folks in trouble. Having something else go wrong becomes the path to the grow for LEO. Whether it be outstanding warrants, telling someone what your doing, selling what you grow, domestic issues be it with a spouse or neighbor, improper disposal of materials, stealing power, driving with expired tags, ....anything that gets you on the radar is bad news.

By flip flopping your lights, not having them all power on at once, and not running more than necessary at night time helps with the measures certain places are taking to monitor us even more.

For every item I add to the growroom I try and equal the wattage removal somewhere else around the house. May only be my peace of mind, but when you grow, peace of mind is priceless.

Peace, good luck, OGH

[iqcommando]

bump bump

[nueb]

Originally Posted by iqcommando

a question for everyone who has an opinion, but evidence and experience preferred-

just finished reading a thread in which a grower ended up terminating his grow in early stages after being convinced by the grasscity community that the electricity he was going to be running (6X600 watt lighting) was just too much, and would inevitably grab unwanted attention.

my question to everyone here is- how big is too big? where do you draw the line on watts with your grow and why?

i've seen a couple people disappear off of these boards directly after discussing their upcoming new-and-improved expanded 3000+ watts grow. i'm posting this thread in hopes of starting a dialog on the subject, so that growers that take the time to read the discussion can leave with a better idea of where to stop when those ideas of grandeur start taking hold, and thus maybe save some people from a premature 'retirement'.

This doesnt take much experience to figure out but I would have to say if you want to do something on a large scale get a generator. aside the fact that running diesel is cheaper anyways (this I know because out summer house runs on generators) and also that way you dont have an electric bill . yes obviously generators have an up front cost which canbe a rather lareg one depending on the kind you want but you can als o buy used as well. and aside the fact that if you are truely setting up something that large you should have the money to buy a generator anyways. hoep this is helpful, I think this is a restriction free way to grow

[iqcommando]

Originally Posted by nueb

This doesnt take much experience to figure out but I would have to say if you want to do something on a large scale get a generator. aside the fact that running diesel is cheaper anyways (this I know because out summer house runs on generators) and also that way you dont have an electric bill . yes obviously generators have an up front cost which canbe a rather lareg one depending on the kind you want but you can als o buy used as well. and aside the fact that if you are truely setting up something that large you should have the money to buy a generator anyways. hoep this is helpful, I think this is a restriction free way to grow

ah yes, the generator idea.

i've heard it suggested a number of times, but never before by anyone who actually has experience with generators. im curious to know how cost effective they are, and what size generator you would need based on different amounts of draw... for instance, how much would a generator that could run 1000 watts cost vs. one that could run 10 000? also, what kind of decibels do these pump out? finally, how exactly do you hook a generator into your home/shed/garage electrical wiring to supply power? does it require some kind of specialized inlets/connectors or can anyone do it?

[Interested]

The way i see it is who cares how much electricty it costs you its worth it

[DrBudGreengenes]

Originally Posted by iqcommando

ah yes, the generator idea.

i've heard it suggested a number of times, but never before by anyone who actually has experience with generators. im curious to know how cost effective they are, and what size generator you would need based on different amounts of draw... for instance, how much would a generator that could run 1000 watts cost vs. one that could run 10 000? also, what kind of decibels do these pump out? finally, how exactly do you hook a generator into your home/shed/garage electrical wiring to supply power? does it require some kind of specialized inlets/connectors or can anyone do it?

I make ALL my power 24/7 365 we are 28 miles from a power line .....for a grow under 50,000 watts a Generator is not an option...its just not cost effective. (even a Diesel) unless ya' run SVO


Try running a generator in a zoned neighborhood (unless the powers out) most will not allow Gennys,or turbines to operate from 7PM to 7AM in a residential area....The Health Department and Fire Marshall....will prolly bring a sherriff with them

Don't grow big .....Grow smart SOG perfect your set-up and strain.

[nueb]

Try running a generator in a zoned neighborhood (unless the powers out) most will not allow Gennys,or turbines to operate from 7PM to 7AM in a residential area....The Health Department and Fire Marshall....will prolly bring a sherriff with them

Don't grow big .....Grow smart SOG perfect your set-up and strain.[/quote]


I am also sure most neighborhoods dont want you to grow weed either. So I personally would be less worried about running a generator. Not usre where you are and your cost and all are but I do know that I have had family that used to grow on large scale (back in the day) and generators where what they used adn they seem to be cost effective But more importantely to reference his original question I would say that a generator will not attract suspicion liek a HIGH electric bill might. anywys I do agree with you go SOG!