Electricity usage, wiring, saftey, and YOU!

[patriot 420]

Originally Posted by PotPower

I just installed a 80 AMP breaker in the Main Panel and ran 4ga4wire to the sub panel I built in the room. The sub panel I put 3 x 20 AMP breakers for 3 plugs to run 6 1000w lamps on 220v power. from sub to plug fixtures I am still figuring out which GA to use any suggestions?

Oh and I also used the proper insulated conduit to run the wires through so no worries.

Thank You

man I think that is way too many lights to run unless you are growing in a house that is not occupied your power bill is going to be outrageous even if the the house unoccupied (no washers dryers electirc ranges or heaters runnin)
jorge cervantes wrote in his book that you can run a 1000 watt light per bedroom in your house without worrying about your power bill. keep growing stop snitchin

[calibuddz]

i got a 100amp breaker going to a sub panel in my room. had to run 4/3 wire and even do a splice. was crazy fun. peep the thread. Building The Room.

Building the Room - Cannabis Culture Forums

[ricard0]

Originally Posted by patriot 420

I dont think you should change the gfi's your grow room probably has water some where in it. I assume your fan can probably be hardwired some way If you look at it it may have a knockout where you can pass wire through the enclosre where you sholud find a black , white , and a green or bare wire just make sure your power to the receptacle you jump off of is disconnected.

I tend to keep my electrical connections off of the floor where water usually finds itself. You can drip-loop all your cords if you're really anal about it. I don't want my sh!t GFI'd because of the crummy little breakers in them tend to stress easily. But if you're Joe homeowner and want to ensure you never overload your circuits or you get a little over zealous with the watering can/wand, by all means, GFI away.

I can't hang around my spot for every cycle to make sure a GFI isn't tripped. Too much at stake. Several recalls on GFCI devices for poor construction. I'm sure you've been on plenty of calls that ended up being a tripped GFI eh? I know i have.

The trick with a GFI'd circuit is to identify the first one on the circuit, as everything after it will be GFI'd as well.

[john_smith6990]

An addition here for any Australian readers out there. Our gear I imagine would be similar to the USA but here are some basic rules to live by if you are attempting to grow in Australia. First check your switchboard to see if you have an RCD fitted (safety switch). If you don't get one fitted by a qualified sparky before you start anything. He will need to come in and test your power circuits before he can sign off on the job, so not a good idea to have a half set up grow room in progress. Identifying an RCD is easy. just look for a little test button on an oversized Circuit breaker. Push it. If all of the appliances plugged into the power outlets you want to use for your grow set up go down, that circuit is RCD protected. If your switchboard is an old fuse type setup I would strongly advise against growing in this house till you have the switchboard upgraded with RCD protection. Check this first if looking at houses to rent specifically for the purpose of growing.

All power circuits in post modern Aussie houses are protected by a 20 A breaker and an RCD. This means you can run a maximum of 4800 W off each circuit. Watts - amps equation is W / 240. ie 2400 watts divided by 240 is 10 amps. Note : a circuit will have up to 10 power points on it, usually less, but a maximum of 10. This means in one room, generally even if there is 4 power points, they'll be on the same circuit. Each power point is rated at a maximum of 10 amps. So no more than 2000 Watts should be run off any GPO. (GPO = Power Point for future reference).

Ideally my setup runs like this. If you have no idea about electricity or handyman stuff in Australia you can setup a room like this with next to no risk. Check that the RCD works as outlined above. I will assume that you can do your windows, watering system, and miscellaneous stuff without help. 2 x 400 W Sonte lights 2 X 600 W sonte lights = 2000 W

Buy a portable RCD from Dick Smith or Jaycar. These are plug in jobs , just plug into your GPO, then plug your liights into this. Double safety protection is cheap, and helps you sleep better. Cables from these lights can be clipped around the walls ABOVE GROUND LEVEL as outlined above, because water always finds the lowest point if there's a leak, and as you know electricity and water are not a good combination.

2000 W will grow 8 decent size plants with yields of between 3 - 4 pounds in a 12 week cycle. 18 hours grow for 4 weeks, then switch your lights to 12 hours a day for 8 weeks.
If you are paying for your electricity this will equal about $250 per 3 months on your electricity bill ON TOP of your regular usage. So either cut your normal usage down or learn about electricity so you can steal your power. Average electricity bill per 3 months in Australia is $300 - $400. This makes it a very bad idea to run any small fan heaters or anything in the house that consumes much power. Limit your hot showers to 10 mins or less. Just be frugal, there's no need to run candles or anything drastic.

Fan heaters are generally a BAD idea anyway. They cause many fires, and many growers have been busted here because of stupid little fires or attendances from emergency services for any reason. If you're going to grow, be smart. Don't start fights with your neighbours, have a noisy dog or anything that will attract the attention of the narco swine.

8 plants is enough for any seasoned stoner to get through 12 weeks till the next lot is ready so I advise against any more. Note 8 plants in Australia is the limit you can claim in court if you get busted that it was only for personal use. Any more than 8 and it is automatically trafficing / commercial use and you will receive a heavier penalty.

Arrange the lights something like this is a 4 square metre room
* = 400 W
() = 600 W

..*
() ()
..*

This gives good coverage. Remeber to get new bulbs for them every 12 months
Keep ALL your electric equipment off the ground. I build small but sturdy little stands out of offcuts of timber from any contruction site. Don't have to be fancy, just enough to keep it all off the ground.

Extraction and inlet fans are essential, but the common 300 mm variety from the wholesaler use next to no power and can be plugged into either GPO without trouble. Don't buy the cheapest variety, but the AIRFLOW brand I have found to be reliable at around $30 each. I run these 24 / 7 without trouble. I would advise replacing these every 2 years.

Replacement times become moot however, as if I deck a place out to grow I never stay there longer than 12 months. Hit and run. Set up, pull 3 - 4 cycles through and pack up and move on. Keep an eye on the regular activities of your neighbours and if your suspicions get aroused by anything it is time to pack up and move on. 'Tis better to pack up and move on, than stay and find out the hard way you were wrong. Walking your dog or jogging early AM is the best way to watch your street as Australian police conduct nearly ALL their raids at 5 am.

Nuff said, getting off the subject, but hope this helps growers down under.

email me for specific questions / problems.

[Jcs9MM]

so in simple terms. 300w to 500w of cfls, one cheap walmart fan (7bucks) and a 4" inline from lowes would be fine to run in my closet on a 20/4 veg light schedule.

I'm thinking yes,

and is it safe to have an extension cord run to the closet with a power strip plugged into it, and another power strip into that?

having trouble getting everything plugged in (up to 6 cords for the cfls that need to be on timers)and then the 2 fans running 24/7

[bacchus]

Average house outlet (2 female plugs) has about 20 amps.

[CrazyChronic]

but the average house circut breaker has about 15 amp limit

[SequoiaThrone]

can someone tell me why i would need a ballast to run two 400 watt lights, when homeboy who posted this just said his carpet sweeper uses 1440 watts.....i doubt he breaks out a a ballast every time he needs to pick up the cat hair. Why exactly do you need a ballast?

[13ronin]

Originally Posted by SequoiaThrone

can someone tell me why i would need a ballast to run two 400 watt lights, when homeboy who posted this just said his carpet sweeper uses 1440 watts.....i doubt he breaks out a a ballast every time he needs to pick up the cat hair. Why exactly do you need a ballast?

A ballast is something totally different. Se if you a HPS bulb in regular outlet, it'll blow cause it can't handle that much raw juice. The ballast is what regulates the power flow to the HPS bulb and keeps at a nice steady load of whatever wattage its rated for. You can't run an HPS or MH lamp without a ballast.

[SequoiaThrone]

Originally Posted by 13ronin

A ballast is something totally different. Se if you a HPS bulb in regular outlet, it'll blow cause it can't handle that much raw juice. The ballast is what regulates the power flow to the HPS bulb and keeps at a nice steady load of whatever wattage its rated for. You can't run an HPS or MH lamp without a ballast.

thank you for explaining.

[stankopolis]

Respect and manners,

Ok I am attempting to recreate this lighting setup up, using the diy concept from an older thread on the forums http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-...ml#post3266118

So my lights basically look like this (picture from original thread) only with six sockets intead of 4.




I have all my light sockets installed in the pvc pipe, and from each socket, I have two separate hot and neutral wires running to a central location.

Now what I need to do is connect ALL these hot and neutral lines (6 pairs of hot and neutral wires for twelve in all) from my light sockets to ONE power cord to be able to plug in to the wall outlet or surge... and here is where I am stuck.

How do I do this? So ... now do i just expose a long section of the power cord (side with plug attached) and splice (wrap or twist) all six neutrals or hots on to their respective lines and wrap it up tight as shit with electrical tape??? ... Sounds sketchy.... Or do I need to solder the wires on to their counterparts on the power cord (plugged side) and then wrap that shit tight as hell in electrical tape??? Sounds a little better but I know nothing of soldering.

And also do I need to be careful about how much current will be running through the lamp cord with the molded plug which will plug into either wall or surge?

I fugure six sockets with y adapters in each and cfls of 26 watts (6 x 2 x 26 = 312 watts)???

Also will that be too much current for my cheap molded plug power cord I bought from Lowes? It says its rated for up to 300 watts.

Will I need to use a thicker guage power cord for my plug in cord, right now I think I am using either 14 or 16.

I know a lot of questions, sorry for the flood.

[kellizar]

Hey all,

Just wondering about the safety of having a 400w HPS in my attic grow room. It will be air cooled (fan blowing on it), and it isn't near any walls or the floor. I think it's fine but have there ever been issues with a setup like this?

[PotPower]

Originally Posted by kellizar

Hey all,

Just wondering about the safety of having a 400w HPS in my attic grow room. It will be air cooled (fan blowing on it), and it isn't near any walls or the floor. I think it's fine but have there ever been issues with a setup like this?

I am no expert but probably not. Just dont go spraying water all over it.

[PotPower]

I just took care of all my electrical problems with a powerbox dpc-1500+60amp upgrade.
Check it out!
Running the 4-3 wire to a box then off a 60A GFCI Breaker to the Powerbox. This bad ass unit even came with a trigger cord I am using with my C.A.P. XGC-1 Fuzzy Greenhouse controller.

[ricard0]

Originally Posted by PotPower

I just took care of all my electrical problems with a powerbox dpc-1500+60amp upgrade.

I bet that thing wasn't cheap. They sure are nice to have though. Makes managing loads a breeze