Can I convert these 240v LEC ballasts to 120v?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by SDchronix, Feb 17, 2018.

  1. Probably easier and more worth your while to figure out how to get 220 to the lights. You most likely have it at your stove/dryer/HWT and available in the breaker panel. 220v lights are a good 25% more efficient with electricity usage.
     
  2. Yeah I guess I'll hit a buddy up and figure it out. I know very little about electrical and prefer not to mess with it anyways haha.

    How would I know by looking at the breaker panel if anything is 220v?
     
  3. I don't know if I've ever seen a main breaker panel for a place that isn't a cabin or spare room that doesn't have 220 to the panel. If you have two legs of power and double breakers for the stove/dryer/or hwt then you definitely have 220. If you have a spare space in the breaker box for another 220 breaker you can simply buy one along with a piece of heavy duty extension cord that is about 8AWG for 50 amps or 10AWG for 30 amps. Figure a way to get the cord to the lights and wire a few plugs to the end of it.

    You shouldn't even have to open the panel to see if there's 220. You'll see the double stove or other large appliance breakers.
     
  4. I don't think I have 220v
    20180217_104030.jpg
     
  5. This is the panel on the manufactured home I live in. The main panel is another 50 feet or so away from the house.
     
  6. That is 220v. The double 50 amp is for your stove. There is space right above it for another double. I would get a double 20 or 30 and a 10awg extension cord.
     
  7. Looks like someone already added that GE breaker. You can get that brand at home depot. Just make sure that the slot on the back that plugs in matches. Red and black go to the output of the breaker and white/bare go to their associated buses in the panel. Don't turn the breaker on until you got it all wired up. It's pretty easy.

    220v lights are nice. They run cooler.
     
  8. That 50 amp breaker I think is the main. When i flip it off everything in the house has no power.
     
  9. the 20amp GE breaker does power the oven though.
     
  10. Well there is 220 in there. The double 50 may be what is coming in. It still won't hurt to run another 220v circuit off of it.
     
  11. A double 20 with a 12awg wire would be good for up to like 2000 watts.
     
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  12. If you have a crawl space you can drop the wire down from the panel into the crawl, staple the wire to the bottom of the floor joists until you reach the grow space, then poke it up from the floor in the corner of the room.
     
  13. Awesome. Thanks for all the advice. Gonna find a buddy who can do electrical and have them do exactly that. It's just 2 315's for now.
     
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  14. The extra capacity on the circuit if you go with a double 20 and 12awg wire will allow you to run it at way less then full capacity. Since lights run many hours you never want that circuit to have much other stuff on it or it can become a fire hazard. A dedicated 220v circuit for the light is going to really reduce your chances of having electrical capacity problems with the room for now and in the future if you continue or expand your lighting system.

    In the long run the upgrade will pay for itself in electrical savings/reduced cooling costs in a few years.
     
  15. Well I have a buddy that actually works in residential electric coming to help me do it on the side. I offered to do all the grunt work of crawling under the house and running the line. So we'll see what he suggests. I kind of get what you're saying. But it's also kind of a foreign language to me haha
     

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