Hey stiggy. I feel like the only thing that would have caused that was a loose connection. At some point someone may have spread the tabs on the breaker to make it easier to snap in. This would create a loose connection and heat up over time. Maybe loose connections on the screw terminals or could just have been a defective breaker. Hard to say without a picture and or being there
That was how I was leaning, still need to power the spa back up, I already replaced box and breaker just need to have my back feel better before I can get into the spa box again Thanks I have a amps tester to check the load on each leg then.
Thanks. My plan is to pretty much change everything downstream from the main panel and get it done right. I’m going to find out if I need a permit and then put in a completely new sub panel. I’ll run everything and then pay to get it inspected and approved. I need to research more but my plan is to put a 60 amp breaker in the main panel then 6 or 8 AWG run outside to a new larger sub panel. The location of the sub panel is equidistant from garage (runs a 110 outlet and a 220v compressor) and the shed (only a 110 outlet and standard light bulb and then the grow room in the back). I intend to put one of the sub panels that are pictured and have enough slots that everything in the garage and shed/growroom can have its own breaker and wire run. Doing this and doing it right should address the issues with how it is currently wired and also the need for enough power out to the shed/growroom. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
There ya go! Yea 6 wire would be your best bet and that 8 space panel would be awesome. You don’t need a permit for that either so your good to go. Now get to work!!!!!
How much watts can I use from one outlet without tripping fuses or any other issues? I'm sure it may vary but what do you think the average may be?
Depends on the size breaker the outlet is on: 15a breaker will give you 1800w 20a breaker is 2400w Don’t forget though.... unless it’s a dedicated circuit there will more than likely be other things drawing on that circuit too. And you can’t just change the breaker either because it was sized according to the wire gauge that was ran.
Also if you have equipment that runs for more than 3 hrs at a time (continuous load) like lighting, you should derate your circuit to 80% the total allowable wattage. For example a 20a breaker could only be loaded to 1960watts instead of 2400watts.
Hi Cbreez, I have a few questions I wanted to throw your way. I'm 3 weeks into my first small indoor grow in a small apartment. I have 4 small plants about 4 inches high under a 600 watt LED in a 2x4 tent with an inline fan. I have the light, fan, a humidifier, and a tent clip fan to a 12 outlet surge protector. I had also considered running a timer or timers for my light and fan. I have an additional 600 watt LED I was thinking of adding but a friend told me to split up the load and run an extension cord to an outlet in another room. Can a surge protector or power strip be safely run from a power strip? Sometimes when our air conditioner is on and another high wattage appliance goes on like the hair dryer or blender, the breaker will trip and I'll reset it on the panel in the bedroom. What are the main issues you see?
First issue - you did not do simple arithmetic. Breaker is your emergency backup protection device that trips when you fail to read numbers on each appliance and add them. Second, extension cord is a serious human safety issue. It is only intended for temporary service (ie 30 days). Third, best power strip has no protector parts and has that all so critical 15 amp circuit breaker. Each wall receptacle is only rated for 15 amp - irregardless of what an amp number is on a breaker box circuit breaker. Just one of many reasons why a power strip must have a 15 amp breaker.
I’m not a fan of extension cords or surge protectors. Especially not in a grow room/tent/op. The issue is that you have is too much drawing on these circuits. There is no quick fix for this. New circuitry would have to be run. The very least you could do would be to run a new circuit to the air conditioner, and take it from there. Really you should have dedicated circuits for your grow equipment though.
thanks cbreez and westom! I appreciate you pointing these issues out to me. I contacted a local electrician to help further and to take a look at my wiring and setup.
Hi, thanks for your help! How do you recommend setting up a tent without using extension cords? Are you saying they’re a fire hazard?
Really what I meant was running cords from multiple rooms to accommodate a larger size grow in a tent. If your just running a small tent running a surge protector directly from that rooms outlets (or even better dedicated outlets ran direct from panel) you’ll be just fine. But when you have the tent running from this room, Ac on a cord from another room, dehumid on a cord from another room, things can get dangerous. If I made you nervous I apologize. You shouldn’t be.
Ok I just hope I’m safe. I worry about everything! Here’s one of my tents. The white cord has LED/cfl totaling 294 real watts. The dark cord is a fan & humidifier on 24/7. The intake out take fans are on another extension cord going to another outlet. My other tent has various configurations including power strips. But these are plugged into an extension cord with a timer between and then to the wall! Very confusing sorry. It’s been a pain to figure it out especially dealing with boxes and furniture in my garage blocking outlets.