I think a 20% reduction in its use is a wise precaution. That would still leave with a touch over 1400 watts, which is a lot of power! I always like to be on the safe side. Fire scares the shit outta me... What our friend above was talking about though was 20% less power for a breaker not a cord, just so you know. But like I said, I prefer to be cautious.
Excellent info, bro. Sometimes people (myself included) don't realize they need to know something, until they read about it. Right now, I'm kicking myself for never having learned about electricity, when it's probably the most important part of indoor grows. Bravo, sir! Let me just add, that since were also talking about fire danger, everyone in our growing family here at GC needs to have a smoke detector near their grow for safety reasons. If you do have a fire, it's more important that everyone gets out safe, than saving the garden.
That is a great point Lizzard. +rep. Although, getting everyone out safely is more important than saving the garden, it would be nice to know about a fire before it spreads so you can control it. If the Fire dept shows up and finds your grow, you might be in deep trouble. So to take it a step further, a small fire extinguisher might not be a bad idea. You know, one of those 30 dollar ones at walmart would be fine. Just make sure its ABC rated so it can put out electrical fires as well and anything else you'll come across... I say this because its not a bad idea to have one around the house anyway, not just for growing. You never know!
You're reading my mind, ronin! I just logged on to add to this thread about a fire extinguisher. I keep one in a closet next to my grow room for easy access. I figure if the room catches on fire, you don't want the extinguisher in there where you can't get to it. Also, I made sure and showed my wife where it is, just in case I wasn't home when it happened. Please, everyone remember, that if you do have a fire, make sure and shut off the electricity to the room, via breaker box. I know this is hard to remember, especially if you're in a panic, but I have run a few "test exercises" so that maybe it will be second nature for me to do in such an emergency. Fire starts, I run for the breaker box, grab the extinguisher, then touch the door for heat (don't open a door to a fire without checking for heat), open room and put out fire. As a grower, you can never be too careful. Stay safe everyone!
hey everyone. I am new to this stuff. I am planning on growing hydroponically. I was hoping someone can tell me how to hook up the main timer box for all the lights. Where do I hook it up too. I have seen people go straight to the fuse box panel, but I think it is to much work. Can someone tell me please! I want to run four 600W hps lights. Thank you.
eek... That's a lot of power. Ima have to let someone else answer that one, but I don't see any other SAFE way than doing it that way...
Dude, how many plants are you planning? How much space do you have? 4x600watts is overkill and pointless unless you have at least 120 square ft. of grow space and are planning on 40 or more plants
As for the breaker box- YES! You will definetely have to make a breaker for this. Do not do this yourself. Hire an electrician. Don't tap.
Agreed. It is possible to install a new breaker and wiring yourself, but its not a chore for those who are inexperienced. Ive learned slowly over the years from helping others and reading the how to guides available at Lowe's and now swapping out breakers and adding breakers to a fuse box as well as wiring is old hat, but I'm still no professional. For the wattage you're talking about, not only would it seem to require one new breaker on a new circuit, but raher two breakers and two circuits to be on the safe side. If you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing, I would hire/consult an electrician. A certified one, not a friend who says he could do it. Thanks man! Ya I'm pretty stoked about it myself!
thanks for the advice. I knew someone before that had 14-1000Watt running in one house.But he steals electricity. My place is wanting 75 plants, i was told by a guy to start of with 4-600w, but noticing the defected system, I am turning more to 8-400w. somebody please help me. Do i plug it in to the dryer outlet, or tap into the breaker box?
NO that is only 96 square ft. You are thinking cubic ft. I think you need to scale back with the light and # of plants for the space that you have. You can have big dreams, but walk before you run. For a 12x8 ft space I think you should put a wall up and make 2 Chambers. One 5x8 for your veg chamber. 1 600Watt w/MH bulb. on 18/6 off. I think 1-2 Clone moms could be in here along with 20 or so clones in the vegitative growth period. (I would have these in only 1 gallon containers at first to allow space between the plants). In chamber 2 which would be 7x8ft, I would mount 2 of your 600W ballasts with HPS bulbs in this slightly larger room. I wouldn't use this chamber until the first FEMALES are ready to move to budding. When I make the transplants, I would move them into 3 - 5 gallon buckets depending on how thick I wanted them to branch out. YOU COULD POTENTIALLY DO THIS SET-UP ON 2 SEPERATE BREAKER LINES IN THE HOUSE. DON'T MESS WITH THE BREAKERS. JUST PLUG CHAMBER 1 INTO A DIFFERENT PLACE IN THE HOUSE AND RUN YOUR VENTILATION THROUGH THIS POWER LOCATION AS WELL. fIGURE OUT ANOTHER SPOT THAT RUNS THROUGH A SEPERATE BREAKER TO PLUG CHAMBER 2 INTO. REMEMBER THAT YOUR BREAKER HAS AN AMP RATING. IF YOU HAVE 1200 WATTS OF LIGHTS PLUGGED INTO A 120 VOLT SOURCE, YOU HAVE 10 AMPS. IF YOUR PLUGS ARE WIRED THROUGH A STANDARD 20AMP BREAKER, YOU ARE SAFE. BUT WATCH CLOSELY WHAT OTHER HOUSEHOLD THINGS ARE PLUGGED IN AS WELL. A SINGLE HAIR BLOW DRYER CAN BE 1500 WaTTS. aLSO THINK OF THE WATTAGE GOING THROUGH YOUR VENTALATION SYSTEM. MAKE SURE TO KEEP LIGHT OUT OF YOUR BUDDING CHAMBER WHEN ITS 12 HOURS OF SLEEPING. BUDS NEED SLEEP.
Hey greaterthings. Thanks for correcting my plause. Mostly appreciated. I was planing to use one room for both vegie and flowie. What I was thinking off was to take clones from the clone room and plant them in the vegie/flowie room. After that, it is all about how much lighting to give them. I just don't like moving tthem around to much. Once from the clone should be enough.