Hello to everyone in here! Ive learned alot from reading on these forums,and i finally started my own project. Im am few steps away, I just have few questions about electricity and fire hazards because the last thing i want is to burn down my house. So,I took 2 pictures just the electric connections, and I would like to tell me if you see anything that is dangerous for a fire starter. so I bought a wall plug, a light bulb socket and a Y socket and connected them and plugged it in. it scares me that it says on the socket for temporary use only. what is that? also,my 3 fans are connected to a 12v dc. I tried to seal everything as good as i can,is there anything else I should do? One more thing about the lights, on the box its says they are made not to be used with dimers,timers etc. is it dangerous for my timer? PS. I bought 6500k 23w philips. But I also found some 5000k.should i by some 5000k to put with the 6500k for the vegetation stage. Thank you for your time! peace.
Be aware that you will be bringing water into this area. Be aware of wattage max's on Y's and power strips, etc. Be aware of your wattage use. Be aware of where your connections are. ie...plugs, power strips, wire nuts, outlet boxes. Be aware of how electrical fires start and why. These pics aren't really sufficient, but, my first impression is...'That looks kinda scary' *cringes*
Thank you for your answer. I thought of the water and everything so i wired everything on the top of the box. Nothing is close to the pot.and ill be careful with watering. The connections are good i think,but how could I ever know if they are perfect?because if i try to do them again a bit better Im afraid then ill do something stupid. edit: the socket that I bought,said for temporary use. I made some researched and i found out that it has an aluminum socket instead of copper. is ti dangerous,should i get a copper one?
ummm you have to have it grounded, you have a ground wire coming from your panel prob goes outside into the ground... if there isnt one i wud think you would have had problems already in other areas of house
thank you for your answer. My house it doesnt have grounding for sure.I replaced the wall power outlets all myself when we bought it,and only had two wires.(house is 80y old). also regular lights in my house also only have a 2 wire connection. If i connect everything to an expensive monster cable power strip,will it ground my project?
Not true. I had the same issue in my house when I moved in. Old houses had outlets with only two prongs. You don't have to change it if you sell the house either. So, yes, I understand that you have shitty wiring to begin with. That said...there is a way to ground it from your elec. box outside , but... I run a copper ground from my plumbing to where it's needed in the wall. Pain in the asssss sometimes but I don't wanna get shocked and die....so I do the work with a smile. You can do this for just the outlet boxes you're gonna use. And there is usually some copper (or in your case probably galvanized) plumbing fairly close...under the house or in the crawlspace. Ground everything. Don't die. Grow. Whack. Smoke.
Built in the 80's Or last year, the main power box is grounded, Weather you see the ground wire or not, It's grounded.
thank you everyone for your input! and ofcourse dude seamus8u it would suck if i tried to grow my favorite plant for pleasure and dying during it. anyways, the specific power outlet that im going to be using is NOT grounded.Im 200% sure,since i myself installed a new one because they were very old and brown. I let my system run for 5 hours. i have 2x 120mm fans at 0.2A , 1 80mm fan at 0.3a and using a dc charger at 1A. thats cool right? my lights are 2 x 23w cfls, the socket and all the cables Im using to connect support 660w and 15 A. total consumption is about 80watts total fans/lights now. my power strip also is good quality and has a surge suppressor. after the test run, the temperature of the box was at 26C,from 22C before in room temperature. everything seems to run smooth,but before I put a plant there and leave it on for 24/7 leaving the house and stuff i want to be sure,so im running couple tests before. By the way, if my lights stay on for 4 weeks straight is it bad? should i turn them of every 2-3 days for like 15-20 minutes to cool down? thank you everyone again! have a relaxing weekend!
Get that grounded and get a GFI adapter that plugs into the outlet and then you plug your gear into that. Or better yet get a GFI breaker for the panel in your house for that circuit. That way if you get a short it'll kill the electricity. It might not keep an exploding halide from starting a fire but if you spill water on something in there it'll keep you alive.
Defiantly I would run a ground to the nearest conductive water/sewage pipe for the box itself. As for the socket saying "for temporary use only" I have an explanation. The light socket you are using is called a pig tail socket. It's used usually during construction when it is impractical to install the fixture the room will have when finished. Their danger lies in the fact that if the bulb is broken the fixture isn't grounded to ensure a safe path for electricity to go.
alright i never knew about the gfci adapter it sounds very useful and ill get it. and for the socket,thank you for explain why it says for temporary use only. But I was thinking since the socket doesnt have a ground if something goes wrong with the light,will the gfci still work and ground and cutoff the electricity or will it fry me? Thank you for your answers!it is a very critical topic and your help is very useful,because any accidents with electricity are not a joke!
Criminy! All for two bulbs??? I went to home depot the other day. I bought a power strip, 3 plug sockets, and 3 y adapters. Then I got some zip ties and a couple CFL bulbs. The whole thing ran me like $30. It's 6 bulbs, no wires, no hassle. You should have saved yourself the trouble.
dude 2lazy its never a criminy when you try to do something to make your life a bit safer. and yes im pretty sure if its a fan,1 light or 100,the volts and the A,are still deadly,so there is never a budget when u wanna be safe and live to see your next harvest. I tried home depot and rona, but they havent heard that adapter(im in toronto).so i decided to make my own one. Btw i dont think that Chinese 12year old that put together your adapter in the factory has more knowledge from me on as an electrician,so I kinda feel safer to know exactly hows everything wired and where. (Im not calling you out,just saying my point of view) good morning