wednesday I installed a 400wMH, while in 24 hr veg. Today i turned it off for the first time to try out a timer. The "plug-back-in" tripped the gfci & I havent been able to get everything to work again without tripping the test/reset button when both fan and lights are plugged. The second of the two always trips it now. Why now, why not on the first use?
When you use HIDs, they send a huge, but brief, surge of current on start up and power down. This can cause a lot of issues if not dealt with. Two recommendations for you. Replace the gfci outlet with a standard one. They're cheap and easy to replace. Find out which circuit breaker controls your circuit (you should know this already) and turn off the circuit while you replace the outlet. You can do this with the power on, but you need to be familiar with AC power. Throwing the circuit breaker makes replacing the outlet idiot proof. Two, and this is very important, get a power relay. All HIDs, due to the power surge, should have one. The power surge is very capable of melting the contacts of the relay in your timer (these relays are generally not rated for the power surges thrown by HID ballasts). Best case scenario is that your contacts will weld shut and stop working as a timer. Worse case scenario is a potential fire. Not good. Your local grow shop should have a power relay in stock. I use these for all of my HIDs. The box plugs into your outlet that is used for your lights. The cable you see in the pic (trigger cable), plugs into your timer. The timer relay triggers the heavy duty relay in the upm 1. Your power supply for your lights should be a separate circuit, from all of your other gear. This may be another reason why you're tripping the GFCI breaker. CAP upm1. A properly rated power relay should be used for either mag coil or digital ballasts.
thanks for the tip! I wonder, if for nothing more than saving money, that maybe i could skip the power relay IF I am using a "heavy duty timer". I only ask in the curiousity that perhaps its a common occurance for noobs (which I am) to buy cheap light use timers. I certainly dont claim to know the difference and stuff of a timer, but I recall from memory the words "Heavy duty outdoor light timer" "weather proof" this thing came with like a 1.5ft fat 12-guage main source cable..... Just hoping to swap a store trip for a smoke break Addition : is it possible that the heavy dutyness could cover the "power relay spot" or am I way off? and still need one no matter how heavy the timer is? Thx for the help droid
Np Tex. I would still get the power relay. Your heavy duty timer is, IMO, the minimum one should have in a grow room. When you are dealing with HIDs in a wet grow room, in a home, you don't want to be cheap.
GFCI's are suppose to be changed after they have tripped so many times, same with breakers. I heard an electrician say after 5 trips you should change em out. Id remove the GFCI any way and go with a grounded outlet.
Found this very helpful, after reading up on it, i understamd you have saved my timer and maybe my house. Im sure i'll swap those gfci outlets to regular soon as well, but why? I thought gfci was simply a safety measure? or maybe, all good and no bad?
A gfci was not designed to deal with HID ballasts. It's another potential problem area. One doesn't need it therefore it's more in the way, than helping you any.