If everything goes right I will be moving in a duplex with my roomate around July and I was thinking of setting up a small cab to put in my closet, but I always am paranoid even when it comes to smoking. How do people who are growing get caught? I am so paranoid that i was thinking of growing under a max of 200 watts and only using CFLs. Do CFLs put off infared energy that the cops can pick up? I am planning a perpeputal grow staring with about 4 seeds from 12/12 then keeping up a mother plant and taking clones. The only problem is that I won't be paying for my own electricity it is included in the rent, would electric companies find it wierd that every 12 hours a certain amount of wattages go off and on? I know smell is the biggest thing, I am going to use a carbon scrubber in addition with ONA gel and smell reducing CFLS...If anyone has been caught growing or know anyone that has been caught growing any advice is greatly appreciated!
I think you might have some problems doing a perpetual grow with only 200 watts AND keeping mother plants to snip clones, all in a cab in your closet. People get caught for a variety of reasons. Constant in and out traffic (selling) Large spikes in the electric bill (200 watts wont do that) Smells Nosey neighbors A friend with a big mouth etc.
Don't tell/show anyone or steal electricity. If you want to be really safe, try not to use twice as much electric as your neighbours, try not to use more than 1000w per each bedroom in your home. The electric company doesnt know when you actually use the electric, the meter in the house clocking up units and that tells the electric meterman when he calls to read the meter. I know a commercial grower who has a 3 bedroom house, 2 years ago he started off using no more than 2000w. Now, he is using 4 x 1000w HPS for flowering and 4 x 250w MH for vegging (plus fans, dehumidifier ect.), he also lives in the house. He has never brought any suspicion on himself and pays his electric bill on time. I dont know how he hasn't drew any suspicion, maybe it could be really where you live.
yeah always follow the golden rule of not telling anyone. this means everyone. only you know about it (possibly your roommate because he lives with you, but he can't tell anyone). even telling your roommate runs up your risk of getting caught. just recently one of my close friends' house got raided because one of their neighbors said something about people coming in and leaving a lot, so dont be pushin from your crib. but it sounds like you are going to grow for mostly personal use. also, don't worry about the electric bill spiking. anything under 1000w and u should be chill.
LOL, that actually put me at ease. I was thinking of 1 good mother and keeping her in veg under a LED. I'm not telling anyone, and I am going to wait a little bit from when I move in to see what the neighbors are like. Thanks for your response
"Power companies have sophisticated computerized monitoring programs that identify grow operations, not just based on unusually high consumption but also based on patterns of consumption. The initial telltale spike in power consumption that occurs at the beginning of a light cycle in a multi-light commercial room can be "seen" by electricity company monitors. The utility's spy software can also recognize the steady consumption of electricity that feeds lights in the 18-hour or 12-hour cycles used by growers during vegetative or floral growth phases." So does that only apply to high wattage growers like 1000+? Or can they still see it if i am using 200 w?
What I mean is the pattern of 12/12. Ive been reading that electric companies are starting to install digital meters that can see when you use certain watts, and can recognize 12/12 and 18/6 are used for pot growers. So maybe runt the flowering side first, then the veg side so its not really a big enough spike or pattern?
I would say that all the examples listed above, are very much dependant on where you live. If your in California for example, growing legally is not hard to do (depending on your medical condition) but lets say your in Florida or Virginia, it might not be so safe. I knew a gentleman (whom is no longer growing) that grew 3 blocks from the local P.D. station for almost 15 years with over 8000 watts and NEVER had a problem through till the day he moved. He played it smart, kept it all within the small circle of his trusted friends. At least around here the ONLY time P.G.&.E. has ever entered the fray is when they are owed large amounts of money (I'm talking thousands here.) Most utility companies are more concerned with you paying your bills IN FULL and ON TIME then what you may or may not be doing with the electricity, especially now given the economy, their a buissness just like any other. Hell in Mendocino and Humboldt county, pot growing (in and outdoor) makes up a vast majority of the local economy.
The biggest reason personal smokers get nuked for closet grows, is because they can't keep their mouth shut... That includes posting on forums
But we all need an outlet to express our excitement, might as well be a forum. Its the best way to avoid ticking growers syndrome.
Yea. I would have 2 agree. But I live in VA! lol. It just that these days ppl r so corrupt they will do almost anything 2 bust some1. But I'm thinking if I keep the whole cab to at least 200w and pay my bills on time and in full the electric company prolly wouldn't even pay attention to the usage. Electric companies have thousands of customers, who is actually going to sit and monitor,unless some1 is specfically hired to do so...........
I just read my statement, seemed a little asshattery like, sorry bout that as it was not my intention. Seriously, I don't know where you guys live, but typically the police here don't care about closet growers and smokers, even if they are reported by a "supposed friend" or "ex-girlfriend/wife." I've seen larger busts happen on the sole basis of foot traffic, and people not keeping quiet about their grows. Police/Feds are not going to give a crap generally about a closet grow, as long as its just that, a closet grow and not a 1500sf op going on. I see some worry about the electric company. Don't. Unless its horrendously excessive, like 18 1000watt ballasts firing on timers, they won't even raise an eyebrow. The electric company monitors usage; as long as you pay for that usage, they don't give a crap typically what you are doing. Police that are building a case against you, in a large grow op, will use power bills against you, but if you are at this point, they are going to bust your ass anyhow, its just more ammo for the DA. Keeping absolutely SILENT about your grow is the best way to avoid ANY kind of attention.
Hey Skimmy! Welcome to grow land! Always good to see a new bro steppin' up to the benefits of walking to a closet for more bud vs. driving to the dealer man. Your concerns with the electric company are completely valid. Let's consider them for a sec. First thing is to ask how much electricity is used by your neighbors. Most have TV's, computers (500w power supplies), laptops, chargers, etc. Some people even work from home - thus computers and equipment are all fired up around the same time and shut off around the same time.....right? So what this means is you have a LOT of wattage to work with and still remain in the 'safe' range, as compared to others around you. I'd figure a 400w HPS would use maybe as much as 2 dual-CPU computers with a few harddrives in each of them. Hopefully ya see my point. I'd say your first concern should really be how this will work with your friend. Friendships aren't blood. They might feel that way sometimes, but they never truly are the same. Sometimes a single female can mess everything up with a friendship. Grow with family or grow alone is always my suggestion...and even family can sometimes not be a wise decision. I'm not sayin you can't grow with more than 1 person, but in order to prevent getting caught you must have 100% control over your grow - and you can't control another person very easily. Loyalty is #1 - and very very tough to obtain. But alas, sounds unavoidable in your current situation - so be it.... Next I'd highly suggest you re-evaluate your current thinking on lights. 200w's specifically. If you knew that the single most important factor affecting how much sticky bud you get at the end of the grow is : The Light. Why go so low at 200w and CFL on top of it? I mean putting 2 CFL 100w's together does NOT equal the same light intensity of a 150w HPS light. It's very important to realize this from the start. Go low on your light, and you risk yielding maybe 10grams in 90 days.... I'm far from against CFL grows - I think they're just too efficient to not use. But most of the grows worthy of doing involve at least 2 CFL 100w lights per plant - at least....some 3 per plant. All very successful yields I've personally witnessed also involved SCRoG, as the canopy could be controlled to allow maximum light penetration. .....and I'm spent.
heres the thing, your using CFL's which is no power at all and for all they could think is that its your TV or something left on all night. if your growing for personal use i would not worry about cops or even neighbors for that fact. just make ur neighbors some cookies when you move. this gives you a chance to meet all ur surrounding neighbors, then they might see that your also a nice kid just tryin to live on his own. a buddy of mine has done that in the last 2 places hes lived and has never had a problem and he doesnt even grow he just has a ton of foot traffic comin thru. and like SkImmIngdaSky said..... the electric company has to make money too so if they shut down every grow they were suspicious of they wouldnt be makin any money. and besides....everyone loves pot right?
You trust someone that ends up being untrustworthy. You slip up and make a mistake. You run into some bad luck.
It's a quote from an article in an issue of Cannabis Culture magazine from 2004 about a big-time commercial growers in British Columbia. I used to have it save as a .pdf, but can't find the file. Search for that quote using google and the article will come up and you can see it in the cache (click on text only).