I have two 600w HPS currently plugged into the same power supply. The power comes through a nice outdoor extension cable, through a timer, then into the surge protector. I have my inline fan and my other oscillating fans plugged into a separate surge protector, however, ultimately this is plugged into the same outlet as the lights. So the problem that I am having is that every once in a while when I go check on my plants the surge protector that my lights are attached to will be switched off. I can simply flip the little switch on the surge protector an it turns itself back on with no problem. I know a little extra darkness isn't going to kill them but I wanted to know if anyone else has this problem. I also wanted to know how many lights (600w HPS) I should be plugging into each surge protector.
Wow! Two 600w lights and fans and everything coming from one outlet?! You're going to burn down your house lol. You need a lighting controller and a 240v plug. Check out my grow journal. I have a picture of the cap lighting controller on there. Here's the link: http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1187623-sensi-seeds-super-skunk-coco-grow.html Get a lighting controller bro. Surge protectors are doing nothing for you power wise. They're just to protect a surge from lightning. You NEED a lighting controller.
Well no, I'm not going to burn my house down.. especially with surge protectors.. I'm no genius but my field is electricity and I am in my third year of college for electrical engineering technology and I know that two 600w on 1 surge protector is 1.2kw and 1.2kw/12v = 10 amps.. which should be well within the surge protector's safe range.. (because p=va) The inline fan + 2 oscillating fans are much less draw but I should have specified: When I said that they were on one outlet I mean that the lights surge protector is plugged into the top outlet and the fan stuff is plugged into the bottom outlet (i should have said receptacle) What do you mean by lighting controller? A timer? Also, what do you recommend 1 light per outlet?
Yeah. Here is a link to the CAP lighting controller: http://www.horticulturesource.com/c...r-lighting-controller-4-lights-w-timer-p6031/
What exactly will a lighting controller and 240v plug do that a 120v gfci with a surge protector wont?
I looked into it but 120v/240v at 30 amps is really an overkill... I just want to hear if other people use more then one light on each surge protector or outlet? is this really that unsafe?
Lighting controller is specifically for plugging in multiple high wattage HIDs into one outlet. It's safer. They also come in 8,16,24, etc plugs.
usually house hold circuits are 15-20amps, usually 15 though, per breaker... so everything else on that breaker has to be accounted for... light sockets, other wall outlets...etc. as for the surge protector read what current rating it is rated at... and use this equation... P=V x I or P / V=I which is the same thing... p=power measured in watts, v=voltage, I=current measured in amps. so a 600w light divided by 110volts is 5.45amps...per light... if you are running the ballast at 220v that would be 2.73amps per light. now multiply by 2 since you have 2 lights and that is about 11amps running at 110v. more than likely they kick out a bit more on start up and depending on quality it could be running a higher,or lower wattage than what its rated at, so always keep that in mind. you are probably running really close to the recommended wattage/ current rating for the surge protector. whatever you have those plugged into, you should be aware of the current rating on the extension chords, timers, surge protectors, splitters...etc. every extra thing you plug your light into adds resistance(ohms) and will also increase the current draw. keep everything as close to the outlet as you can... so if you can get away without using the surge protector, and extension chord, then get rid of them unless they are rated well over what you are running through them.
running your lights at 220v will decrease the current draw by half.. running 2 600w lights from 1 outlet/breaker would be cutting it sort of close running at 110v. and for sure would be more than id want to run if you include air pumps, water pumps, osc fans, and duct fans.. the most i would run through anything like that is 1kw or less...through timers surge protectors etc... so yes only 1 600w light per timer or surge protector. why would you run a surge protector anyway? seems quite silly imo since most ballasts have built in surge protection.
I have digital ballasts and they had had huge stickers on them that said please use a surge protector to power this device.. I did explain my understanding of P=VI and i also understand V=IR... This will be an AC circuit obviously because it is in a house and each outlet receptacle is a parallel branch with two plugs in series with each other.. Amperage will divide while voltage remains the same in the parallel part of the circuit and voltage will remain the same while voltage divides in the series part of the circuit (one plug to another.) So if the V source is 110v and the UC cable that wires my house is 15amps then you have to use some math but basically I came up with a different result. 1.2kw = 110v * I I = 10.9 amps on the protector rated for 15 amps.. No problem unless I are using the last 4 amps of current.... My fans are using nowhere near 440 watts... This outlet is on it's own circuit that I installed specifically for this system and calculated it out when I built it to need only 1 outlet... Should I just install a new circuit and outlet? I hate to get into my drywall and hit again though... What causes the surge protector to flip? A surge in the sine wave of the power or???
no they trip when a set voltage is hit.. the sine wave is just the frequency that its running at. normally things will run around 110v up to about 120v ac and for example if it surges at 140v it would flip the switch and shut everything off for sure. lots of ballasts have them built in, but if yours doesnt i guess id follow the instructions and use one. especially since you know you are getting surges. you can look at the back of the protector and it usually says a voltage rating at which it switches at...such as 125v, maybe try finding one that has a little more lenience? idk i dont really use them, only for my comp. you could be getting spikes and surges from crappy electrical or it could be caused from many dif problems. try running just 1 light per surge protector and see if you have the same problem, and see if only 1 surge protector is switching at a time. even if those things are rated for about 15amps i wouldnt push them too hard. they are built pretty shitty usually. house wiring is quite a different story. standard 14/3 is rated for 15amps but im sure it can handle 20+ before it burns up, and that is IF the breaker doesnt kick. if those are rated for 15 amps and burn up at 15 amps, you could start a fire before it kicks a breaker. stay safe buddy
Alright. I will just install a new outlet. My house is very new if that makes a difference. Ill see if I can get power to my room from another part of the house first and if that doesnt help ill look into a better surge protectro.. thanks dude.
no problem. well if the wiring is pretty new, known good, and you dont get surges on other circuits you know it has something to do with just that one circuit the lights are on. it could be just that when the timer is switching them on they are drawing lots of current and makes the voltage jump around a little. it also could be that just the surge protector is old or worn out a bit? or could just be really sensitive.. to where getting a new protector would fix that problem. have you tried a dif surge protector? also you can measure the voltage and see if its running sort of high, and close to the shut off voltage for the protector.
Panda is on the money with this one. I think it may be the surge when both of those lights come on simultaneously with what's probably a 10-15% surge. May I suggest that if you have it, put one light on one timer and the other light on a second timer and space them out a couple of minutes (5-10) to spread out the start-up surge. Maybe split the fans between the two also. Just a thought, good luck.
Each room is usually 15amp I can run a 1000w=11amps + blower=1amp + clone closet=1amp. Electricians recommend 80% load to prevent heat build up and power spikes. you should look on the back of your surge protector it will say the max load. Usually 13-15 amps. 240 or controllers are NOT needed.