10k Grow electrical set-up and design

Hello all, I want this to be a electrical FAQ thread. I am a small personal grower looking to expand my experiences to a larger more productive grow. When I started to research what exactly I needed to do, to upgrade my power. I came up pretty much empty handed. I am assuming installing a 100 amp sub panel into a house isn't normal. I couldnt find any information that was simple enough for me to understand. So this is for all of us that are not licensed electricians, as harm reduction. I DO NOT suggest attempting this unless you hire a electrician or are in company with someone with a strong background in HVAC and electrical experience.

Ok to start off golden rule water below waist and electrical above waist. With that being said I will start with my purchases.

100 amp sub panel, 100 amp main breaker, 40 amp timer and 40 amp breaker. 40' of 4 thread wire and 20' of ground wire. And numerous of other things we needed.

This is my breaker box with the cover off. With a 200 amp main.

My trip to home depot tonight.

Alright and new equipment.

What's your conduit fill calcs for that panel?

Alright, my equipment list is.
5-600 watt ballast, bulbs and 5-6" AC hoods. 4-1k magnetic ballast 4-nanolux 1k dimmable ballast and 8-8" AC hoods. And a four burner auto pilot co2 generator and a 2 burner generator. A titan controls co2 regulator. 3-8" inline fans and four 6" inlines. And tons of other random equipment that i have accumulated over the years

SnapsProvolone said:

What's your conduit fill calcs for that panel?

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I was hoping you would show up. Im not sure what your talking about? Thats why I started this thread, is so people like you could maybe help people like me.

At first Im only going to run 8k but setting up for 10k and either a 3 ton or 2-2 ton minisplits. My room is 20' by 14'. With 10' ceilings.

Im worried that the wire was not thick enough but my brother (who has more experience then me) said this was the right size. Its a 4 strand copper wire thats all i know.

The wire looks really thin compared to your typical extension cord wire. But my brother explained that 220 runs off of 2 hots and 1 ground. So to the room there will be two of the wires running to the sub panel. I think the wire is too thin. He looked it up on the national electrical code website or what ever and it said 4 gauge he said 4 gauge and 4 strained is the same. Im not sure if it is, and doesnt sound right to me.

Assuming a 90c THHN your good to 90a on the sub panel feed.

Your load feeds are all nm-b jammed through the SE knockout in the top of the box. This indicates too much fill for that conduit size or no conduit and improper fittings / no fittings used to secure those feeds at the panel knockouts.

You don't use a main breaker on a subpanel since it's overcurrent protection is installed at the service point.

Green bonding screw only used at service entry, never sub panels.

SnapsProvolone said:

Assuming a 90c THHN your good to 90a on the sub panel feed.

Your load feeds are all nm-b jammed through the SE knockout in the top of the box. This indicates too much fill for that conduit size or no conduit and improper fittings / no fittings used to secure those feeds at the panel knockouts.

You don't use a main breaker on a subpanel since it's overcurrent protection is installed at the service point.

Green bonding screw only used at service entry, never sub panels.

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Lol wtf did you just say? Electrical is like another language to me.

Whoever did the electrician job has the same level of aptitude for this endeavour. I can't dumb it down much more. Grab a copy of the NEC and see how complicated it really is.

SnapsProvolone said:

Assuming a 90c THHN your good to 90a on the sub panel feed.

Your load feeds are all nm-b jammed through the SE knockout in the top of the box. This indicates too much fill for that conduit size or no conduit and improper fittings / no fittings used to secure those feeds at the panel knockouts.

You don't use a main breaker on a subpanel since it's overcurrent protection is installed at the service point.

Green bonding screw only used at service entry, never sub panels.

Click to expand...

Damn it, I have no idea what your talking about. Im going to do some research and get back asap. No matter if I have a electrician do this or my bro. Im going to report what i learn and why in simple terms so the people that are less knowledgeable can understand

SnapsProvolone said:

Whoever did the electrician job has the same level of aptitude for this endeavour. I can't dumb it down much more. Grab a copy of the NEC and see how complicated it really is.

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Well there hasnt been a electrician yet. Im going on my bro's experience and blind faith. Lol..

ODanksta said:

Damn it, I have no idea what your talking about. Im going to do some research and get back asap. No matter if I have a electrician do this or my bro. Im going to report what i learn and why in simple terms so the people that are less knowledgeable can understand

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Best of luck. It's not simple. The NEC simplified it and it's still too much for most.

Ive done some electrical work myself. But i am limited at this point and I am hoping to learn and share what I learn, hopefully without burning the house down. I know snaps if you need it to be dumbed down you probably shouldnt mess with it in the first place. But thats not me Im the stoned DIY guy. My only choice is to learn

SnapsProvolone said:

Best of luck. It's not simple. The NEC simplified it and it's still too much for most.

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You couldn't be more right. Do you do the work yourself or contract it out to a electrician?