Chances of getting caught w/ 250watt MH/HPS

What is the chance of being caught by the electrical company and/or police (emphasis on electrical company) when running only one 250 or a 400 watt(edited 400 may be necessary) watt HID and accessories such as inline fan.

My plan is to grow personally in apartment, just me alone or using a rented space using White Widow, with organic in soil with 2 gallon buckets. About 9-12 plants, under 4 -5 feet tall. I will have a grow tent and will vent the hot stinky air through a carbon filter but unfortunately I won't have a place to vent the air out of. I am going to try venting the "dirty" air through the carbon filter and back into the rest of the closet outside of the grow tent.

I am also looking into using an inline ozone generator but I'm not sure since the air will go back into the closet if it'll be safe for me or my tomato plants.

IMHO getting caught is usually by: Big mouths or being a big mouth myself, large scale/commerical/ high wattage, selling it, and smell.

What do u suggest?

i think the 250 would be the least of the ways you would get caught in that plan.. if i were you, i would be way more worried about smell than electrical usage.. a 250 will only add about $15/ 20 a month to your bill, but that odor is gonna go everywhere... and im not sure about maintenence workers/ management having access to your grow space.. that doesn't sound too good to me.. i know i read of people who do in fact grow in an apartment, but imo, they are crazy.. i also think that that is way to many plants to grow under a 250 unless you are gonna go scrog or sog possibly.. i run a 250, and i can possibly squeze in four plants at the most, and even that gets a lil crowded..
gl with your plans..

you will be fine when you get into the 1000 watt systems then you need to start to worry

Most desktop computers probably use more power. From what I understand is if someone is investigating they may ask for power company records and if they notice a spike say every 12 hours on/off it might raise an eyebrow but even then with a 250w it's hard to say what that would be.

zero to none as far as electrical usage...worry about the other things like smell/light leaks/ neighbors and management

mexiblunt said:

Most desktop computers probably use more power. From what I understand is if someone is investigating they may ask for power company records and if they notice a spike say every 12 hours on/off it might raise an eyebrow but even then with a 250w it's hard to say what that would be.

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Yeah I'm relatively new to this, there's a lot to learn. My plan was to be 24/0 on/off for vegging, and 12/12 or 18/off6 for flowering. But I'm afraid that 12/12 will show significant on/off spikes and 18/6 may also. But after all it's only 250 watts and I may possibly use 400 instead. What about 400 with the same variables?

I'm also thinking space may be a problem. I will most likely have a 3x3, 4x3, or 4x4 area in the walk in closet. I'd like 9-12 plants but I'm not sure about space. It's going to be in soil cuz I don't wanna mess with pumps etc. and the taste is always amazing.

The other thing is all i need is to grow enough to have 1.5-2oz per month, pretty little i'd say but all i really need. I guess I'm wondering what setup space and how many plant i'd need to fulfill my goal. It's a much cheaper alternative to most other peoples source. I don't wanna have to deal with anyone or get ripped etc.

to be honest, electrical companies are very unlikely to take note of a single light setup, even a 1000w. a 1000w, ran for 1 hour, is 1 Kilowatt Hour added to your bill, which is I beleive 13cents per kwh where I live. As someone said a 250w would be a tad less than the average computer.
You'd have to get into multiple 1000w's for them to notice, and even if they do notice, they are making money off it so whether they'd report it again it would have to be a large setup or a very educated anti-pot employee. The only 3 ways of getting busted by electrical use is again a very large setup, or if you are renting and your landlord pays the electrical but again this would have to be multiple lights for them to notice, or if the cops have been tipped off by unrelated means but need more evidence for a warrant. With a 250w though, they won't even see a spike.
As long as you keep your odor, light leaks, and not tell all your friends, the chances of getting busted with a 250 or 400 are very very low.

As far as yield goes, its really hard to say from my limited indoor experience. Higher wattage lamps will increase your yield, larger pots will increase your yield(varies with plant size), different strains yield drastically different amounts, you can train for higher yield, lower temps, humidity, and so on. But an ounce per small (2-3ft) plant would be a decent yield i'd say. That's if they are getting good light. 9-12 plants is a fair bit under a 400 unless you keep them small. id say 4x4 maybe 5x5ft area for a 400w. The entire closet may seem lit but from my experience, when you get outside a lamps rated coverage, growth slows and internode spacing increases, reducing budsites and ultimately yield. even the 1000w's don't really compare to the sun, but my plants sure did notice the difference between the 400 and the 1000.

Having said that, considering there isn't much price difference between lamps id get the highest wattage possible so long as you can manage the heat. My 1000w is quite warm even with an aircooled hood in a 8x8x8 room, so you'd probly want to go with a 400 or 600w if using a tent. Takes a long time to grow out a batch so you might as well spend the extra $ and get the max out of each harvest.

Happy Growing!

Yeah dude you will be fine provided nothing obvious happens like your landlord catches you or w/e, but provided you take the proper precautions that should never happen. And don't forget the power company is never gonna see/care about THAT low of wattage.. A/C units take way more energy then that and are on timers

So u guys think even 400 watts is pretty darn safe? Now I'm wondering how much I should grow to fulfill my need of 1.5-2 oz per month. closets will most likely be about 3x3, 3x4 or 4x4 with high ceiling. I used to spend more than half of my wage on it and its caused me to stop and wait till I have a better means of attaining my medicine for my depression.

they just want their fucking money.

SO PAY THEM

If i need 1.5-2 ounces a month I'm wondering how many plants I should even have in the first place. I'll have a small walk in closet, about 3x3, 3x4, or 4x4 with a pretty tall ceiling. Any general suggestions? I know I'm being really general about it but I need some pointers to get me started with the initial plans. I'm thinking about big bud or whitewidow

(ETA) sorry I double posted. Deleted.

6 Fully bushed out plants will fit nicely in a 4x4 space, and under a 400w HPS. They should yield you around 10-12 zips total, dried & cured. Assuming you choose a more vigorous strain that will produce at least 1.5-2 zips a plant.

The Lone Bonger said:

6 Fully bushed out plants will fit nicely in a 4x4 space, and under a 400w HPS. They should yield you around 10-12 zips total, dried & cured. Assuming you choose a more vigorous strain that will produce at least 1.5-2 zips a plant.

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I want to use white widow but I'm concerned about the smell cuz I can't vent outside only vent outside my grow tent with a carbon scrubber or filter can. Maybe big bud. I'm not sure I need some direction so I can know where to start.

What about the plant height though for ur estimate? and of course this is organic in soil so it'll take longer than hydroponics. How long do u think it could take me, cuz I don't want to go months without if I run out.

GanjaRastaMan said:

I want to use white widow but I'm concerned about the smell cuz I can't vent outside only vent outside my grow tent with a carbon scrubber or filter can. Maybe big bud. I'm not sure I need some direction so I can know where to start.

What about the plant height though for ur estimate? and of course this is organic in soil so it'll take longer than hydroponics. How long do u think it could take me, cuz I don't want to go months without if I run out.

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You will be good with either of those strains, if you start flowering when they are around 1ft tall, they should finish up at around 3-4ft tall at the most. I grow Afgan Kush which is a potent, vigorous, and high yielding plant, usually easily producing 2-3 zips per plant. I usually Veg for 4 weeks, and then flower for 8-10, so it takes me about 3 1/2months between harvests, growing from seed. As long as you grow enough to last you in between that time (at least 6-8 zips for me), you will be fine.

good question to ask, many seem to think electric usage is pretty unlikely
but over in the legal form there's a grower that was busted from electrical use, at least that what's was on the warrant
he was running 2700w though, med patient in non med state
250w sounds pretty secure, safety first

I'm thinking about growing some tomato plants first for 3 or 4 months to see if anything aries but that's a waste of time cuz i don't think 400 watts is a big deal. Plus the gov runs so slow I'll do 3-4 months and if they saw anything it'd be a problem when I'm already growing my good stuff. I'm thinking 400 watts will be better for yield and space and I'm thinking that'll be safe too.

GanjaRastaMan said:

I'm thinking about growing some tomato plants first for 3 or 4 months to see if anything aries but that's a waste of time cuz i don't think 400 watts is a big deal. Plus the gov runs so slow I'll do 3-4 months and if they saw anything it'd be a problem when I'm already growing my good stuff. I'm thinking 400 watts will be better for yield and space and I'm thinking that'll be safe too.

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Yea, you have nothing to worry about only running 400w. In an apartment, you'll have more to worry about from people finding out somehow, than your electrical usage.

The Lone Bonger said:

Yea, you have nothing to worry about only running 400w. In an apartment, you'll have more to worry about from people finding out somehow, than your electrical usage.

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Someone I know says that most apartments do a yearly check on their units. The person I know says they only go in, walk through and don't touch anything. Also my friend said they have to give you notice. But I don't have an emergency storage spot.

I wonder if most places really do that? Im thinking that person just doesn't like that I smoke every night and wants to scare me. But this person does lease apartments though so I'm not sure. I thought they couldn't come in at all.

GanjaRastaMan said:

Someone I know says that most apartments do a yearly check on their units. The person I know says they only go in, walk through and don't touch anything. Also my friend said they have to give you notice. But I don't have an emergency storage spot.

I wonder if most places really do that? Im thinking that person just doesn't like that I smoke every night and wants to scare me. But this person does lease apartments though so I'm not sure. I thought they couldn't come in at all.

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Most places do yearly checks, but I don't know exactly how well they check everything, if they are looking in closets etc...If they do it at a predetermined date each year that they let you know about beforehand, then you could always plan your harvest's around that time, so as to not have any plants in the house at that time. If they just popup at random times and want to do a walk through, that would make me pretty paranoid about doing it, especially if the room/tent wasn't 100% stealth and hidden.