electrician needed! who knows about electricity please help

Hello I have a room that is 6 x 4 x 6 and I have a few questions regarding electricity

I want to setup my air mover for exhaust. Its fairly large for the size of room so Im wondering if its safe to run the electricity through a standard light dimmer you buy at a hardware store. I already tried it to see if it would work and it gives me complete control of my fan speed, I just want to know if its safe and if it could hurt my fan.

I have timers that are rated to opperate 15amps if used for general purpose, 10amps if used for incandesent lighting and 5amps if used for ballast(it says flourencent lights next to this rating). Which rating do I use when running HID lights? Im guessing its the 5amp rating which is unfortunate beause I want to run a 600watt HPS. Just want to double check before I go out and buy better timers which are very hard to find from the hardware stores I go to.

Heres an oddball question: How do I slow down a small high torque motor to about half speed or 1/3 speed the motor is about an inch in diameter, inch and a half long and I want to make it run slower. I was told I need to run the current through a capacitor. I bought the motor at a surplus store so I dont know its specifics and either did the people I bought it off. It runs on 12 volts and it works perfectly when connected to a 12 volt adaptor with a 1amp rating. also do you expect I could run a parrallel circuit with 6 six of these motors or is it likely that will overload the adaptor? Also if I run a DC current through a DC motor can I switch the direction of the current to change the motor direction with any motor or are some only meant to go in one particular direction?

Can I run a dehumidifier through a light dimmer, and give it half power? Im guessing no but Id like to know for sure. so I can fully control humitiy

How much power can I run through a single house hold outlet safely? My breakers say 15 on them

Do I need surge protectors for any of my equipement?

are there such things as positve and negative with AC current? my suspision is no there isnt but I always hear people talking about like there was.

I think thats all for now, I got all my questions out, hopefully there is someone out there who likes answering questions haha

Not certified but do have knowledge. Let me see. First all a dimmer switch is is a RESISTOR that drops the voltage output. should b able to operate anything under its amperage rating. The only issue with lowring votage in circuit is it will increase amperage and with that more heat .(fan will get hotter and timer or socket that fan is plugged into and that entire circuit will draw more amps.) THIS CHANGE SHOULD B MINOR .

Voltage(120) = Amps x Ohms and Watts = Volts x Amps

Use these formulas and basic math
Questions: 1 fan will b ok if u dont lower voltage too much( check heat of fan after a few minutes and adjust.)
2. hid lights run on ballasts so ur right on the 5 amp rating using these formulas 600W is exactly 5 amps on a 120 volt circuit so it is on the line which u always WANT a higher rating better to have a cushion but if the timer blows it depens if it is digital or mechanical if it would shut off(digital) or stay on whatever setting its on(mechanical).
3. MOTOR to slow it down u could run current through a resistor which is the same as above. but really need to know what its for and if a reduction drive or sprocket would b better
4. D.C. can not change direction D.C. has positve and negative(ground) one direction of flow +-------FAN(LIGHT) whatever--------GROUND
5.Dehumidifer is the same as all the resistor scenarios
6.Single outlet doesnt help it matters what ALL is on the circuit go to breaker flip it off see what all goes out (light bulb alarm clock ) look on back get wattage or amperage drawn an do ur math to see if u get to 15 amps total if ot ur ok if so u need a new breaker not sa bigger one if u go bigger u cn burn up wiring that is burnt between the ratings say u jump to a 35 amp to carry ur load but u wiring is rated for 25 ur onna make a big fire.
7. SUrge protectors r for outside overloads coming in Lightning or power company failure so yea they r always good for expensive equipment
8.A.C. is Hot Neutral and Ground Flows both ways Hard to draw with a keyboard LOL but basically u need a volt meter to even attempt to look at ur house wiring they r not expensive and r a must have i would get one before u get new timers.

Neutral can carry voltage but its the amps that kill ya voltage is like still water its there but has no power once u OPEN circuit or the flood gates of a dam the water or electicty flows and has tremendous power as it rushes to get to GROUND. so it the path to ground is blocked the electricity or voltage cant flow.

Don't use a dimmer to run a fan, I promise it will lead to an early fan failure. At harborfreight there is a router speed controller for 15 dollars that is the same thing as a fan speed controller, that is a much better option. On the timer the reason ballasts are rated for 5 amps is the initial load from a ballast is a lot higher than 5 amps. If you're only running it for the 600 you will be fine, but may want to upgrade in the future.

From what I read the dimmer doesnt change the amps, what it does is it turns the circuit off and on very very fast. and the dimmer you go the longer it leaves it off. I think I can see it being hard on the fan, I have always hurt that its hard on a motor to make it push too hard. motors last long if they are just spinning with little resistance, so if you think of the motor in the fan its going to be spinning at say half speed with the dimmer being used, so itll be trying to accelerate to its optimal speed, which means itll always be in a state of stuggle to get to its optimal speed. answered my own question on that one but I just thought of it now. Why is it hard on a motor to be not spinning at full speed?(this always confused me because the only thing making it spin is the magnetic field and you arent going to hurt a magnetic field by not let it move the motor)


So I will look for that router controller your describing

good to hear I can use my timers I have.

actually the old style of light dimmer would work fine because they did use a resistor, the new ones use the on off thing i described. a resistor would work but use up alot of energy for no reason. Ill see if i can get a small enough resistor for my little high torque motor

question 4 : Im not asking if the DC current can change direction, what I want to know is can i hook up my motor so it spins clockwise and then hook it up the opposite way and have it spin counter-clockwise, or does it have to be a special kind of motor to do this? I had the guy in the store showing me how it works and he was making a big deal about connecting the wires the right way but Im thinking this is because he doesnt know any better. Just want to clarify so that I know. Also the motor is already geared AND has a sprocket, but I want it to go even slower.

Question 6: I will have to get true resistors than because I dont think regular dimmers have resistors in them anymore
a dehumidifier is basically just a bunch of motors spinning pumping freon around and fanning the air through it, so its the same as the questions with the fan and DC motor


Thanks for the help you guys!

a dimmer will cook your fan. use a router speed controller
your timer will work but don't be surprised if it fail in the next yr or 2
most DC motors can be run in reverse by switching polarity but most PC dont. don't know why. a lower voltage transformer should slow it down or like already suggested, a resister. you can run several fans from 1 transformer but add up the current (miliamps) on the fans & dont go over what the xformer is rated.in fact try to stay below 2/3 of rating. the closer you get to the max rating,the hotter it will run & it will shorten its life.

not sure about the dehumidifier but I would also guess no. every one I have seen has a control to control the amount of humidity, does yours?

Thedillestpickle said:

Why is it hard on a motor to be not spinning at full speed?(this always confused me because the only thing making it spin is the magnetic field and you arent going to hurt a magnetic field by not let it move the motor)

Click to expand...

This answer changes for many different electric motors. To create a magnetic field, the motor must spin. This created what is called back EMF. Then too much current does not flow through wires that generate a magnetic field.

Lower voltage means less back EMF. Therefore lower voltage also means more current through wires that generate a magnetic field. The motor can burn out.

Lower voltage can also mean lower starting torque. If voltage is too low, the motor may not start spinning. If it does not spin, then back EMF is not generated. More or excessive current through those wires. Another example of how a motor not designed to be speed controlled can burn out.

Does not matter is a dimmer switch is a resistor or a switching (triac) type. Either means not enough back EMF if generated with possible consequences.

Your questions get better answers if numbers on a plate (adjacent to where the power cord connects) are provided.