Experienced Electrician! Here to Answer Any and All Growroom Electrical Questions

tilemaster

tilemaster

Well-Known Member
no its a main breaker box 3ft from my grow in the garage. its got at least 8 slots left in it. house built in 07, and it a 200 amp breaker box new. 20 amp breaker controlls 2 outlets in garage, which i have powerstrips ran off of going direct in2 grow. everything as of now is run off those 2 outlets. 20 amps. like u said if i go get outlet boxs, outlets, a couple of 20's, and new romex, i could easly run more dedicated outlets. i know this much, but how much can i load up existing outlets and 20 amp breaker. ie could i add a 3rd 600w hid to that existing line or is that wat too much? i heard microwaves draw 1800w on a 20 and thats 3 600 HID right?

VictorVIcious said:
IF...this mean you have a satellite box in your garage that is powered using a 20 amp breaker from your main panel.... then it would not come close to being enough available power for a decent op. ELSE....IF you mean your main service panel is three feet from the garage, then you need to examine and report on that panel.
Start with the Main Switch, how many amps is that?? Are there any empty spaces (places where a switch could go) in the service panel??
The best solution is dependent on what exist there now. In my case, I had to upgrade my main service. This made it a project instead of a job, yours could be a simple as running a few new circuits, about an hour long job, and no it doesn't require any beefy romex, 12-3 will power 20 amp circuits, no problem. VV
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VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
The only way to answer that with the information you have given is plug them in and try it. When I set up the electric in this room, I ran 4 circuits down each of the outside walls. Glad I did, it has allowed me to experiment with different set-ups. If I were doing it again, I would still does those and add a control panel like the thread starter showed. A lot of that is for the hydro systems, pumps and air stones don't draw many watts, they do have to be plugged in. COde for living space would require a plug every 6 feet of wall, I think 3' is enough in a 'workshop'. Did I mention I usually over build. VV
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
tilemaster said:
theres isnt a certain amount of watts a 20amp breaker is designed to be able to handle?
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No, it is a certain amount of amps, I think you could figure it out, is the formula watts = volts x amps. So watts divided by volts = amps?? Makes sense to me, 1000watt 110 volt light is about 9 amps? 600 is about 5?
I think they recommend no more than 80% of load. VV:confused:
 
tilemaster

tilemaster

Well-Known Member
gottcha im on a 20amper with 1k of light so far. and all my other equiptment, fans, thermostats controllers etc. so im figuring off ur estimates im easly within 10-15 amps no higher. so i should be good, sounds like for a/c and another HID i need just 1 more outlet w. its own 20 amper. sound right for 2 k of light , 2 dedicated seperate 20 amp breakers and outlets.
 
A

Alanis

Member
Hi Brick
Can you tell me how much a ballast spikes when it is first switched on? (I will probably be using the compact ballast).

Does a digital ballast also spike?

Does the spike depend on the wattage of the bulbs attached to the ballast.
Thanks
 
K

Krawhitham

Active Member
I just moved into a new house and realized that the back room has 100 amps running to it. The room itself is 14ft x 8ft but only 6ft in height What kind of setup potential is there?
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
Krawhitham said:
I just moved into a new house and realized that the back room has 100 amps running to it. The room itself is 14ft x 8ft but only 6ft in height What kind of setup potential is there?
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It would make your usable plant height short, you would have to plan on learning some 'bending techniques' to get a good per plant yield. More diameter, less height.
Start with the height of the light, add the distance you need to have the light above the plants, add the height of whatever you are going to put your plants in (hydro system or pots). Deduct that from your 6' of height, I am guessing you will have 3' or less for you plant height. Very doable, a lot of work, its fun work so that is ok.
Read a few journals that talk about LST (low stress training), lots of good information there. VV:blsmoke:
 
O

oohqt

Member
Hey bricktown. Is it possible to cut the end of a extension cord and wire 4 light bulb sockets safely? Or is there an easier alternitave? Where i live they dont sell lamp holder adapters.
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
oohqt said:
Hey bricktown. Is it possible to cut the end of a extension cord and wire 4 light bulb sockets safely? Or is there an easier alternitave? Where i live they dont sell lamp holder adapters.
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One way is to purchase a Vanity Light Bar, they have them up to 3' long and six bulbs, less than $20.00 at the big box stores. You will still need that extension cord to wire it, remember to cut off the female end, color match the three wires form the cord and fixture, simple as abc, black, white, green. VV
 
Thebiglungblowski

Thebiglungblowski

Well-Known Member
How many people use starters or capacitors with a 1000 W dual ballast?? Some electrical advice would be greatly appreciated. I plan on using an existing wall plug.. OR may run my own circuit for this procedure.. so if My lighting is drawing 8.3 amps and my pumps/fans for the grow cabinet and hydro is give or take ~3 amps I should be under 15 amps. I am however concerned about start up on that ballast.. does anyone know? should i have a starter and a cap?
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
Thebiglungblowski said:
How many people use starters or capacitors with a 1000 W dual ballast?? Some electrical advice would be greatly appreciated. I plan on using an existing wall plug.. OR may run my own circuit for this procedure.. so if My lighting is drawing 8.3 amps and my pumps/fans for the grow cabinet and hydro is give or take ~3 amps I should be under 15 amps. I am however concerned about start up on that ballast.. does anyone know? should i have a starter and a cap?
Click to expand...
If you have a ballast set up that will operate a hps bulb, then you already have a starter and a capacitor. The are the aluminum covered parts in that ballast box, unless you have a new digital ballast, and then you wouldn't be asking this question. VV:twisted:
 
M

Mr.Freedom

Active Member
My question is would it be safe to use wire splicing nuts to tap a main mid line? The main cannot be shut off so beyond rubber gloves are there any additional safety tips? If it matters it is underground service. Overall goal is to add a 60 amp sub panel. Thanks for any help
 
aba

aba

Well-Known Member
Is there a way to cut down the electricity bill by doing something to the wires?
Thanks in advance.
 
Thebiglungblowski

Thebiglungblowski

Well-Known Member
No you cannot do anything to the wires to reduce the amount of energy consumed.. what you pay on your power bill is not POWER. It is the consumption of energy. You use what you use and thats that.
 
johnnysacoseeds

johnnysacoseeds

Active Member
BT,

I've got an existing 48" fluorescent fixture in a closet I'm converting. Can the switch be changed out to hard-wire a digital timer? Does such a thing exist? Kind of pointless to keep it in there if I can't get it to run in conjunction with my HID lamps. If this cannot be done, can I remove the fixture and wire an outlet in it's place?
Thanks!
 
M

Mr.Freedom

Active Member
johnnysacoseeds said:
BT,

I've got an existing 48" fluorescent fixture in a closet I'm converting. Can the switch be changed out to hard-wire a digital timer? Does such a thing exist? Kind of pointless to keep it in there if I can't get it to run in conjunction with my HID lamps. If this cannot be done, can I remove the fixture and wire an outlet in it's place?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
your best bet would be to bypass the switch by connecting the wires or just do something to make sure the switch is not accidently turned off. Yes you can wire an outlet in. Just disconnect the wires and connect them to a socket. Black wire to brass screw "black to brass to save your ass". If you want to save the fixture you can pick up a decent extension cord and wire it to it. add one digital timer and problem solved.
 
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