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

hire an electrician. it's not that expensive and it will save you from burning the place down. i'm not trying to be a dick but some of the questions you are asking are sure signs that you need to hire an electrician. it may not be as simple as you think. it may require changing breakers on the panel and running new wire to the outlets.

ScoobyDoobyDoo said:

hire an electrician. it's not that expensive and it will save you from burning the place down. i'm not trying to be a dick but some of the questions you are asking are sure signs that you need to hire an electrician. it may not be as simple as you think. it may require changing breakers on the panel and running new wire to the outlets.

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excellent. thank you.

smoote1987 said:

Not trying to step on bricks toes or anything just wanted to give a little quick feed back but i'm not trying to answer your questions smokeh just giving my experience. You should wait for bricks response to do anything.

A surge protector as i under stand it will take the hit from a large surge in the power grid before it hits your equipment. If youre looking into those i'd say go with an "ups" unit. They have a battery installed in them and will keep all your low wattage equipment that is plugged into them running if you say have a black out, ie. if you have your lights and air pumps, and whatever plugged into one and have a surge in your power grid, the ups will take the hit instead of your much more valuable equipment and then continue to supply power to your low wattage equipment but not your lights. This is great for those who run hydro and need to keep their air pumps and water pubmps running.

Oh and if i were you i would buy some lower gauge (the lower the gauge the thicker the chord, right brick?) chord and a nice high volt/watt grounded plug and make my own extension chord for all that power draw. I don't like to put my or my grows safety in equipment that i am not sure will be able to handle the wattage. I like to do over kill, when it comes to safety.

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Remember, amperage is draw, load, or required. you can have 110 volts, and 50 amps, and it will be more of a load, and cost you more than 50 amps on 220 volts for the same amount of time.
You are right, as far as smaller the number, the larger the gauge-hence easier or better capability to carry the load.
However, surge protectors do not provide power, they just absorb shocks or surges, for lack of a better term.

And on the load part. Most amp rating are based off running amps not start up load amps. A 5 amp fan can take 8 amps to start. So don't max out amps and have everything turn on at the same time.

NERKY said:

Wondering how you feel about growing with used mh/hps high bay warehouse lights with magnetic ballasts. I see a lot of people suggesting to rewire the multi-tap with a common 16/3 extension cord (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKFWr1fA8d0&feature=plcp**). Wondering about safety, particularly if I could improve it by wiring with a 110 cord rated to 90c or higher (if such a thing exists). In general, good idea/bad idea?

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Have since found out that most computer power cords are insulated to @ least 105C min. and can typically handle plenty of amperage (15 or >). Now it's just a matter of rewiring the ballast to 120v (already done on my 400w MH Hubbell high bay) and finding the appropriate length in 14 awg or thicker. I plan to run 10' from the ballast to power and 5' from ballast to socket. Decided to try to keep my cords at 3x the req'd minimum amperage and focus more on interior and exterior heat insulation. I welcome any additional feedback.

**I feel I should mention a few safety-related points since I've linked this video. In it, and it's sequel, SleestaksRule shows how to rewire a high bay mult-tap from 277v to 120v and how to separate the socket from the ballast, respectively. (1) In both videos he uses 16/3 60Cmax outdoor ext. cord. (2) In both videos he omits using the ground and cuts it off. (3) He also makes connections with the high heat wires coming from the capacitor using 16/3 60C max cord without adding any heat insulation. (these specific wires coming from the capacitor are extremely insulated, well over 90C). (4) He doesn't mention the danger of capacitors in either video.
I am not an electrician and have very little experience with that trade, but I'm pretty sure about the following:
(1) All high bay MH/HPS external power cords require 90C min. interior/exterior heat insulation. This should never be substituted for less.
(2) In both situations the ground could've/should've been used. When adding the external cord the ground could've been connected to the ground terminal inside the ballast. When separating the socket and adding cord he could've created a ground inside the knockout box?? (this I'm not sure about)
(3) Additional heat insulation needed to be used for the wires he connected to the high heat wires coming from the capacitor. (not sure if there is a standard retrofit product for this or if high heat tape of RTV silicone could be used?)
(4) IT ALWAYS should be pointed out to laymen/women that touching a capacitor of these sizes can kill you instantly if adequately charged. You need the proper equipment to check for and/or drain this charge.

These statements were intended for review by people smarter than me. Please don't assume I have any idea what I'm talking about when it comes to something that could burn down your home or someone else's.

Hey guys, so read thru a bunch of the posts... and dont think my question was really brought up.. so here goes..
I'm trying to upgrade my grow from a 1000w to 1600w but if i add any power at all Ill have my breaker pop...
running everything off a single 15 amp breaker that goes to a spare bedroom+bathroom.

basicly wondering if there is a simple way to either add another 15amp breaker to the existing box (has plenty of room) and run it to a new socket in the room, or to divide the existing sockets on the existing breaker to split w the new breaker. Just wondering if there is an easy-ish way to get it done or if I would have to get an electrician cuz im in a rental house.

What gauge wire will I need to use to rewire my 400w. I am trying to extend the lamp cord. Is there anything around the house I could cut the wire from and use you think?

Donii said:

What gauge wire will I need to use to rewire my 400w. I am trying to extend the lamp cord. Is there anything around the house I could cut the wire from and use you think?

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It's about a buck a foot for new cord from the hydro store. And most can match ballest to hood. Just takes a day or 3. Look into that before you go cutting in to you wires. Your question leads me to think you haven't done it before do might be dangerus.

120 volt or 2fourty volt? you can get a dual 15 amp breaker which= 30 amps at 120. Buy at home depot. it is best if the breaker is the same brand as panel. Be careful when you pop-in the circuit, even if the panels main breaker is off you can still ground out if you touch both portion of the breaker slots. That equals bye bye. or fry-bye...

berad4guvna said:

120 volt or 2fourty volt? you can get a dual 15 amp breaker which= 30 amps at 120. Buy at home depot. it is best if the breaker is the same brand as panel. Be careful when you pop-in the circuit, even if the panels main breaker is off you can still ground out if you touch both portion of the breaker slots. That equals bye bye. or fry-bye...

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327 pages what question where you answering? It wasn't the last one asked.

Warlock1369 said:

It's about a buck a foot for new cord from the hydro store. And most can match ballest to hood. Just takes a day or 3. Look into that before you go cutting in to you wires. Your question leads me to think you haven't done it before do might be dangerus.

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I know how to wire, I just don't want to order online. I just need to know what gauge wire I should use so I don't burn my house down. I can pick up wire from a store to use.

I feel safe to say 10 or better. But wouldn't go under 14 unless it hard wire.

Thank you

There are others that can give you better advice but that's just my safe point.

what size sub panel will i need to use for 10 240v outlets 30 120v outlets and 15 fans and what wire size do i need to use from my meter to the sub panel also how many outlets can i safely run on one circuit thanks for any input

membrainophones said:

what size sub panel will i need to use for 10 240v outlets 30 120v outlets and 15 fans and what wire size do i need to use from my meter to the sub panel also how many outlets can i safely run on one circuit thanks for any input

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call power company, you need a 2nd pole. you will not be able to do that with a sub panel... you will require a dedicated line.
presuming you are asking for 15 120v circuts (each circut containing 2 outlets) @ 15amp = 112.5 amp on a 240v panel
5 240v circuts (each circut containing 2 outlets) @ 15amp = 75amps @ 240v

you are looking @ 180amp draw roughly


you Need a 2nd pole and 2nd panel.

membrainophones said:

what size sub panel will i need to use for 10 240v outlets 30 120v outlets and 15 fans and what wire size do i need to use from my meter to the sub panel also how many outlets can i safely run on one circuit thanks for any input

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i'm gonna do some math for the fun of it. make some assumptions too.

10 outlets at 240v

10 x 1000w lights = 55amps
10 x 600w lights = 23amps

30 outlets at 120v

i am assuming you mean 30 receptecles which would be 15 dual outlets.
i am assuming that these outlets are for fans, inline fans, pumps, etc...
let say 10 inline fans at 1.5amps per fan. that's 15 amps. plus another 30 amps in other equipment. 45 amps total at 120v. that equals 23 amps at 240v.
you are gonna need and ac for a grow that big. probably 3-5 tons. let's say 25 amps at 240v. then a 70 pint dehumidifer running at 120 is 8 amps. so 4 amps at 240v.


so i figure about 110 amps at 240v. if you have a 200-250amp service you can run a 125 amp subpanel off your main panel. but, chances are if you have a 200+ amp service then you aren't going to be able to use half of it for your grow. like the post above...you will need to get another meter and service line. depending on your untility company it shouldn't be that hard to get another 200amp service. then just run that service directly to your grow and place your loadcenter in there. then run off that as if you were wiring your house.

good luck.

yours assumpstions were pretty close its actually 6 600s and 4 1000. yeah i was talking about the dual outlet 120v which is what 15 outlets? will be air pumps and fans. i already have a dual lug i think its called on my meter so theres a dedicated line to a small subpanel already that runs directly off the powerlines. im wanting to put a subpanel off that subpanel, the existing subpanel is already running some 240v outlets and 120v outlets. am also considering using a central air unit on the building or just ac and no heat havnt decided yet i already have a central air unit so it wont cost anything except ducting and wiring and time but its old so i might just buy a more energy efficient ac unit. i dont think it will have to be a 2-3 ton but i dont know about hvac building is 25' x 11' 12'x11' for bud 4'x8' for veg and the rest of the area is for ballasts, sink, nutes, fungicides, pesticides. still a work in progress the slab is down and the roof is done still needs walls framed and everything else

easiest thing to do is get an electrician out there and he can tell you in 5 minutes how much room you have on your exisiting service. then you will know if you are going to need another meter or upgraded service. you are gonna need around 100amps at 240v for what you want to do. my suggestion would be to get a 200amp panel and feed it with 2/0 copper or 4/0 aluminum cable. that way in the future you don't have tto worry if you want to upgrade. it will be the utility companies dime and time to upgrade the service and you'll already have all you need. just cause you have the 200 amps board doesn't mean you have to use it all. we've run 4/0 aluminum to 200 amp boards that were only using 50 amps cause they new int he future they were putting in a pool and hot tub. we've also run 2 gauge copper (125amp rating) to a 225amp board just cause the guy needed the 4o spaces the board had.

find out what your max load is that you are using. all it is...a multitap and turning on a bunch of shit in your house to see. then you'll know what you can pull safely off your board.

Bricktown;
Any experience with 400w switchable ballast's? or am I at the wrong place ? Thanks.