How do you leave the house? Paranoid

I have a simple set up 600 watt light exhaust fan and a circular fan running. Ever since I started this I been having trouble leaving the house lol. My shit is completely automated I could leave it for 3-4 days without any issues but I am so damn paranoid about some sort of electrical fire. Am I being crazy or is this a legitimate concern?

Some of you guys who have been growing forever have you ever had any problems with any kind of fires? Do me a favor tell me youve bn growing for x amount of years with no problems thanks!

I realize I could be a lil crazy...I imagine I have some PTSD from a house fire when I was about 10 years old.

It is largely safe, i've never encountered an issue, then again, I know someone on this forum who got home to find their ballast a charred blackened mess, thankfully it was insulated from flamable materials.

Just make sure to research what you buy, some are more prone to issues than others.

Do you sometimes leave your laptop on and unattended? those have been shown to catch on fire.

If your prior experience has made you this paranoid, maybe just quit growing. How is growing you own pot any substitute for your personal freedom to walk outside the front door?

Having any electrical devices on in your house is a potential fire risk, be it a refrigerator or a set of hair straighteners. why do you think homes have smoke and fire alarms?

You make the best choices you can with your equipment ( just like everything else in life), don't overload circuits and keep everything around your area clean and away from things that could catch fire. I use timers for things like fans, space heaters etc so they shut off once in awhile to cool down for a little piece of mind and after all that, you forget about it. You can't be looking at your grow all the time or it stops growing
You can't live life paranoid about all the what if's out there. You could get hit by a speeding chariot at any time.

as long as you aren't doing electrical work you aren't sure of, you're fine. Doing things like upgrading a breaker without running bigger gauge wire, running 15 amps through a 18 ga extension cord, chopping off grounding pins, etc are fire risks. Electric above the waist, water below the waist is a general rule of thumb. GFCI protects circuits if you can, and only load circuits to 80% if its a constant load. If you are flipping breakers and dont know what youre doing, call an electrician.

When first started using a ballast, I had that concern too. It was my first day having one, I had to leave for work and I was so paranoid that it would catch fire. Over time, that paranoia went away. just give it some time!

I had the same fear, so I use LED lights instead.

heres the thing so many places use ups and mh without ever catching fire.. number one that light would have to be right on top of huge bushes to dry them out and then catch fire. let me ask you this do you have a sub pump are you worried of electric shock. NO i wouldn't worry at all i just left for 12 days with my automation system broke being sent back to manufacturer. in all everything was ok. quit worrying man the enjoyment won't be there for you.. check out my grow you will see from when i left to 12 days when i came back... all i can say is relax and make sure everything plugged in is in good make sure all outlets are grounded if necessary make sure all connections are secure..its simple math and don't worry.. I ran 2 20 amp lines to my room on a 400 set up why just to be safe.. nothing trips ever i have 2 lights 4 fans 2 4" exhaust fans 4 pumps one airstorne 600w pump and all good i think theres a bit more oh a heater on line took don't cool my lights either

puppetstring said:

as long as you aren't doing electrical work you aren't sure of, you're fine. Doing things like upgrading a breaker without running bigger gauge wire, running 15 amps through a 18 ga extension cord, chopping off grounding pins, etc are fire risks. Electric above the waist, water below the waist is a general rule of thumb. GFCI protects circuits if you can, and only load circuits to 80% if its a constant load. If you are flipping breakers and dont know what youre doing, call an electrician.

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puppetstring is absolutely correct. As an electrician I've seen so much shit that people do just to "make things easier" or "save some money"... It's a real problem in my country. People here think they're all smart ass and that professionals like myself only try to rob them of their money and bombard them with scientific terms they do not understand. I've seen some terrible thing people assembled in their apartments, guided by this thought...
If you carefully wire everything with proper gauge wires and suitable quality breakers, you shouldn't be worried. Just double check everything, and if you're still not sure - consult a registered electrician.

Why don't you buy one of these?:

http://4hydroponics.com/flame-defender-fire-extinguisher

It's an automatic fire extinguisher. I have one in my tent and I never have to worry. No worries about leaving your babies unattended.

sandjsdad said:

Why don't you buy one of these?:

http://4hydroponics.com/flame-defender-fire-extinguisher

It's an automatic fire extinguisher. I have one in my tent and I never have to worry. No worries about leaving your babies unattended.

Click to expand...

Great peace of mind, well worth the $100 for 2 of them, let's me sleep at night, that and the fact that my room is a converted cold cellar with 9" thick concrete walls, and a steel fire-proof door - lol