# Using a Power Generator to Supplement Power



## Killerbees (Aug 20, 2007)

Greetings,

I bought a Boliy Generator 3000W for $980 because I only gives off 53 dba which is very low, doesnt pollute AS MUCH, and is small and lightweight. My question is how do I hook this generator up to the lights SAFELY AND AFFORDABLY. I will be running the generator 12-18 hours per day and would like to know that there are not going to be any power outages.
Boliy Pro3600SI Digital Inverter Generator (click here to order)

I have purchased 4 1000W HPS + 1 400W MH Light for Cloning for use on an aerogrow 2 aeroponics system with an extention. 120 plant system. Dimensions are 7*5 (35 sq feet - 2 plants per square foot) or 7*11 (77 extended 1 plant per square foot) per 60 unit system.

ANYWAY LETS TALK ABOUT GENERATORS.... HOW FOR $500-$700 per month we can gain an additional 3000W of energy needed for Mid Scale Seed of Green projects. I don't see how anyone can even begin to seriously grow over 30 plants if they dont have a generator unless they steal power (and thats stealing).

Regards
JAY GOULD


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## Killerbees (Aug 20, 2007)

SOMEONE HAS TO BE AN ELECTRICIAN WHO CAN TELL ME HOW TO connect 3 1000W lights to this... I don't want to cause a fire.  no no I wouldnt do that.


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## JohnnyPotSeed1969 (Aug 21, 2007)

a power strip would work. just plug that straight into the generator.


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## Killerbees (Aug 21, 2007)

BUT do i need a 30 amp power strip off the 240v connector on the generator? I don't want to overload the circuit


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## soccerdad420 (Aug 21, 2007)

the little i know about electricity is if your lights are 110 they need to plug into a 110 circut. there should be at least 2 seperate 110 circuts on your gen. 240 0r a 220 circut is for just that applainces that run on 220. how many amp ballast does your lights need?


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## Killerbees (Aug 21, 2007)

you can switch the ballast from 240 to 120v very easily. im guess that if i have a 1000w light at around 8.5 amps prolly. mabye i can just get one 240v power strip (20 amp) and then another 20 amp 120v power strip for the other light. that should do the trick. but i want to be 100% possitive.


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## soccerdad420 (Aug 21, 2007)

if your ballast will run off 240 its all good. each light draws 8.5 amps on a 20 amp circuit you should bea able to run both off of the one powerstip make shure your power strip has itsd own surge breaker so if you are over loading it will pop with out damaging any lights or gen. you'll probably need the other circuit for fans air scrubber etc. 

hope this is helpful


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## potpimp (Aug 21, 2007)

Check and see how much amperage your lights pull; that is the only thing that matters. If you are on a 20 amp breaker and pulling less than 20 amps you'll be fine.


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## herballuvmonkey (Sep 5, 2007)

ok i know this thread is old but just in case KB still looks at it i'm gonna throw in my 2 cents. A generator like that probably has a 240v n a 120v plug. So adjust accordingly. btw a 1kw lite draws 8.333 amps on 120 and 4.17 on 240. also its not about the amperage its about the wattage ur drawing a generator like that u wanna look at the continuous output wattage if its say a 5kw gen with 3kw continuous then u shouldnt go over the contnuous rating although u can use up to 80% of its full rating without too many probs. hope this helps. Caio


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## FilthyFletch (Sep 5, 2007)

Along with some of the other stuff.If its a 300 watt gen you cant run 3 1000 watt lights off it as thats a max load rating and you ll have issues and fire harards at full max runnings. You ll also need an auxillary fuel tank as at max that gen might run 8-10 hours per tank fill.That was alot of money for only a 3000 watt gen.


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## JohnnyPotSeed1969 (Sep 5, 2007)

yeah, but with this one you can run digital ballasts without ruining them


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## AsianXpat (Oct 15, 2007)

lots of good info here!  This is my first time to visit (and post) here, so nice to meet you all.

Has anybody ever used generators to use 600w lamps. What would i need, for example to use 6 x 600w lamps ??

Thanks in advance.


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## AsianXpat (Oct 15, 2007)

Also, ..... how loud are 3000W Boliy Generator, and how much fuel do the use in 12 hours?

Thanks again....


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## butter111 (Oct 15, 2007)

USE SOLAR ITS EASYER THAN A GENERATOR a 3000 watt generator will not run 3k worth of lights dont even try it u need at least a 6500 watt generator for that all the generator operating instructions spell it out pretty clearly for constnat use double the out put of the generator


u can run 1500 watts constant off of a 3k generator get a propane or natural gas generator they are the only really quiet ones


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## AsianXpat (Oct 15, 2007)

Solar sounds fantastic.

Would you kindly give me any links or information you have.

I was thinking I could use 2 generators for the wattage i had in mind. The Boliy generator looks good, but of course cost of running them is an issue.

I would really appreciate some information on these propane or natural gas generators you mentioned.

Thanks very much for replying butter111 

This forum is fantastic!


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## butter111 (Oct 15, 2007)

got to go ill be back in a few google the generators they have them every where


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## AsianXpat (Oct 15, 2007)

You'r a gem, butter111! 

I'm doing my best to find something too - but i need "clean" power right? - that's why the Boliy looks good... I am trying to google aswell, but i have no idea which gas generators have clean power and anre best for the job ...


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## butter111 (Oct 15, 2007)

any natural gas generator as well as any propane will do the job as long as u get one with a high enough amp and watt rating it all depends on how much u want to spend they make em that will put out up to 30kv per day which is enough to run your home a/c on with a fridge 3 or 4 tvs a computer or 2 and regular house lights but onlyfueled with natural gas or propane and they come in a nice insulated vented metal box


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## massmurda420 (Oct 15, 2007)

whos butt is that butter111
?


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## butter111 (Oct 15, 2007)

my wife 10 years ago she likes the pic just not here shell get over it


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## krime13 (Oct 15, 2007)

I dont think its efficiant or descreet to run a Geny 12/12 everyday...You will attract attention from the 5-0 because of all the noise complaints your neghbors will be making...I know that most of the gasoline Genys are hella lloud, I dont care how quiet the dealer sais they are...Sollar is a bigger investment but its worth it, also look into whindmills...


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## AsianXpat (Oct 16, 2007)

Thanks all for your replies 

I would like to know if it is neccessary for me to use a inverter generator - so i have 'clean' power, and won't have to deal with power surges that could blow lamps.

is there some way i can transform the 'dirty' power to 'clean' power safely ?


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## ezystevie (Sep 23, 2008)

Hey Killa-Bee..
Did ya manage to get ya set up workin ok??? If ya did, can ya lemme know how it went, and wot probs ya ran in to. I'm lookin to mount a very similar operation to ya, and would like to get to the bottom of cost effectiveness and screw ups that may be in store.

Ezzzzzy


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## peephole (Sep 23, 2008)

Is it honestly necessary to have generators and all that extra crap? I have friends running 4 1000w hps plus veg in a small 2 bedroom house and they arent the least bit worried. As long as you pay your electric bill on time and you dont have any smell issues I highly doubt there will be any problems.


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## HappySack (Sep 26, 2008)

you can use the gen, but not with all the lights. What is the rated continuous load?


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## lorenzo08 (Sep 29, 2008)

if the generator is running 24/7, keep in mind, you'll only have half the lights running at any given moment.


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## herballuvmonkey (Sep 30, 2008)

On this issue it would be best to run ur lights on the 220 side. since 220 will cut ur load (amps) on the generator. Make sure u consider the gasconsumption/load issue. Most gens are set up to run on a max 50% load. In other words if you have a 3kw gen u shouldnt load more than 1500 watts on it. That will usually use about a gallon per hour and u wont have to worry about power surges and the like. The best thing would be to make urself a setup where u run power one day and generator the next or 15 days on 15 off. It will even out as terms of cost and cut ur wattage if ur that noided about power.


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## la9 (Sep 30, 2008)

If you want to filter the line out smooth which I don't think you need to do, you would need UPS to do it but I think it would get expensive getting the wattage you need. The other thing you could use is a line conditioner.

Also I think you are going to use more gas than you think, the ratings are optomistic to say the least usually running at half load. My generator is supposed to run for 12 hours and it was running 8 on a full tank with just a light and my TV running and it's a 5000 watt.


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## hahano (Feb 9, 2009)

Hello im a new grower an would really be thankful if anyone can help me out im thinkin of gettin a generator for my growin room but dnt kno witch 2 get i dnt really want a very expensive one but i do want one that aint gnna be noisy cuz ima have in a basement so can anyone help me out......


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## fat sam (Feb 23, 2009)

ok so forget the power strip...its not even close to the task at hand, what you want to do is hard wire the generator with romex as long extention cords are a bad idea, so what you are going to do is run the romex from the generator to the room and install a small sub pannel, complete with breakers and all then just wire the rest of the room up like you would normaly, its pretty simple really, basicly what you are going to do is run 2 of your 1k lamps off the generator so you are not pushing it to its full potential all the time, i used to use a little honda generator for a grow years back, the way i got it to turn on and off was there was a connection on it where you would wire to your house current and when the power went out it would kick on the generator, so with a simple light timer you can fool the generator in to thinking that there is a power outage and it will kick on, very simple and cheap, so next thing, if you convert it to run on propane or lp you can vent the exhaust in to the grow room for co2, after all thats what a co2 burner does, of course you still need to vent the room regularly to avoid carbon monoxide buildup but its very effective method


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## toostonedto (Sep 9, 2010)

fat sam said:


> if you convert it to run on propane or lp you can vent the exhaust in to the grow room for co2, after all thats what a co2 burner does, of course you still need to vent the room regularly to avoid carbon monoxide buildup but its very effective method


Thats brilliant! But why won't gas do the same?


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## Spanishfly (Sep 10, 2010)

toostonedto said:


> Thats brilliant! But why won't gas do the same?


Will fill your room with as much CO as CO2. Don´t know what that will do for your plants, but will kill you.


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## Spanishfly (Sep 10, 2010)

krime13 said:


> Sollar is a bigger investment but its worth it, also look into whindmills...


The trouble with Solar is when you need it most there isn´t any.

Why are you messing about with expensive generators and useless solar power, anyway? Far, far cheaper and much, much more convenient to just pay the electric company.


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## 1freezy (Jan 12, 2011)

Well I worked for the city reading water meters in 3 different states, and as county, city, or state employees there are rewards handed out to us for reporting suspicious things. Some places the city runs the electric company. An if your up here in No. Cal who cares buy the power I do, but not everyone lives where it's legal!


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